Whassup: Summer Is Coming (Really) Edition

Nevermind the ridiculous rises to July temps and vertiginous falls back to January weather. We really are upon the summer season. Know how I know? Big ass music festivals. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry hits year two (see below) this weekend. Soon, the food and (improved) music of Googa Mooga Twooga will be here and you'll be hanging out outside the bandshell gates. Before you know it, Brooklyn will be emptying out as everyone heads to Pitchfork. So, toughen up against the weird weather and just put on some shorts no matter what. Welcome to Whassup: Summer Is Coming (Really) Edition:

* Now Playing: Jalopy radio: The hands-down best combination music school/instrument repair shop/olde time theater in located next to the BQE will now broadcast its wholesome charm over the ether. More precisely, over the system of tubes known as the Internet. Yep, Jalopy gots a radio station, broadcasting online. Now you can listen to fiddle music from the comfort of your own cramped NY apartment.

* Thursday, April 25-Saturday, April 27: X-ing BK Ferry, BAM: As mentioned above, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry returns, with a host of bands, short films and artwork at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Final headliners TV on the Radio are nearly as Brooklyn as the Whitman-derived festival name, but The Roots and Solange (Beyonce's sis, if that matters to you) -- well, why should they not speak to you, too? Around 5pm to around 1am each day, $40-50 per day, $100 3-day pass.

* Saturday, April 27: Pride of BK Homebrew Expo, Littlefield: I don't know what you see when you hear the phrase "the pride of Brooklyn," but I'm picturing some authentically divey bar that old men COULD go to, but don't, and you know about it and bring a graphic designer you met on OKCupid there and they have a great juke box. That's the pride of Brooklyn. But, actually, the phrase refers to a home-brewed beer competition and expo. Which is pretty cool, too. You could even bring someone from OKCupid there. 1pm, $25.

* Saturday, April 27-Sunday, April 28: Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossoms), BK Botanic Garden: The cherry blossom festival at the Botanic Garden is just so much Japanese culture: Tea ceremonies! Traditional Taiko drumming! Cosplay! Godzilla attack! Also, the cherry blossoms, of course. Those, too. Please, find them calming, before you return to your soul-crushing salaryman position. 10am-6pm.

* Sunday, April 28: Fermentation and Poetry, Freddy's: Perhaps the Pride of Brooklyn brew-off failed to satisfy your desire for yeast-dependent comestibles. The Kings County Fermentation Group has just the microorganisms for you, in that case. The group gathers to shoot the bacterial shit about fermented foods: kafir, kombucha, beer, cheese, pickles, and so on. Then, continue pickling yourself during the subsequent NY Spoken Word open mic: poetry, stories, song, and jokes, all spilling from the beer-soaked mouths of local artists. 7pm Food, 9pm Words, FREE.

* Tuesday, April 30: First Open Mic, Jalopy: It's a week of firsts for Jalopy. Not only have they taken to the airwaves, they're also kicking off their first open mic, which will be a regular thing. How did Jalopy not already have an open mic? I presume they've been testing out just the right position for the mic so their weird-eyed statue stares at the performer at the creepiest angle possible. 7pm, FREE.

* Wednesday, May 1: Mayday for Sunny's, Bell House: Sunny's is a great, true neighborhood dive in a section of Brooklyn -- Red Hook -- with a great, true neighborhood feel. And, of course, that neighborhood got shellacked by Sandy. Sunny's, hit especially hard, still needs a lot of help to come back. Come get fucking drunk for a cause. 7pm, $30-$60.