Culture Lab LIC is preparing for a bumper weekend of events, including the venue’s first-ever Halal Festival and the launch of a new horror-themed play.
Culture Lab, located at 5-25 46th Ave., will host its first annual NYC Halal Festival from 12 noon until 8 p.m.. on Saturday, Oct. 5, featuring 25 food vendors serving only Halal food.
The event, organized by Muslim Foodies, features popular vendors such as Terry and Yaki, Talkin’ Tacos and Fluffie’s Hot Chicken.
NYC Halal Festival follows on from previous cultural events that proved enormously popular at Culture Lab, including last month’s Korea Fest, which drew around 10,000 people throughout the day, and a Venezuelan festival held earlier in the year.
Edjo Wheeler, executive director of Culture Lab, said it is exciting to hold a festival dedicated to Halal food, adding that he wants to ensure that people who eat Halal food are represented in Long Island City.
“So many people need halal food and to have a whole festival of it – that’s pretty exciting to me,” Wheeler said.
Culture Lab will also launch its production of playwright Riley Elton McCarthy’s new horror play “I’m Going to Eat You Alive” this Thursday, Oct. 3. The play, which will run until Oct. 27, follows a geologist who makes his way across America, eating rocks from different national landmarks.
The play deals with themes of incentivizing profiting off of nature, male mental illness and toxicity in queer spaces. It also follows the protagonist, Roach, as he is confronted by his ex-girlfriend, who has been released from prison after killing Roach’s mother.
Wheeler described the concept of a horror play as “super interesting and rare,” further describing the production as very intensive.
Wheeler added that Culture Lab can accommodate audiences of around 75 guests for the show, with tickets starting at $10 for the opening weekend.
Culture Lab will also host its bi-weekly comedy night, Nice One! Comedy, on Thursday, Oct. 3. The comedy night and the new horror play will run simultaneously in two different spaces.
On Saturday, Culture Lab will launch “Big Feelings” – a free immersive puppet show for children aged 6-10 that helps young children explore emotions. The new puppet show, presented by Little Clouds and Culture Lab for Kids, will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, Sunday Oct. 6, Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13.
Pup-Up, Culture Lab’s monthly dog adoption event, will also return to the venue this Sunday from 12 noon until 4 p.m. for a Halloween-themed special.
The event will be the last Pup-Up adoption event at Culture Lab for 2024 and will feature five different dog rescues and 10 different dog vendors.
Previous Pup-Up events have drawn crowds of around 400 people, with many people bringing their own dogs to play in a mini-dog park erected for the occasion or to avail of the treats and toys on offer.
Dog owners are encouraged to dress their dogs in their spookiest Halloween outfits for Sunday’s finale.
Rounding off a frantic weekend at Culture Lab is the venue’s weekly outdoor concert series. The series, which will come to an end for 2024 at the end of the month, features a performance from New York-based singer-songwriter Ian Miller at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a performance from the Allison Philips Quartet at 6:30 p.m.
Wheeler said the broad variety of cultural performances and events on display at Culture Lab this weekend is reflective of the venue’s ethos.
“Saturdays are my favorite day at Culture Lab,” Wheeler said. “Typically, the space is programmed from 8:30 a.m. until 10 o’clock at night. It’s always very, very broad.”
