5 Things: Mother's Day Cash Mob and 17th Century Food Talk

1. You need to keep independent businesses in business. Help a local business and meet likeminded people at the , where people converge on a locally owned business and buy something. The group will meet in front of , and head together to Lily and Fig. Afterwards they'll go to an area bar. 736 Franklin Ave., 2 p.m.  

2. You need some intellectual stimulation ... but you want to go to the park. Do both at Lefferts Historic House's  lecture, where food historian Peter Rose as she delves into a 17th-century Dutch cookbook and gardening handbook with an illustrated lecture. Lefferts Historic House at Prospect Park (Use entrance at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush and Ocean Avenues), 1 p.m. Free.  

3. You need to get the kids out of the house. After the lecture above, stay at Lefferts Historic House for Race around the Farmyard. Lefferts Historic House at Prospect Park (Use entrance at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush and Ocean Avenues), 2:30-3:30 p.m. Free. See our  for more options. 

4. You need to know if your train is running ... There are no planned service changes affecting Prospect Heights stations today, however all weekend there are no No. 4 trains south of Brooklyn Bridge, according to the MTA. 

5. ... And if you have to move your car. Not today of course, but grab a Tues/Thurs spot if you can, because alternate side won't be suspended again until Thursday, May 17, for Solemnity of the Ascension, according to the NYCDOT.