BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP BUZZ FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 27 BROOKLYN
CULTURE BRIEFS
COMPILED BY JAIME DEJESUS
VALENTINE’S DAY
BOUQUETS
Get into the season of love. Join Brooklyn
based expert florist Mindy Cardozo at
Green-Wood Cemetery for an evening workshop
to learn how to make a truly unique floral
arrangement for Valentine’s Day. Whether
you’re super crafty or super klutzy, Cardozo
will guide you through the process and explain
how to use a variety of seasonal flowers
and plants to add your own distinct touches.
All supplies are included, as well as warm
refreshments and seasonal treats. This event
will take place in the Historic Chapel at Green-
Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, on Tuesday,
February 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $55 for non-members, $50 for
members. For more information, visit www.
green-wood.com.
MARVEL UNIVERSE LIVE!
Comic fans and children alike will enjoy
“Marvel Universe Live! Age of Heroes” at
Barclays Center, a live, action-packed battle
to defend the universe from evil.
This all new show unites Spider-Man,
the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy
and Doctor Strange in a race against time to
recover the Wand of Watoomb before Loki
gains control. Witness the cutting-edge special
effects, aerial stunts and immersive video
projection in this legendary adventure.
The show premieres on Thursday, February
22 at Barclays Center, at 7 p.m. and will be
performed until Sunday, February 25. Tickets
start at $15. For more information, visit www.
barclayscenter.com.
A TRIBUTE TO BASQUIAT
Head over to the Brooklyn Museum as its
Brooklyn Talks series presents “A Tribute to
Basquiat.”
In honor of its exhibition One Basquiat,
contemporary artists and collaborators
will pay homage to the resounding legacy of
Jean-Michel Basquiat in Brooklyn and beyond.
In celebration of the ways in which art shapes
lives, participants will discuss a work of art
in Basquiat’s oeuvre that has inspired them.
Participants include Cey Adams, graffiti artist
and former creative director of Def Jam, artist
and actor Lee Quiñones, and photographer
Maripol.
The event will take place on Thursday, February
15 at 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Museum,
200 Eastern Parkway. Tickets start at $20. For
more information, visit www.brooklynmuseum.
org
Aviator Sports brings retro gaming
to Brooklyn with its first expo
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Retro gaming is coming back
to Brooklyn in a big way.
On Saturday February,
17 Aviator Sports and Events
Center, 3159 Flatbush Avenue, will
be hosting its first annual Retro
Gaming Tournament & Expo.
Retro gaming events and expos
have become widely popular
throughout the country; however,
very few have been hosted
in the borough, one exception
being last year’s Brooklyn Geek
Fest, hosted
by Bay Ridge
video game
store Gotham
City Games.
This expo is
aiming to be
the biggest ever
in the borough,
thanks
to the 175,000-square-foot space,
a variety of exhibitors, an area for
buying and trading games, panel
discussions, auctions and more.
Group Sales Executive at Aviator
Sports and Events Center
Daniel Almodovar is excited to
bring the event to the space.
“I think retro gaming is huge,” he
said. "It’s something that a lot of people
are into. To really get it all in one
place, I think it’s a great opportunity
to host an event like this.”
Thus far, feedback for the first
event has already been positive
and the organizers have also been
listening to suggestions.
“We’ve gotten a lot of great
feedback. On our Facebook event
page, we just made a post asking
what people were going to bring
and we got a lot of good feedback,”
he added. “People are bringing
games, autographed pictures,
comics, old consoles. There’s going
to be a podcast that reached out to
us doing a live podcast.”
Author, assistant director of the
journalism program and full time
lecturer of English at Kingsborough
Community College, Patrick Hickey
Jr. is hosting a panel focusing on
his new book, The Minds Behind
the Games: Interviews With Cult
and Classic Video Game Developers
(Studies in Gaming) as well as an
another on an indie video game he’s
working on.
“To be a part of something this
large in Brooklyn is special to me
for a variety of reasons,” Hickey
said. “To discuss my first book and
my first foray into the video game
industry as a story editor and voice
actor, in two separate panels, is like
a dream. The Brooklyn video game
community is a hungry one and I’m
ready to help feed their need for
information and fun.”
One of the highlights of the full
day will be the tournament component,
as attendees battle it out
in various popular competitive
games in exchange for prizes.
“Because Aviator is a sports
complex, we went with retro
sports games, so we’re going
to be having classic games like
‘NHL 94,’ 'NBA Jam' and ‘WWF No
Mercy’ and we just added ‘Super
Smash Brothers Melee,’” he said.
“The tournament is going to be
sponsored by different vendors.
I know Gotham City Games is
going to be hosting one of the
tournaments as well. Different
tournaments will have different
prizes with vendors. It could be
tickets to Geek Fest. Also, Long
Island Retro Gaming Expo is
giving away tickets to their expo.
There’s a lots up for grabs.”
If you’re not the competitive
type and just want to check out
all the rare items and shop, that’s
available for attendees as well. In
the gym area, there will be a buy,
sell and trade section where there
will be comics, older games and
modern stuff.
“We are working with a
company that is setting up a
silent auction,” said Almodovar.
“There will be a mix of sports
memorabilia like Stan Leesigned
merchandi
se.
T h e y ’ r e
going to
have a Star
Wars piece
so there’s
going to
be something
for
everyone.
We have different
sections. One section with
free play will be like a basement,
with a couch and TV set up. We
are going to have the podcast in
another corner.”
Cosplay will also be a part of the
day, so make sure to dress as your
favorite comic and/or video game
characters.
What makes vintage gaming so
popular? "I think a large reason
for it is accessibility," replied Almodovar.
"Nintendo just released its
remastered console. It's more accessible
to younger kids playing those
games. There’s always a market for
it. When kids get older, they become
the retro gamers and play the games
they played when they were kids."
The Aviator Retro Gaming
Tournament & Expo will be held
on Saturday, February 17 from 11
a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets are $10, $5 for
children 12 and under. To participate
in the tournament (including
expo admission), the cost is $20.
For more information,
visit Tinyurl.com/
AviatorRetroTournamentExpo.
Photos courtesy
of Aviator
Vintage
gaming will
be in the
forefront at
Aviator’s first Retro
Gaming Tournament
and Expo.