Saturday
December 28
Hoop time
College ballers from all over the country hit the Barclays Center for the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival. A battle for local hearts will take place between St. John’s and Columbia, while Kansas State plays Tulane, and Virginia Commonwealth University takes on Boston College.
2:30 pm, 5 pm, and 7:30 pm at the Barclays Center [620 Atlantic Ave. at Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, (800) 745–3000, www.barclayscenter.com]. $26–$206.
Sunday
December 29
Winter wizardry
You may not be able to ride the Cyclone, but Coney Island is not closed for the winter. The magic has just moved indoors to Sideshows By The Seashore, where illusionists, escape artists, mentalists, and other magicians are performing every Sunday.
2 pm at Sideshows By The Seashore [1208 Surf Ave. at West 12th Street in Coney Island, (718) 372–5159 www.coneyisland.com]. $8–$12.
Monday
December 30
Back to your roots
If you are too time-poor (or just too poor) to get out the city for New Year’s, this may be the next best thing. Catskill-area roots-rockers the Felice Brothers head downstate to bring some foot-stomping folk to Brooklyn Bowl. The band can’t bring fresh mountain air or big trees with it, but it does have an accordion.
9 pm at Brooklyn Bowl [61 Wythe Ave. between North 11th and North 12th streets in Williamsburg, (718) 963–3369, www.brooklynbowl.com]. $15–$20.
Wednesday
January 1
Chill out
Start 2014 off with a splash, by joining the Coney Island Polar Bear Club for its annual New Year’s Day swim. It is almost certainly going to hurt, but it is all for a good cause — raising money for Camp Sunshine, a retreat for kids with life-threatening illnesses.
1 pm at Coney Island Boardwalk (Boardwalk at Stillwell Ave. in Coney Island, www.polarbearclub.org). $20 suggested donation.
