David Furst: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm David Furst in for Alison Stewart who is enjoying a three day weekend. She'll be back on Monday. It's Friday. I work weekends. My Saturdays and Sundays are probably not like yours so let me live vicariously through you. Tell me about the things that happen in the world. Call in and share with us what you are doing this weekend. Call or text us right now at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. You can also write to us on social media @allofitwnyc, any events that you want to shout out that your fellow listeners should consider checking out this weekend.

How do you like to enjoy New York, especially during this time of year as we have officially entered into springtime, or are the allergies so rough right now that you're planning an indoor weekend? 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. Write to us social media @allofitwnyc. While we get ready to take your calls, let's hear a bit about what team All Of It is up to this weekend. Here's some of the mix from All Of Its' producers.

Andrea, who typically likes to be a homebody on the weekends is unusually busy this weekend. Saturday afternoon she's planning to see the new work by dancer and choreographer, Kyle Abraham, at The Joyce Theater. Then she's hoping to see Sinners in the evening with her kids. Sunday she's taking her son to the SUNY College Fair. Oh, boy, as college applications will be the next big project for her family. That will take up much more than a weekend for sure. Oh, she's going to to watch The Last of Us, even though she's still mad about last week's episode.

Okay, that is a very full weekend. If you have any weekend plans you would like to share, 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Producer Jordan has another busy weekend full of wedding activities. She's going to be going to pre-wedding drinks tonight at Strong Rope Brewery in Red Hook. That's an incredible name by the way, Strong Rope Brewery. Tomorrow she's going to be going to the spring showcase for the Brooklyn Quilters Guild, which her friend is featured in. Tomorrow night she'll be dancing the night away at the Ace Hotel at a friend's wedding.

To wrap it all up on Sunday, she's heading up to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees take on the Blue Jays and hoping that Aaron Judge will hit yet another home run. Wow, these are some amazing weekend plans. This is already filling me with things that I could be doing this weekend. 212-433-9692, that's 212-433-WNYC. We have a text right now. Someone writing in to say this weekend, "I'm going to see Seth Meyers and John Oliver perform at the Beacon Theater. Can't wait." That's a very cool weekend activity.

Another text right now, someone saying, "I will be running the Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon." Very cool. That is happening this weekend as well. If you want to tell us about your weekend plans, again, the number 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. Kate Hines, of course, WNYC producer, extremely focused on bird watching. It's amazing actually that she's here with us today and not already out there doing the bird watching. We are coming up on peak migration. That is what Kate has planned, probably as soon as we finish here, birding for the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday, she is co-leading a New York Public radio bird walk in Central Park with Jason Saul, WNYC's program director. Here is a very fun fact about Jason. He is a former managing producer for BirdNote, a two minute radio show about birds, so he knows his stuff. That is happening on Sunday, co-leading a New York Public radio bird walk in Central Park. She's also going to rewatch the last couple of episodes of Season 1 of Andor so she can refresh her memory before starting Season 2, which as we heard earlier, Nick Qua said just came out, so she'll be catching up.

We're going to take your calls and hear what you have planned this weekend. The number, oh my gosh, how could I forget the number so quickly? 212-433-WNYC, and let's take one of your calls right now. Marie from Manhattan, welcome. Do you have weekend plans?

Marie: Hi. Actually, I was just telling the person with whom I was speaking that there is a nationwide organization called Aging in Place and it has local chapters. The Dutch somehow named the Upper west side where I live Bloomingdale. We have a Bloomingdale Aging in Place. While we don't have specific weekend activities that I know of, every Thursday we play softball and you have to be 65 or older to do it. We play it on this incredible field in the park right on the Hudson River, practically.

David Furst: Wow.

Marie: It's just very charming. It's wonderful company and a view that you can possibly not beat. It's all priceless.

David Furst: That sounds spectacular. Tell me about what the games are like. Are they very fun games? You talk about the wonderful company. How serious does it get?

Marie: They're fun but fierce.

David Furst: Fun but fierce. How long have you been doing this?

Marie: A couple of years now, I, but other people have been doing it for longer. Then we usually support one of the local restaurants. Afterward, we gather there, and have coffee, food, beer, whatever. It's just a really delightful group of people from all walks of life that are now retired. It's really, really terrific. If you're ever in our area on a Thursday, for the next few Thursdays, I think maybe five more will be playing, swinging away.

David Furst: This is all involved with the nationwide organization, Aging in Place. What's your local chapter?

Marie: Bloomingdale. The Dutch must have sailed up the Hudson River when all the flowers were in bloom, and they gave it a Dutch name beginning with B that translated into English as Bloomingdale. Our library on 100th Street is the Bloomingdale Public Library, which has wonderful free films on Mondays. They recently showed the Conclave, about electing the new pope.

David Furst: Yes.

Marie: It's just an astounding place to be.

David Furst: That's wonderful, Marie. Thank you for sharing. If you would like to join the conversation, 212-433-9692. Tell us about your weekend plans or something. We should get out there and check out during the springtime in New York City, 212-433-WNYC. Tamara calling from Seaford, Long Island. Welcome to All Of It.

Tamara: Thank you. Hello. Thank you for taking my call.

David Furst: Of course.

Tamara: I'm originally from Seattle, born and raised. I came over in 2022. I like to use my weekends to explore my new world. I have been in north, south, east, and west on Long Island. Haven't made it out to Montauk yet, but I get in my vehicle and I just drive.

David Furst: You are exploring. What's one of the highlights for you?

Tamara: Finding that big white duck up in Flannery, Flattery, up there, somewhere. I didn't know where I was, and so I posted on the Facebook page for Long Island Photography, and they told me where I was, so finding things. The gargoyles on St. Patrick's Church. That's me.

David Furst: That's great. Tamara, thank you for sharing and keep exploring. That's a great weekend idea. 212-433-9692, we have a text here. Here's a question. What is better on a warm spring weekend than a walk in the park, or watching the sunset over the east river, a cocktail, and a meal al fresco? Right there there's a great weekend activity. Let's hear from another call. This is Rosaria coming from Bergen County. Welcome to All Of It.

Rosaria: Hello. Thank you so much. I'm a native New Yorker stuck in New Jersey. Yes, unfortunately. I wanted to share something that seems boring, but I feel very blessed. My sister owns a dance studio down in South Jersey and she has a competition this weekend. She lives with our 96 year old mom who's in good health. I'm going tonight, and I will be with her all weekend. We look at old albums and we reminisce. It's just a real joy.

David Furst: That's a fantastic idea for a weekend plan. Thank you so much for sharing. Let's see. Oh, we're getting a lot of calls right now. Let's hear from Carlotta. Welcome to All Of It.

Carlotta: Hi, thanks for taking my call. I also work on the weekends. I'm a musician.

David Furst: Oh, excellent.

Carlotta: I am going to be playing at an eyeglasses store on Bleecker Street in the Village called SEE Eyewear. They're having a very big trunk show. They have beautiful glasses for great prices. I'm going to be playing original music and a lot of eclectic covers from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at SEE Eyewear on Bleecker Street on Saturday.

David Furst: Tell us about a little bit more about your band.

Carlotta: I write music. I'm a singer and guitar player based in New Jersey. I do everything from classic rock to singer-songwriter stuff to jazz. I do everything. This particular show is more a singer-songwritery folk rocky set at SEE Eyewear on Bleecker Street.

David Furst: That's great. Thank you for sharing. If you would like to join the conversation, 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. I'm David Furst. This is All Of It, in for Alison Stewart, enjoying a three day weekend right now. Let's hear about your weekend plans. Right now let's hear from Elizabeth calling in from Montrose. Welcome to All Of It.

Elizabeth: Hi, David. Thanks so much. I'm excited because this weekend, I'm from New York, but I'm going out to Sparta, New Jersey to see a really special show. It's on Sunday afternoon. It's called Being Somebody at the Sparta Avenue Stage. The star of the show is 89 years old. He's a brilliant psychologist. He started his acting debut at 87. He's doing the show with his performing artist daughter. It's a father-daughter tale. They take us back in time. It's inspiring, it's hopeful, and it reminds us of the things that really matter in life. I'm really excited about the show on Sunday.

David Furst: Elizabeth, inspiring and hopeful. Those sound like two wonderful things for us at this moment.

Elizabeth: Yes, really.

David Furst: That's happening. Tell us again. That's Sparta Avenue Stage.

Elizabeth: It's at the Sparta Avenue Stage. It's in Sparta, New Jersey. It's at four o'clock on Sunday afternoon. It's beautiful. It is an experience that people come back to see again and again and it takes us back to the moments that really matter in our life.

David Furst: That is great. Thank you very much for sharing. This is All Of It on WNYC. If you'd like to join the conversation, 212-433-9692. We have a text right now from West Village nature writer, Keith Mitchell, who leads informal tours, mainly bird and lizard watching. Okay, Bird and lizard watching. That's one of those tours happening this Sunday, April 27th. Let's hear another call. This is Julia in Manhattan. Welcome to All Of It.

Julia: Hi. Thank you.

David Furst: Do you have a weekend planned? Are you involved in a weekend activity?

Julia: Yes. I'm a singer and a musician. This weekend is The Loser's Lounge tribute to Dusty Springfield-

David Furst: Oh, wow.

Julia: -at Joe's Pub. There's two shows tonight and tomorrow night, one at 7:00 and one at 9:30. I think there's some tickets available. It's a really, really fun show. I highly recommend it.

David Furst: You're going to be singing and this is happening at Joe's Pub, a tribute to Dusty Springfield.

Julia: Yes, The Loser's Lounge, which is an iconic New York collective of musicians. They've been around, I think, going strong for over 30 years now in New York, kind of an institution.

David Furst: Here's a bit of a description right here. Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge are excited to present the music of the queen of blue-eyed soul, Dusty Springfield. You're ready to sing?

Julia: I am ready to sing, and I'm going to wear blue eyeshadow.

David Furst: That's great. Thank you so much for joining us on All Of It. Thank you for that weekend plan. Let's hear from Dan calling in from Manhattan.

Dan the Handyman: Hey, I'm Dan the Handyman.

David Furst: Dan the Handyman, what do you got planned?

Dan the Handyman: I'm starting a handyman class this weekend. Then I'm looking for more people for the next round. I'm going to teach pretty much Handyman 101 in Long Island City at my shop.

David Furst: Hold on a second. Handyman 101 sounds like one of the most desperately needed classes in existence. Tell us more about this class.

Dan the Handyman: You're telling me. Good business for me, but I believe everybody should be a little bit handy, and they lost that over the years. I'm trying to find people that want to learn how to do their own thing, put myself out of business while I'm doing it, but I like teaching, so looking forward to it.

David Furst: Okay, Dan, thank you very much. That sounds like a great idea and a great weekend plan. Let's hear now from Tracy in Montclair, New Jersey. Welcome.

Tracy: Hi. Thanks for taking my call. I was saying, my husband and I are heading to Pennsylvania tomorrow to watch the Penn Relays. We have our daughter and three teammates from the Montclair Kimberley Academy making their debut in the 4 by 400 relay, which is at 10:03 tomorrow. We're very excited.

David Furst: Very exciting. Thank you for sharing. My goodness, we have a lot of calls coming through right now and a lot of texts. Some great weekend ideas. Here's one. Someone going to see Aida at the Metropolitan Opera Sunday at 3:00 PM with Angel Blue in the title role. They have a friend visiting from Florida. This is going to be a treat for her. This is coming from Steve in Hell's Kitchen. Steve, thank you very much for sharing. Let's take another call. Oh, my goodness. Angela, in Brooklyn, welcome to All Of It. Do you have weekend plans?

Angela: Yes, I do. My mom, and I, as I told the screener, have been having trouble communicating lately because she's a Trump voter and I'm not. Every conversation we have seems to degenerate into that. We decided we're going to do some family history research and work on a family tree. I'm really excited because I feel like this is something we can talk about that won't go into arguing or that kind of stuff.

David Furst: This was a mutual decision to focus on something else-

Angela: Right, yes. [unintelligible 00:16:40] She's thinking about that.

David Furst: -but to still be together?

Angela: Yes, exactly. I'm very excited about it.

David Furst: How great is it that you're excited about that? That's fantastic.

Angela: Yes, it should be fun.

David Furst: Angela, thank you for sharing that information. Let me mention the phone number again, 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. It's Friday afternoon. We're talking about weekend plans. I'm David Furst in for Alison Stewart. This is All Of It. We're hearing from a lot of you, hearing about a lot of your weekend plans. Ginny, in Brooklyn. Do you have a weekend planned for yourself?

Ginny: Yes, I'm going to the Brooklyn Quilt Show on Saturday and Sunday. It's going to be at 163 26th Street in Brooklyn. It's all Brooklyn people who love quilting are going to be showing their wares.

David Furst: Very cool. I'm getting word this is the same show that All Of It producer, Jordan, is going to. This is the place to be.

Ginny: This is the place to be. There's a $10 charge to get in, but if you have to buy the ticket at the door, it's $12. It's worth it because the quilts are absolutely beautiful and my daughter has four of them in the show. I hope everybody gets out and looks at these quilts.

David Furst: That is fantastic. Thank you for sharing. We have a lot of texts. Oh, here's a good one. "I live in the great state of New Jersey. No regrets here." I live in the great state of New Jersey, too. Thank you for sticking up for us there. "What I enjoy doing, I want to get out and bird watch and appreciate nature this weekend, participating in an Earth Day cleanup at a local park." What a fantastic idea. Thank you for sharing your weekend plan.

We have a caller here. I think we have a caller here. You have to let me know because this person was driving and perhaps has pulled over. Perhaps is in a safe, safe place now. Taji, do I have that right? Okay, dropped the call so not in a safe space yet. If you're listening, call us back. We'll see if we can get you on. Here's a great text. Someone texting in to say they're getting away with best friends of 25 years to Rhinebeck, New York. That's a fantastic idea. Getting together with friends. Sometimes it's just as simple as that. That's a fantastic weekend plan right there.

Someone wants to know how to contact Dan the Handyman. They are very interested in that class. Maybe we need to hear back from Dan. If you're listening, let us know more information about how to get in touch and hear more about your Handyman 101 class. Thank you for letting us know about it. We'll try to get to that. Before we wrap up here, we have time for another call. Let's see if we can take Nora right now. Nora, welcome to All Of It. Do you have a weekend plan?

Nora: Thank you. Yes. For years now, I'm a singer. I've been busking at the South Gate House of the Central Park Reservoir on weekends. It looks like Sunday will be the day I'll be there this weekend because Saturday looks like a washout. It started because I wanted to have something to do while I waited for open mics, which are not happening any longer, the ones I used to go to.

I've grown so much as a singer, and I love it. I'm doing very broadly the songbook, but through the Ellington song you never heard, the Fats Waller song you never heard, and the Rogers & Hart ballad you never heard. It's a real joy. There for the hearing, but of course, donations are gladly accepted.

David Furst: That's fantastic. Where is that happening again?

Nora: The South Gate House of the Central Park Reservoir. I usually show up somewhere between-- A little before noon and 12:30, I try to get there on the earlier side, but it doesn't always work out. I'm there for a few hours.

David Furst: You're there for a few hours?

Nora: More than a few. Yes. As Billie Holiday said, just Me and My Old Voice, which is a tough sell for some people, but I maintain that acapella solo singing is music.

David Furst: That is great. Thank you very much for sharing. Oh, I think we have information about how to get in touch with Dan the Handyman. Let's see here, teamhandydan.com, so teamhandydan, D-A-N.com. That is some helpful information there for some handyman training. Someone else texting in to say they're going to visit the flower Garden on 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus. The tulips are in bloom and it's beautiful. That's a fantastic plan right there.

Oh my gosh, so many other plans. We're not going to have time to mention them all at this moment. Thank you so much for calling in and letting us know all of your weekend plans. This is All Of It on WNYC. We'll be right back after a break.