ART

SCHOOL DAYS

A new Chelsea gallery opens with an exhibit of work by photographer Jona Frank, who spent three years visiting American high schools and taking portraits of students. The subjects in her series “High School” include cheerleaders, marching musicians, Goths, debate teamers, and rodeo riders. Film director Gus Van Sant, who has examined high school life in films such as “Elephant,” contributed a forward to a new book of Ms. Frank’s work, also called “High School” (Arenas Street Publishing). Through Saturday, November 27, Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Foley Gallery, 547 W. 27th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, fifth floor, 212-244-9081, free.

DRAWING A BEAD

Australian native Sally-Ann Rowland uses greeting cards as her canvases, adding embroidery, beads, and colored ornaments to embellish their simple sentiments. The exhibit “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way” includes 25 of her works. A sympathy card depicting a mountain view is encrusted with silver and black beads turning the scene into a nuclear Armageddon. A saccharine “To My Wife” card shows a woman smiling at her baby – Ms. Rowland adds a torrent of spangled vomit spewing into the mother’s face. Through Thursday, October 7, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., ZieherSmith Inc., 531 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-229-1088, free.

BENEFITS

WISH FULFILLMENT

A cocktail party celebrates the work of women who support the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The Women Wishmakers Awards Night honors writer Jodi Della Femina Kim, Harper’s Bazaar editor Mary Alice Stephenson, a vice president at Federated Corporate Marketing, Ronnie Taffet, and philanthropist Suzanne Wright. Tomorrow, 6:30-8:30 p.m., the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street, 516-944-6212 ext. 113, $100.

TAKING WING The Wings Over Wall Street event honors the organization’s founder, United Airlines flight attendant Toni Diamond. The evening includes live and silent auctions to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Wednesday, 6 p.m., Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway at 45th Street, 212-689-9040, $300.

BOOKS

PAPER NOTEBOOK

The founders and co-editor of Paper Magazine, Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits, discuss and sign their book “20 Years of Style: The World According to Paper” (HarperCollins). Thursday, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Chelsea, 675 Sixth Ave. at 21st Street, 212-727-1227, free.

DANCE

CHANCE FOR DANCE

The Fall for Dance Festival hosts 30 dance companies over six evenings at a cost of just $10. Participating companies include the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Tomorrow through Sunday, 8 p.m., New York City Center, West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, $10. See www.nycitycenter.org for full schedule.

OKINAWAN DANCE

Japan Society opens its fall arts season with “Okinawa Kumiodori,” two programs that include classical and popular dance, court music, and stylized drama. Both programs are in Japanese with English subtitles and begin with Okinawan dances. The first is followed by the revenge play “Nido Tekiuchi” (Thursday, 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., $35 general, $30 members) and the matinee features an excerpt from “Shushin Kaneiri,” a classic play that pits Buddhist monks in a battle against a demon (Sunday, 2 p.m., $25 general, $10 children 12 and under). All programs: Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-832-1155 for information, 212-752-3015 for tickets.

FILM

SAYLES TALK

Filmmaker John Sayles talks with Barbara Kingsolver, author of “The Poisonwood Bible” (Harper-Collins). Clips from Mr. Sayles’s new film “Silver City” are used to illustrate their discussion, which focuses on writing the political. The talk is the first in the “Conversations with the Nation” series that features artists, activists, and authors connected to the liberal magazine. Wednesday, 7 p.m., The New School, 66 W. 12th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-229-5353, $15 general, $5 students.

FOOD & DRINK

FOR SAKE’S SAKE

The Joy of Sake is the largest sake tasting held outside of Japan. Brewers from Japan and American present over 140 newly released sakes accompanied by appetizers from Bouley, Sushi Samba, and wd-50. The event celebrates fall, the season that produces the best new sake offerings. Thursday, 6-9 p.m., the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette St. at Houston Street, 212-799-7243, $75.

RIINGO RECEPTION

Marcus Samuelson’s Japanese restaurant Riingo, which also participates in the Joy of Sake event, presents three six-course menus of its own, paired with premium sakes. With each course, a sake producer educates diners on the specifics of each drink. Dishes include ceviche, rare tuna, braised pork belly, and chocolate miso cake. Today through Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner, Riingo, 205 E. 45th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-867-4200, $65.

GOURMET GOODS

The editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, Ruth Reichl, signs “The Gourmet Cookbook” (Houghton Mifflin), which she edited. Tomorrow, 12:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

HEALTH

EARLY DETECTION

The Foundation for Medical Evaluation and Early Detection provides full screenings for prostate cancer. Through Friday, October 15, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. screenings, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Department of Urology, 5 E. 98th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-241-0045, free, reservations required.

SIGHT SPECIFIC

Lighthouse International, an organization focusing on vision rehabilitation, hosts a seminar to educate attendees about medical treatments and prevention strategies for macular degeneration. Wednesday, 2-4 p.m., Lighthouse International, 111 E. 59th St., between Park and Lexington avenues, 877-435-7946, free, registration requested.

MEMORIAL

STRAUS’S LEGACY

A public memorial service for publisher Roger Straus includes speakers Jamaica Kincaid, Michael Cunningham, Scott Turow, Grace Paley, and Tom Wolfe. Wednesday, 3 p.m., 92nd Street Y, Unterberg Poetry Center, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, free.

MUSIC

STARRY JAZZ

Jazz lovers can enjoy live music under the stars at the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space. Vibraphonist Joe Locke and his quartet kick off the fall season of the series. Tapas and wine will be served. Friday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. and 7-8 p.m., American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5100, $12 general, $9 students and seniors, $7 children.

READINGS

BERNARD’S MONOLOGUES

Actress Kathleen Chalfant reads several monologues by novelist, poet, and playwright Kenneth Bernard. The monologues follow the life of a woman between the ages of 40 and 60. British actor Robert Langdon Lloyd, who appears with Ms. Chalfant in the Culture Project’s “Guantanamo,” reads a selection from Beckett’s novel “Molloy” before each monologue. Tonight, 6 p.m., Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St., between West 4th and Bleecker streets, 212-989-9319, $6 and one-drink minimum.

HAPPY NIGHT

The Happy Ending reading series hosts Lauren Grodstein, the author of “Reproduction Is the Flaw of Love” (Dial). Writer Laurie Stone joins her and Jonathan Coulton provides music. Wednesday, Happy Ending Bar, 302 Broome St. at Forsyth Street, 212-334-9676, free.

TALKS

ADJUSTING TO AMERICA

The author of “Welcome to America: The Complete Guide for Immigrants” (Viola), Vitaly Demin, gives a talk in Russian about cultural adjustment to a new country. Tonight, 6 p.m., Queensborough Public Library, Forest Hills branch, 108-19 71 Ave. at Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills, Queens, 718-268-7934, free.

THE BARD POLITIC

Do Shakespeare’s works have a political point of view? The Shakespeare Guild’s John Andrews and the National Arts Club’s Marc Levy are joined by a panel of experts in drama and politics for a discussion on the topic “Speaking of Shakespeare in Times of Discord.” Tonight, 7:30 p.m., National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, between Irving Place and Gramercy Park West, 212-475-3424, $25.

PICASSO IN SPAIN

Christopher Green lectures on Picasso’s 1909 Spanish landscapes, contrasting the works with Braque’s French landscapes from the same period. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th Street, 212-423-3587, $10 general, $7 seniors, students, and members.

AMERICANS ON PARIS

One American Francophile interviews another when Adam Gopnik talks with author Diane Johnson. Ms. Johnson’s novel “L’Affaire” (Plume) is the latest in a string of books, such as “Le Divorce” and “Le Mariage,” that follow American heroines in France. Ms. Johnson also wrote the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Mr. Gopnik, the author of the essay collection “Paris to the Moon” (Random House) and the editor of the anthology “Americans in Paris” (Library of America), wrote The New Yorker’s Paris Journals dispatches between 1995 and 2000. The conversation is presented by the French Institute Alliance Francaise. Wednesday, 7 p.m., Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-355-6160, $18 general, $12 members.

THEATER

PUPPET PLAYS

The Dream Music puppetry festival features two new commissioned works. Lake Simons’s “What’s Inside the Egg?” uses marionettes, shadow techniques, 8-mm projectors, and songs to tell a surreal story of “chicken gyp sies” and fruit-bearing eggs (Tomorrow-Thursday, 7 p.m., $20). Kevin Augustine’s “Animal,” the other new work, features carved-foam creatures exploring the health-care industry (Friday and Sunday, 7 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m., Tuesday, October 5-Friday, October 8, 7 p.m., Saturday, October 9, 2 and 7 p.m., $20). “Mon Oeil,” a popular piece from France’s acclaimed Aie Aie Aie company, is also part of the festival (tomorrow-Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., Saturday, 3:30, 6:30, and 8:30 p.m., $15 individual show, $10 when combined with tickets to other show). All shows: HERE Arts Center, 145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick Street, 212-868-4444, $40 all three shows.

CONSTITUTIONAL DRAMA

The play “Founding Fathers” dramatizes the 1787 Constitutional Convention in three acts. William Tucker wrote the play with the goal of explaining American democracy to other societies. With that in mind, a new Arabic translation has 1135 1040 1291 1050been prepared for export to Iraq as it tries to craft its own new constitution. Park Slope attorney Bernard Graham, the Democratic nominee for Brooklyn Civil Court judge, plays the role of George Washington. Friday, 7:30 p.m., Old First Church, Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, www.foundingfathersplay.com for tickets and full schedule of performances, $8 in advance by online purchase, $10 at the door.

TOURS

19TH-CENTURY BRONX

A guided tour of the Bartow-Pell mansion and carriage house gives a glimpse into the life and times of the Bartow family, who lived on the estate during the mid-19th century. Wednesday, 10-11:30 a.m., Bartow-Pell Mansion, 895 Shore Road, across from Split Rock Golf Course, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, 718-885-1461, $2.50 general, $1.25 seniors and students, registration required.