Whassup: Sing to High Heavens Edition!

Holy Shit there are a lot of sing-a-longs this week! It seems the gods of Brooklyn entertainment have conspired to convince you to bless (or damn, as the case may be) the world with your voice. Have a blast belting out tunes, among other activities, with Whassup: Sing to High Heavens Edition:

* Thursday, July 21: West Side Sing-a-Long, Celebrate Brooklyn: In perhaps the most adorable gimmick yet conceived for an outdoor show, audience/participants will enter the Park at 9th St. if they consider themselves Jets and at 11th St. if they're feeling more Sharky. And, come on Park Slopers, do it right. It's all set up for you: meet in the center snapping. Words to Maria and other faves from the musical will be projected on screen. Choreographer Lawrence Godlhuber, dolled up as Officer Krupke, leads nascent tough-guy dancers through some of the famous moves beforehand. It's really so cute I just threw up a little in my mouth. But I mean that in the nicest way possible. 7pm gates, FREE.

* Saturday, July 23: Popsickle Lit-Fest, Gowanus Ballroom: If Brooklyn were a giant mattress, writers would be the bedbugs. Yeah, the borough's lousy with us (and, yes, I'm including the bloggary). That means a downright humiliating embarrassment of riches when it comes to lit presses, reading series, and, yes, literary types. See a good damn bunch of these come together in one big helping of readings, followed by music and wordy schmoozing. And popsicles! Why? Because it's in the name. I guess. 1-8pm, FREE.

* Saturday, July 23: Meatopia, Brooklyn Bridge Park: Oh sweet, pissed-off-vegetarian, it's time to sharpen up your BBQ-chewing teeth and prepare your metabolism for full-on protein pounding. Called the "Woodstock of Edible Animals," the Whole Foods flesh-a-thon welcomes more than 45 chefs from across the nation, several farmers, and a range of meat edibles big enough to give ten tyrannosaurs dino-boners. Gobble a an entire roasted goat (well, you'll probably just have part of it), chorizo tostadas, Angus beef, Pekin duck, steaks, sausages, stewsasfdhhhhsggghhhh....Sorry, started drooling there. Tickets from $72.50 (kids get in for $15). 5:30 pm.

* Saturday, July 23: Dig Deeper 3rd Anniversary, Southpaw: Chicago soulster Lou Pride and the Solid Set help the Dig Deeper series celebrate three years of bringing classic soul and R&B acts to the Brooklyn stage. The series' producers scour record stacks for old acts and bring the genuine articles to show off their under-appreciated brilliance. Get back to a time when band leaders really led bands and music positively breathed with soul. It's a nice antidote to all those ex-tremely white indie bands we all pretend to love. 9pm Doors, $15 DOS.

* Monday, July 25: DUMBO Karaoke Massacre, Galapagos Art Space: Oh, you don't want to sing about Puerto Rican ganstas? Well, take your choice of songs to butcher--beautify -- with this live-band karokexplosion. Backing tunes come from The Klones while a host of NYC comedians provide intentional laughs. 7pm Doors, $10.

* Tuesday, July 26th: Gelf Magazine Presents: "Geeking Out," Tea Lounge: Geeking Out is a reading series featuring the best science writers around. July’s show, “The Science of Well-Being,” will be a night devoted to wellness, both individually and socially. The evening will feature Michael Kelly Sutton, who found a better way to live by getting rid of most of his worldly possessions in his Cult of Less project; Danielle Posa, who works with the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a massive well-being survey that has uncovered loads of insights about communities across the U.S.; and Lew Daly, director and senior fellow at Demos, where he writes about economic and social justice. 7:30PM, FREE. 

* Wednesday, July 27: Prince Sing-a-Long, Union Hall: Oh, you don't want to sing with so many comedians around? Well, gather up your purplest voice and honor the Princely one with some "Purple Rain" communal singing, celebrating the movie's 27th anniversary (on July 27th, get it? k, it's a stretch, but how much justification do you need to sing Prince songs?) 8pm Doors, $8 DOS.

* Thursday, July 28: CasHank Hootenanny Jamborree, Jalopy Theatre: Oh, you don't want to sing Prince because 1999 was the year you graduated high school still a virgin? Fine, sing some country songs about your broken heart. Slope-area country band leader (and instigator of the popular Johnny Cash Birthday Bash) heads up a classic country sing-(and play)-a-long. Good old fashioned heartbreakers come from the (Johnny) Cash and Hank (Williams) of the event's name.  8:30 pm, $5.

* Friday, July 29: Newsies Sing-a-Long, Bell House: Oh, what's that, you misplaced your country twang on the move from Oklahoma to NYC? Well, you've got one more singing option. The song pushers behind the Prince vocal down bring back a childhood fave, with the Disney live-action musical about a newsboy strike led by a very young Batman (Christina Bale). 7pm Doors, $8.