Cosplay is one of the highlights of annual Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway
Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, $15-$20 (children under twelve free)
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org
Last weekend, we were in Washington, DC, where we were delighted to see that the cherry trees were in bloom, filling the streets with their beautiful pink and white blossoms, even though it was still unseasonably cold down there. The weather should be a whole lot milder this weekend for the annual Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with temperatures nearing seventy for the always charming Cherry Blossom Festival. Over the course of two days, there will be workshops, live music and dance, martial arts demonstrations, flower arranging, arts & crafts, food tastings, art exhibits, comedy, book signings, origami lessons, manga drawing, games, museum tours, and more. Below are only some of the highlights of one of the most enjoyable, though usually extremely crowded, festivals of the year; most programs are held both days.
Saturday
Bonsai Basics for Home Gardeners, Steinhardt Conservatory, 10:00 – 5:00
Ikebana Flower Arrangements with students of master Fumiko Allinder, Rotunda, 10:00 – 5:00
Vintage Kimonos: YokoDana Kimono, Magnolia Plaza, 11:00 – 5:00
Wagashi Japanese Sweet Shop: Minamoto Kitchoan, Magnolia Plaza, 11:00 – 5:00
Uncle Yo: Anime Stand-up Comedy, J-Lounge Stage at Osborne Garden, 12 noon
Manga Drawing and Book Signing with Misako Rocks, Osborne Garden, 12 noon – 4:45
Nihon Buyo classical dance: Dancejapan with Sachiyo Ito, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 1:00
Shogi: Japanese Chess, with New York Shogi Club, Osborne Garden, 1:00– 5:00
All-female marching band: Zakuro Chindon Band featuring vocalist Maiko, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 3:00
Traditional Tea Ceremony: Urasenke Chanoyu Center, Auditorium, 3:00
The BBG Parasol Society Games, J-Lounge Stage at Osborne Garden, 4:30 (preregistration required 2:00 – 4:00)
Sunday
Hana Kanzashi Hair Ornaments, Magnolia Plaza, 11:00 – 5:00
DJ Saiko Mikan’s Tokyo Teleport Station, J-Lounge Stage at Osborne Garden, 11:00 – 5:30
Harie Paper Collage Exhibit, with artist Junko Yamada, Members’ Room Annex, 1:00 – 5:00
Meet Puzzle Craftsman Maki Kaji, Osborne Garden, 1:00 – 5:00
Kuni Mikami and East of the Sun: Jazz-inspired renditions of traditional folk songs, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 2:00
Moku Hanga Woodblock Printing Demonstration with April Vollmer, Steinhardt Conservatory, 2:00
Ukiyo-e Illustration with Jed Henry, Osborne Garden, 3:00
Samurai Sword Soul, Cherry Esplanade Stage, 3:45
Magician Rich Kameda, J-Lounge Stage at Osborne Garden, 4:00
In 1975, a comedy troupe consisting of five Oxford and Cambridge grads and an American animator, the six best known for their absurdist sketches, teamed up to make the most quotable, and perhaps all-time-funniest, film to ever come from across the pond. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) leads his ne’er-do-well Knights of the Round Table —Sir Lancelot the Brave (John Cleese), Sir Robin-the-Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot (Eric Idle), Sir Bedevere the Wise (Terry Jones), and Sir Galahad the Pure (Michael Palin) — on a quest to find the Holy Grail, as ordered by God himself (voice of Chapman, cartoon of cricket legend W. G. Grace). So off they go, visiting strange castles with even stranger knights, answering silly questions to get across a bridge, seeking advice from a mad wizard, battling a cute little killer rabbit, and searching for shrubbery. The wild romp, in which the Pythons never meet a joke too high-brow or low-brow, helped warp the minds of several generations and continues to result in much rejoicing in living rooms and movie theaters around the world. The Pythons play multiple roles throughout the hysterical romp, with such particularly riotous turns as Cleese as the Black Knight (“It’s just a flesh wound.”), Tim the Enchanter (“So! Brave knights! If you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth.”), and a French taunter (“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”), Gilliam as Patsy (“Camelot!” “It’s only a model.”), the Bridgekeeper (“What . . . is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?”), and the animator (“Ughck!”), Idle as the Dead Collector (“Who’s that then?” “I dunno, must be a king.” “Why?” “He hasn’t go shit all over him.”) and Roger the Shrubber (“Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say ‘Ni’ at will to old ladies.”), Palin as Dennis (“Oh, king, eh? Very nice. And how’d you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.”) the chief Knight Who Says “Ni” (“One that looks nice. And not too expensive.”) and Jones as Prince Herbert (“One day, lad, all this will be yours.” “What, the curtains?”). Python regulars Connie Booth and Carol Cleveland appear as well, the former as a witch who is facing being burned at the stake (“She turned me into a newt.” “A newt?” “I got better.”), the latter as twins Zoot and Dingo (“Oh, wicked, bad, naughty, evil Zoot! Oh, she is a bad person, and she must pay the penalty!”). Monty Python and the Holy Grail kicks off the IFC Center Waverly Midnights series “Terry Gilliam,” which continues through July 20 with such other Python classics as The Meaning of Life and Life of Brian up next, neither of which was actually directed by the sole American Python.
