Free Events at Littlefield, and a PEN Reading in Carroll Gardens Around the turn of this century, the Miser knew a saxophonist in Brooklyn who would walk to rehearsals in Park Slope from his home in Carroll Gardens. He would head warily down Union Street, past dead, silent factories and the rusting remains of another era. On the Union Street Bridge he'd pause to hear, carried on the chemically compromised air wafting up from the Gowanus Canal underfoot, the high, lonesome singing of the stray dogs that roamed the neighborhood. Rather improbably, the Gowanus section of Brooklyn has, over the last several years, come into its own as a scrappy cultural district. Then again, if living in New York has taught the Miser anything, it's this: Never underestimate the transformative powers of overeducated bohemians, given enough underused industrial space. One of the mainstays of this blossoming scene is the art and performance space Littlefield. And this weekend three of the four events on that club's calendar are free. On Saturday afternoon the online retailer Etsy is taking over the space to host its fourth Spring Handmade Cavalcade, where local artisans will display their wares in real time. The first 100 attendees get a goody bag. Stay on for a reception for the painter Megan Berk, whose stark, spectral cityscapes are on exhibit. Although you won't be charged admission, you'll have to pay $5 for a "Cavalcade cocktail": a mixture of rum, pineapple and lime offered for the occasion. Sunday begins with a 1 p.m. showcase by Gowanus Music Club, a sort of neighborhood "school of rock" for 8-to-16-year-olds, with instruction by local musicians, like the singer Tracy Bonham. Eight bands from the program will be performing. Admission to the show is $10 for adults; $5 for children. The youngsters should probably be cleared out for Sunday's evening program, a free 7:30 performance of Adam Guthman's one-man show, "The Conceit of My Pants," described as something of an extended circular improvisation involving terrifying elements like wormholes, murder, apocalypse and Ayn Rand. It sounds like a laugh to the Miser, at least. Littlefield is a short walk from the Union Street R station, and a longer walk from the Atlantic Terminal. The neighborhood approaches street numbering haphazardly, so don't be afraid to do some cautious poking around into places that look like promising candidates. And remind yourself you are due for a bit of adventure. 622 Degraw Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues; littlefieldnyc.com. About a mile west of Gowanus, in Carroll Gardens, is the Invisible Dog Art Center. Since opening in 2009, this sprawling fortress has become one of Brooklyn's cultural anchors, hosting a staggering number of exhibitions, screenings, readings and performances. On Saturday night "Messiah in Brooklyn," a reading in conjunction with the PEN World Voices Festival, will feature the authors Jennifer Egan and Luc Sante, among others, reading work that addresses "Distorting (A Messiah Project, 13C)," an installation by the artist R. Justin Stewart. (Saturday at 8 p.m.; 51 Bergen Street, at Smith Street; (347) 560-3641; invisibledog.org; $15; $10 for members.)