Museums and Sites
Museum of the Moving Image: ‘See It Big!’ (Friday through Sunday) This film series devoted to films best seen on the big screen continues this weekend with “Brazil” (1985), directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Ian Holm and Michael Palin (Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.), and “Blue Velvet” (1986), directed by David Lynch and featuring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell (Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m.). 35th Avenue at 37th Street, Astoria, Queens, (718) 784-0077, movingimage.us; free with museum admission: $12, $9 for students and 65+, $6 for children 3 to 17 years old, free for members and children under 3.
New-York Historical Society: ‘Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History’ (Saturday) The final day of beer tasting in conjunction with the exhibition “Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History” (running through Sept. 2), features samples from the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, at 2 and 4 p.m. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, (212) 873-3400, nyhistory.org; $35, $20 for members.
New York Society Library: ‘Edith Wharton’s New York City: A Backward Glance’ (through Dec. 31) This exhibition, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the writer’s birth (which is Jan. 24), includes family photographs, books and ledgers documenting the book-borrowing habits of her father, George Frederic Jones. Summer hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weekend hours resume in September. 53 East 79th Street, Manhattan, (212) 288-6900, nysoclib.org; free.
New York Transit Museum: ‘ElectriCity: Powering New York’s Rails’ (continuing) A display of items from the collection, including switches and circuit breakers, that illustrates how electricity powers the subway system. Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, (718) 694-1600, mta.info/mta/museum; $7, $5 for those ages 2 to 17 and 62+, free for members and for 62+ on Wednesdays.
Paley Center for Media: Horton Foote (Sunday) The third in a four-part series highlighting the teleplays of this Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who died in 2009 at 92, will feature “Playhouse 90: Old Man,” a 1958 CBS adaptation of a William Faulkner story, starring Sterling Hayden and Geraldine Page. At 12:30 p.m., 25 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 621-6800, paleycenter.org; $10, $8 for students, $5 for children under 14 and free for members.
Gardens
Music in the Garden: Pop Tunes from the 1940s to the 1990s (Sunday) Songs by performers like Johnny Cash and Van Morrison will be covered by the group Earth (Eart’ Acte) at 6 p.m. The concert is free, as is entry to the garden on Sundays after 4 p.m.; spectators should take along seating. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, Queens, (718) 886-3800, queensbotanical.org.
Wave Hill: BxIndie Music at Sunset (Wednesday) Rhythm and blues is on the bill for this outdoor performance by the Jacqueline Flowers Quintet at 7 p.m.; spectators can provide their own seating. Free with admission, $8, $4 for students and 65+, $2 for children 6 to 18 and free for those under 6. West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Riverdale, the Bronx, (718) 549-3200, wavehill.org.
Events
Amsterdam Avenue Fair (Sunday) From noon to 5 p.m., between 79th and 86th Streets.
Arsenal Gallery: ‘Parkcentric: Photographs From the Museum of the City of New York, 1890-1940’ (Friday and Monday through Thursday) These are the last days to view the exhibition of historic photographs of New Yorkers at play from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York. More than 65 images by photographers like Jacob Riis, Berenice Abbott and others can be seen from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Park at East 64th Street, nycgovparks.org; free.
‘Dream Up Festival’ (Friday through Sept. 9) Experimental theater works from the United States and abroad continue to fill performance spaces at the Theater for the New City during this three-week festival. Several productions are scheduled this weekend, featuring comedy, music and a one-person performance. For a schedule, dreamupfestival.org. 155 First Avenue, at 10th Street, East Village, (212) 254-1109; tickets range from $12 to $15.
‘eMerge: Danny Simmons Artists on the Cusp’ (continuing through Sept. 7) Works by the artist Danny Simmons and nine emerging artists, some of whom have used items like buttons and thumbtacks in their pieces, are included in the show on view at the Strivers Gardens Gallery, 300 West 135th Street, Hamilton Heights. The show can be seen by appointment, (646) 320-0514. striversgardensgallery.vpweb.com.
15th Street Union Square Fair (Friday) From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 15th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue, Gramercy Park.
Film Screening on the High Line (Daily through Sept. 13) Screenings of “One11 and 103,” a 1992 film of light and sound by the composer John Cage, will run from 1 to 11 p.m. daily, in the High Line 14th Street Passage (at 10th Avenue). The screenings, which coincide with the 100th anniversary of Cage’s birth (he was born Sept. 5, 1912), are part of High Line Channel 14, a series sponsored by the Friends of the High Line and Electronic Arts Intermix. thehighline.org/about/public-art/cage.
‘FringeNYC on Fourth’ (Saturday and Sunday) East Fourth Street, between the Bowery and Second Avenue, will be closed to traffic and open to entertainment each day from noon to 6 p.m. The event, also sponsored by the city’s Department of Transportation, is part of the New York International Fringe Festival, which runs through Sunday (fringenyc.org)..
Hudson River Park: Blues BBQ (Saturday) This annual celebration — the 13th — of music and food will run from 2 to 9 p.m. at Pier 84, 12th Avenue, near 44th Street. Sponsored by the Friends of Hudson River Park and the Hudson Park Trust. (212) 627-2020, hudsonriverpark.org; free, but food is additional.
Hudson Warehouse: ‘Richard III’ (Friday through Sunday and Thursday) It’s time for Shakespeare in the park — Riverside Park — with the Hudson Warehouse’s production of “Richard III” on the north patio behind the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. (Cushioned seating can be found on nearby stairs and benches.) The show is the third of the group’s free summer season, which has included Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” as well as Aphra Behn’s “Rover.” (Through Sept. 2.) At 6:30 p.m., Riverside Drive and West 89th Street, hudsonwarehouse.net; free.
Impact 2012: A Festival of Political Art (Friday and Saturday) The last weekend of this festival, presented by the Culture Project and devoted to political and social issues, will focus on American foreign policy and the media, with screenings of short films each day beginning at 7 p.m. Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, near Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 925-1806, cultureproject.org; pay what you wish.
‘In Around C: A Participatory Music and Art Installation’ (Friday through Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday) For lovers of new music, the sounds can’t get any fresher than those being made at this installation at Gallery One Twenty Eight on the Lower East Side. Visitors themselves create the music as they step onto a gigantic staff on the gallery floor, turning into B flats or F sharps, while live musicians and D.J.’s watch from a television screen at the back of the gallery and play the new works. The “notes” are encouraged to dance, jump and cavort away as musicians keep up with the action via images transmitted every 10 seconds. The installation, which runs through Thursday, is a collaboration of the Nouveau Classical Project — a group devoted to introducing new and classical music to diverse audiences — and the artist Mad Mohre, who conceived the project. A rotating cast of musicians has been featured, with performers this weekend to include the ensembles Hotel Elefant on Friday and Tristan McKay and Friends on Saturday, and Peri Mauer, a cellist and composer, on Sunday. And don’t think the music stops at intermissions; then it’s time for “In C ++,” a computer program designed by Gabriel Taubman, a project collaborator, to interpret visitors’ antics. The gallery is at 128 Rivington Street; (212) 674-0244; nouveauclassical.org. Hours are Friday, Saturday and Thursday, 1 to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m.; and Wednesday, 1 to 7 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $10.
Lexington Avenue Fair (Saturday) From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between 42nd and 57th Streets.
Music and Yoga in Lincoln Square (Wednesday) This series of music and exercise comes to an end this week with performances of early American music by the Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues and the Ukuladies, from noon to 2 p.m. The series has been presented by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District, in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Richard Tucker Park, Broadway and 66th Street, (212) 581-3774, lincolnsquarebid.org; free.
‘Myronic’: Magic With Myron the Magnificent (Sunday) This is the last performance by Myron the Magnificent (a k a Herb Scher) and his assistant, Vera (a k a Susan Hwang), of magic tricks associated with Harry Houdini (the sympathetic silks) as well as those passed down from his ancestors, Mervyn the Magnificent and Marvin the Magnificent. The show is part of the New York International Fringe Festival. At noon, Players Theater, 115 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, (866) 468-7619, fringenyc.org, myronthemagnificent.com; $15 in advance, $18 at the door.
92nd Street Y: Jimmy Kimmel (Monday) This late-night talk show host, who is scheduled to host the Emmy Awards on Sept. 23, will discuss his life and career with Bill Carter, a media reporter for The New York Times. At 8 p.m., 1395 Lexington Avenue, (212) 415-5500, 92y.org; $29.
NYC Police Museum Fair (Sunday) From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Broad Street between Water and South Streets, Lower Manhattan.
Pakistan Independence Day Parade and Street Fair (Sunday) The annual parade on Madison Avenue steps off at 1 p.m., at 37th Street, and heads south to 23rd Street, where a fair will follow.
Photography Display: ‘The American President’ (ongoing) Photographs of many of our presidents at work and play, taken by photographers with The Associated Press, are included in this exhibition at the Federal Hall National Memorial, 26 Wall Street. More than 80 photographs, including Pulitzer Prize-winning shots are on display through the end of the year. Viewing hours, Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; nps.gov/feha/index.htm; free.
‘Political Subversities: Global Warm THIS!’ (Saturday) The newest installment of skits lampooning politics and popular culture by the People’s Improv Theater, running Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. People’s Improv Theater, 123 East 24th Street, Manhattan, (212) 563-7488, thepit-nyc.com; $15.
‘Warm Up 2012’ (Saturday) The outdoor performances continue at this summer series of experimental music and sound running through Sept. 8. This week the lineup includes the D.J.’s Just Blaze, Nick Catchdubs and Danny Brown and the groups Fool’s Gold, the Stallions and BAIO. The music runs from 2 to 9 p.m. MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, (718) 784-2084, ps1.org; $15, or free for museum members and Long Island City residents.
West Fourth Street Festival (Saturday) From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Avenue of the Americas and University Place, Greenwich Village.
Walking Tours
Flatiron District Walking Tour (Sundays) A free tour of the Flatiron district will meet at 11 a.m. on the southwest corner of Madison Square Park, at 23rd Street and Broadway, in front of the William Seward statue. Sponsored by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership; discoverflatiron.org; free.
Revolutionary War History Tours (Saturday and Sunday) The 236th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn — also known as the Battle of Long Island — a major skirmish of the Revolutionary War, will be commemorated by several walking tours. On Saturday, Revolutionary War sites in Lower Manhattan will be visited by Big Onion Walking Tours, meeting at 11 a.m. at Broadway and Murray Street; $18, $15 for students and 63+; (212) 439-1090; bigonion.com. Brooklyn war sites in Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill are the destinations for a tour sponsored by NYC Discovery Tours on Sunday at 2 p.m. that will also include stops for samplings of local cuisine; it costs $27, and the meeting place will be given with reservations: (212) 465-3331. The rivalry between two major Revolutionary War figures — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr — will be covered on a tour led by In Depth Walking Tours meeting Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. on the northeast corner of West Broadway and Park Place; $20, $15 for 65+; (917) 607-9019; indepthwalkingtours.com.
‘Union Square: Crossroads of New York’ (Saturday) A tour focusing on the area’s political history meets at 2 p.m. by the statue of Lincoln in Union Square Park, near the 16th Street transverse. Sponsored by the Union Square Partnership. (212) 517-1826, unionsquarenyc.org; free.
Recreation
Harlem Week Health Walk and Run (Saturday) Two events to celebrate good health and the vibrancy of the neighborhood are planned, with both circling St. Nicholas Park. (The starting point for each is at 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.) The Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run will set off at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by the NYC Family Health Walk-A-Thon for Peace in Our Communities. Both of these Harlem Week activities are also sponsored by New York Road Runners. Race day fees range from $30 to $39; (212) 860-4455; nyrr.org. ANNE MANCUSO
Information on events for possible inclusion in Spare Times can be sent to [email protected]. Longer versions of Around Town and For Children listings are in a searchable guide at nytimes.com/events.
