COMMUNITY EVENTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Exercises
Tuesdays, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m., through Sept. 27 (skipping Sept. 13)
Muhlenberg Library, 209 W. 23 St.
A class of five exercises including meditation. Come relieve your stress and anxieties, increase your energy and vitality, and enjoy peace of mind. Free. en.FalunDafa.org
Summer Sings
Aug. 17 & 24, 7 p.m.
316 E. 88th St.
The public is invited to sing and socialize with members and the artistic staff of NYChoral including Music Director David Hayes and Associate Conductor Michael Ciavaglia. The participants will be able to step into the shoes of a NYChoral member and sing along with the conductor, pianists, and soloists to a different piece each week. After the sing along, the audience, chorus members, and staff will continue the festivities with an after party around snacks, drinks, and a raffle. Free.
Metropolitan Opera Summer HD Festival
Aug. 26–Sept. 5
Lincoln Center Plaza
The series will present 10 past performances from the company’s acclaimed Live in HD series of movie theater transmissions, featuring leading Met stars in a varied selection of operas by Bizet, Donizetti, Lehár, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, and Verdi. There will be 3,100 seats for each screening. Free. MetOpera.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Meditation at the Highline
Tuesdays, 8 a.m.–9 a.m., through September
22nd Street Seating Steps
Rise above the city streets and begin your day focused, centered, and connected with nature. Join the Integral Yoga Institute, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, and other guests for guided meditations. Open to people of all ages and experience levels. Free. TheHighLine.org
Stargazing at the Highline
Tuesdays, through Oct. 25
The Diller–von Furstenberg Sundeck (at West 14th Street)
Head to the High Line each Tuesday night for a romantic walk along the park and a chance to take a closer look at the stars. Peer through high-powered telescopes provided by the knowledgeable members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York to see rare celestial sights. Free. TheHighLine.org
Art Tour: Wanderlust
The Highline Park
Mondays, 6:15 p.m.–7 p.m., through October
From sculptures and murals to performances and videos, the High Line is filled with public art. Join High Line Art Assistant Curator, Melanie Kress for an insider’s view on High Line Art’s current Wanderlust exhibition. Tour location provided via email following RSVP at TheHighLine.org
Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute
Through August 27
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza
An exhibition that compares scenic and costume designs from a select group of 20th and 21st century productions extolled for their remarkable visual achievement. Since its premiere in 1791, this opera has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create a cornucopia of imaginative productions that have beguiled audiences of all ages. Free. LincolnCenter.org
New York & The Nation
Ongoing
The Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History, 170 Central Park West
Explore the story of New York and America in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History. $20 adults, $12 students, $15 seniors. NYHistory.org
Family Sundays at Rubin Museum
Ongoing
150 W. 17th St.
Bring your family to the Museum for a Sunday afternoon full of family-friendly activities. Drop into the Education Center for some art-making, enjoy our 2 p.m. family exhibition tour, or go on your own thematic gallery search. Free. RubinMuseum.org
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Ongoing
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 W. 65th St.; Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St.
Year-round programming that includes premieres of new films from an international roster of established and emerging directors. $14. FilmLinc.com
NEW ELSEWHERE
Jazz Age Lawn Party
Aug. 13–14
Governors Island
The Jazz Age Lawn Party is New York City’s original prohibition era inspired gathering. Hosted and conceived by Michael Arenella, the event started as a small gathering of about fifty friends and fans in 2005, who came together on Governors Island to revel in the music of the Jazz Age, as performed by Michael Arenella and His Dreamland. $0–$5,000. JazzAgeLawnParty.com
ONGOING ELSEWHERE
Movies With a View
Aug. 18 & 25, 6 p.m.
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Since its launch in 2000, we’ve wowed, entertained, thrilled, and pulled at the heartstrings of over 340,000 moviegoers, making our program one of New York City’s favorite summer film series. Free. BrooklynBridgePark.org
SummerStage
Through Sept. 23
NYC Parks
New York City’s largest free performing arts festival, bringing more than 100 free performances to Central Park and 15 neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs. Free. SummerStage.org
Friday Night Fireworks
Fridays, 9:30 p.m.
W. 10th St., Coney Island
Every Friday is a reason to celebrate! Join Coney Island for Friday Night Fireworks. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. every Friday night during the season. Friday Night Fireworks start the last weekend in June and conclude the Friday before Labor Day. Free. LunaParkNYC.com
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Exercises
Fort Hamilton Library, 9424 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn
Thursdays, 11 a.m.–noon, through Aug. 18
A class of five exercises including meditation. Come relieve your stress and anxieties, increase your energy and vitality, and enjoy peace of mind. Free. en.FalunDafa.org
Paint It Up: Still-Life Watercolor
Through Sept. 27
Poe Park Visitor Center, The Bronx
Experience the thrill of bringing a blank piece of paper to life, by creating a still life with a brush, paint, and water. Free. NYCGovParks.org
VISUAL ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
New York City Invitational Exhibit
Through Aug. 20
George Billis Gallery, 525 W. 26th St.
Showcasing the work of over 35 artists, with noted work by Cape Cod artist Robert Cardinal. GeorgeBillis.com
The Secret Life of Textiles: Animal Fibers
Aug, 15–Feb. 20
The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 599
The second in the Secret Life of Textiles exhibition series, this installation will feature works of art made from the most important animal fibers—wool, hair, silk, and feathers—by numerous cultures throughout history and in different regions of the world. The objects on view will include fibers from sheep, camelids, goats, yaks, horses, cows, and other small animals; silk filament from cultivated or wild silk worms; and feathers. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Watteau’s Soldiers: Scenes of Military Life in 18th Century France
Through Oct. 2
The Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St.
Most know Jean-Antoine Watteau as a painter of amorous aristocrats and melancholy actors, a dreamer of exquisite parklands and impossibly refined fêtes. Few artists would seem further removed from the misery of war. And yet, early in his short career, Watteau created a number of military scenes—about a dozen paintings and some thirty drawings. Frick.org
Ceramics by Francis Delille Editions Paris
Through Sept. 30
Vallois America, 27 E. 67th St.
Ceramics will showcase a selection of rare pieces of the most prominent contemporary ceramics artists, all produced in La Tuilerie Manufacture in France, a workshop dedicated to preserving the traditions and pushing the limits of ceramic work. Vallois.com
Drawings and Prints: Selections From The Met Collection
Through Oct. 24
The Met Fifth Avenue
The Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Gallery displays highlights of European and American prints, drawings, and illustrated books from the Museum’s vast holdings of works on paper. Because of their sensitivity to light, these works cannot be on permanent exhibition; each installation remains on view for approximately 13 weeks. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
PERFORMING ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
The Public Domain
Aug. 13
Lincoln Center Fountain
Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang’s “the public domain” will be a performance that not only welcomes the public as a free and open event, but will also be performed by the public. A thousand volunteer vocalists from throughout New York City, conducted by Simon Halsey, Choral Director of the London Symphony Orchestra. Free. MostlyMozart.org/thepublicdomain
Battery Dance Festival
Aug. 14–20, 6:30 p.m.
Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Battery Park City
BDF revels in the panoply of dance that our city offers, with strong emphasis on the inclusion of diverse dance styles and an international roster of performers. American choreographers such as Paul Taylor, Robert Battle, Andrea Miller, Michelle Dorrance, and Darrell Moultrie have all presented their works alongside pre-eminent companies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Free. BatteryDance.org/battery-dance-festival
Violetta & Her Sisters
Aug. 13–28
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St.
Featuring Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Jules Massenet’s “Manon,” a semi-staged “Scenes From the Demi-Monde,” with excerpts from Puccini’s “La Rondine” and Leoncavallo’s “La Bohème,” and a recital featuring the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, with settings by Debussy, Fauré, Duparc, Vierne, d'Indy, Loeffler, and others. Preview: $10. Tickets: $25–$54. DellArteOpera.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Troilus and Cressida
Through Aug. 14
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park
Tony winning director Daniel Sullivan returns to Shakespeare in the Park with one of the Bard’s most rarely produced plays, “Troilus and Cressida.” Both warriors and lovers play hard to get in this surprisingly modern epic about the hot blood, hot thoughts, and hot deeds of the ancient Greeks. Free. PublicTheater.org
NEW ELSEWHERE
Shakespeare on Screen
Through Nov. 5
BAM, Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave.
Filmed live performances of the Bard’s most beloved plays, screened in glistening HD at BAM Rose Cinemas. This season’s lineup features critically acclaimed productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Julie Taymor, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. $25. BAM.org
MUSIC
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Mostly Mozart Festival
Through Aug. 27
Various Locations
Lincoln Center launched America’s first indoor summer music festival as Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival in August 1966. The idea was a success from the start, and by 1970 the festival had transformed into Mostly Mozart. MostlyMozart.org
Piano in Bryant Park
Upper Terrace
Mon.–Fri., 12:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m., through Sept. 30
Summertime, and the livin‘ is easy... so swing on by for toe-tappin’ performances by New York’s finest, playing ragtime, stride, and jazz to your and My Heart’s Delight. Free. BryantPark.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Spiral Music
Wednesdays
Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St.
Spiral Music presents acoustic music every Wednesday evening at the base of the museum’s spiral staircase. Artists who specialize in music from the Himalayas and South Asia are invited to forge a connection between their music and the art in the galleries. Free. RubinMuseum.org
NEW ELSEWHERE
Afropunk Festival
Aug. 27–28
Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn
Afropunk is defining culture by the collective creative actions of the individual and the group. We are the largest integrated media platform giving voice to the unwritten, unwelcome, and unseen, we are redefining the modern multicultural experience globally. $45–$250. AfroPunkFest.com/brooklyn
