Join us for the re-launch of the Renaissance Person event series on October 8th at 6:30 pm, join Renaissance Person Founder, Gina McCann and Mike McCann, PhD to build your own, functional paper Foldscope microscope that pairs with your Smartphone! Your ticket includes a lesson on microscopy, a fun and hands-on microscope building experience, a cell phone coupler, and a glass of wine or beer.

Huge thank you to our gracious host, Beahive Beacon!

This is our second event collaboration with Craftsman Ave in Gowanus! Please join us, Craftsman Ave, and Dr. Carmen Campos of PuppetEd as we learn to make unique sock puppets! Tickets include instruction, materials, a lesson on storytelling, and wine/beer! $40

We’re joining the team at Craftsman Ave for a Date Night to remember - tickets include pizza and wine to share and a workshop on Couples Massage from Licensed Massage Therapist, Lauren Miller.

The kind folks at Nazz Forge, a blacksmith shop in Industry City, will be hosting us for a meet-up! Have some drinks and chat with other curious folks, ask questions about blacksmithing, and get a demo of the types of classes they hold at Nazz Forge!

Renaissance Person is thrilled to be joined by Patty Suarez of Sofritos y Salsa, a fantastic Cuban pop-up restaurant featuring dishes from her family's recipes. Learn how to order from a Cuban menu and try SyS's delicious fare.

Additionally, we'll learn how to make mojitos, a popular cocktail in Cuba.

We'll also be joined by a public school history teacher for a quick lesson on Cuban history.

Tickets include small bites from Sofritos y Salsa, a presentation on food, the mojito-making lesson, wine throughout, the history lesson, and a Renaissance Person notebook.

We’re joined by Kristin McLaughlin of Soft Opening BK for an afternoon of plant care and problem diagnosis plus wine and a plant identification challenge where you may win a little plant buddy to take home!

This event is in a private home with two dogs.

Come gather with us at FIB Tattoo Bar in Ditmas Park to learn how to use tattoo guns. We’ll be learning and practicing on melons. Your ticket includes one beer or well drink from the bar.

This event is run by FeverUp and we may be sitting with strangers, but our group should have tables all together!

We’ll be joining our friends at Gowanus Dredgers who will be teaching a lesson on how to tye different knots. Your $5 ticket includes pizza and cold drinks. From the Dredgers:

Let's get ready for canoe season - or almost any challenge life throws at you with at our basic knot-tying bootcamp in the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse. Purchase a $5 ticket so we know you are coming.

Can you tie the perfect knot? Attend our class and learn a variety of basic knots; including the Reef, Granny, bowline, clove, roundturn & two half hitches, rolling hitch, figure eight, sheet bend, anchor bend, truckers hitch. Know how to tie them, when to use them, and what they're good for.

Think you know a special knot? Are some knots better than others? Come share your skills and meet some fellow boaters, learn some new rope tricks, and arrive early to find out what Absurdity Emergency is all about. Pizza and cold beverages will be provided.

Join us for a little party near the Barclays Center on February 4th to celebrate our fourth season (depending on RSVPs, it'll either be three blocks into Fort Greene or three blocks into Prospect Heights). Have drinks and light snacks, meet other curious people, learn to fold a fitted sheet, do some other activities, and let's brainstorm skills for the upcoming year.

We’ll be joined by the wonderful Calley Nelson of Extraordinary Tarot who will be teaching how to read tarot in social settings. From Calley:

Tarot is an easy way to get to know people in a surprising and unique way. In this workshop we'll learn how to connect with friends thoughtfully and respectfully using tarot decks. No prior knowledge of tarot is required, but you can bring your own deck if you'd like.

We're preparing for Halloween by picking up some spooky skills.

We'll be joined by make-up artist Stephanie Mills, who will be teaching us how to use store bought make-up to create realistic cuts and bruises on our hands. Your make-up kits will be yours to keep.

We'll also learn how to make special effects cocktails with RP Founder and former bartender/bartending instructor, Gina Colagioia. We'll make two types of cocktails, including one glowing and one smoking!

Lastly - think you have a scary story to tell? Can you do it in under 5 minutes? Compete against other attendees for a prize!

We have some other surprises up our sleeves and wine and seltzers are included in your ticket! (Dry ticket options available for teetotalers and those under 21 - bring your IDs!)

Join RP and scientists Gaelan and Yadira from Sunset Spark as we convene to do some experiments! Details through the link!

Join Renaissance Person and Dr. Mike McCann in Fort Greene to build your own functional, paper microscope (featuring Foldscope)!

Foldscope was created with a vision to solve an accessibility problem in science. What began as a simple idea has now grown into a company that provides powerful low-cost tools to communities around the world, all in an effort to help advance education, health, and opportunity! By purchasing and using Foldscope, you directly support its mission of bringing Foldscope to communities that often do not have the means to engage in science - both locally and globally.

Your ticket includes instruction, a Foldscope to keep, wine, beer, and seltzer.

Join RP Founder, Gina Colagioia, in her home in Fort Greene to learn to make lobster rolls. We’ll then sit down for dinner with corn, a green salad, and dessert.

BYOB. Full details at the link below!

Canoe the Gowanus? #youcandothat

Meet RP and the Dredgers at the boathouse for a short safety presentation at the shoreline, where you will be outfitted with safety gear before starting your adventure.

Then, embark on a sunset voyage filled with questions and conversation on how recreation can have a positive influence on improving and encouraging environmental awareness and activism in an urban setting.

Paddle along the Gowanus Canal to see a hidden side of New York, including the underside of bridges and a transforming industrial neighborhood. Discover the fun of canoeing as you explore the history of this Brooklyn neighborhood’s rich past, present, and future.

Join RP and Artist, Dan Bina, for a 101 lesson on watercolors. Unlike regular ‘paint n sips’, we’ll discuss paint types, technique, and mixing along with creating a structured painting. Watercolor kits included.

In honor (and in advance) of Bastille Day, we’ll meet at Nomadworks in Midtown for a French cidre (5 kinds from Romilly) and a French cheese (3 kinds from Bedford Cheese Shop) tasting over a crash course on the French Revolution with a language component! Some additional cidre and seltzers are included with your ticket!

Learn fly-tying basics with Orvis in their Bryant Park shop! The 2-hour class will cover tools, materials, and techniques. You will learn to tie the famous Woolly Bugger to take home and try your next time out on the water (or give to a friend that plans to go out on the water).

Tickets are $5 and very limited!

Canoe the Gowanus? #youcandothat

Meet RP and the Dredgers at the boathouse for a short safety presentation at the shoreline, where you will be outfitted with safety gear before starting your adventure.

Then, embark on a voyage filled with questions and conversation on how recreation can have a positive influence on improving and encouraging environmental awareness and activism in an urban setting.

Paddle along the Gowanus Canal to see a hidden side of New York, including the underside of bridges and a transforming industrial neighborhood. Discover the fun of canoeing as you explore the history of this Brooklyn neighborhood’s rich past, present, and future. We will take a sunset cruise along the canal in a canoe.

Join us as we learn to fix common items!

• Basic Tools (Drills and Drivers) with Allison and Taerra from Ms. Fix It

• One hour of mending 101 with Timothy Westbrook, fashion designer and instructor at The New York Sewing Center

By invite only! Been to 3 or more events in the last three years? Check your inbox on Monday, May 6th.

We’re three! Come eat pizza and drink wine and beer and help me brainstorm all the skills we should be learning in NYC.

For the second year in a row, we'll be volunteering at the compost project at the Red Hook Community Farm on April 28th from 10 to 1 in honor of #NationalVolunteerWeek (and also in honor of the passing of David Buckel, RP's first presenter)! This site is the largest compost site in the country run solely on renewable resources (solar, wind, and volunteer labor). More than 2,000 volunteers help in the compost effort each year, converting 150-plus tons of organic matter from waste to rich soil amendment.

Join Gina and Nutrition Chef, Liz King, from Bliss in the Kitchen for a lesson on bread baking and homemade butter.

We’ll be making Mark Bittman’s no-knead loaf and a sourdough loaf, plus discussing how to make and maintain a sourdough starter, and two methods to making your own butter at home.

 Join Renaissance Person for our third season as we explore alternative uses for plants. We'll learn how to make natural dyes, the basics of herbalism, and... proper disposal in case you accidentally leave something out too long.

Guests:

• Barrie Cohen, Anthemia - How to Make Natural Dyes

• Maria Christodoulou, Bliss Without Bother - Herbalism 101

• Domingo Morales, Red Hook Compost - Proper Composting Practices

Join Renaissance Person and VI(R)P, Megan Giller, Editor of Chocolate Noise for a presentation on how to taste bean-to-bar chocolates! Other skills to be announced soon!

In honor of my own birthday month, come drink wine and learn to make some ridiculous decorations with me (giant paper flowers, balloon arches, etc...) and play around with a cupcake decorating station!

Join Renaissance Person and VI(R)P Margaret Kelley (of Margaret Kelley Flowers) as we learn to pick and style flowers from your corner store! Other guests to be announced shortly! Sponsored by Chelsea Garden Center!

***NEW DATE***

Join Renaissance Person and Pete Raho of Gowanus Audio at his in-home studio in (surprise) Gowanus on Wednesday, May 16th from 7-8:45. Pete will teach us how amps and speakers work (in the "break them open and take them apart" kind of way), how to make changes to existing units, and (in his words) "the difference between 'ok' and 'holy shit that sounds amaaaaazing'." Tickets are $5 and include beers from Brooklyn Brewery. Space is limited.