What book-loving kid hasn’t dreamt of staying in the library way after closing (we all remember that episode of Arthur, right)? Well you’ll get to live out those childhood fantasies thanks to Brooklyn Public Library’s upcoming “Night at the Library” event.
This Saturday, March 8 marks the ninth iteration of the annual event, which allows New Yorkers to stay in their Central Library from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m. (technically to Sunday, March 9) to experience special programming at night long. This year’s event is called “The Sky Above Brooklyn – The Philosophy of the Sublime” and features talks, activities and more that will “introduce fresh ways of thinking about how to navigate the world around us with renewed attention, sensitivity, and curiosity.”
It will be an all-night marathon of presentations and performances, from speakers and entertainers like: The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research; Dancers Baye & Asa; The ACLU’s Ben Wizner; Authors Edwidge Danticat, Darryl Pinckney, Alissa Quart, Edwin Frank, Sarah Lewis and Molly Crabapple; Mathematician Manil Suri; Reporter Hamilton Nolan; and Artist and musician Laurie Anderson.
We’ve taken a peek at the schedule and here’s what looks most exciting:
- Therapy dogs will be greeting attendees at the start of the event!
- Live clothing mending — bring something with holes you’ve been meaning to get fixed to give what you already have a second life.
- Enrique Enriquez will imitate bird calls through instruments and help “speak the language of birds”
- DJ Performance from Zenon Marko, a composer/producer/electronic musician AND philosopher
- Stargazing with telescopes
- “Ask a Shrink” where you can ask psychoanalysts any burning questions you have
And all of that is only through 9 p.m.! You can check out the entire schedule on the library website and come and go as you please throughout the night.
The event is completely free and though registration is not required, it is encouraged! You can do so on the Brooklyn Library website. Refreshments and book copies will be available for purchase.
“Night in the Library” is one of the most popular events of the year, with around 6,000 attendees!