ART

MOUNTAIN MUSEUM
The brand new Rubin Museum of Art, which is solely devoted to Himalayan art, opens with a full weekend of public festivities. Highlights include the hoisting of flags created by more than 100 artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, and Peter Max (Saturday, 10 a.m.), and a dog pageant featuring llasa apsos, Afghan hounds, Tibetan terriers, and other Himalayan pooches (Saturday, 2 p.m.). Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-620-5000, free.

BENEFITS

HELP FOR HEALTH RESEARCH
The United Hospital Fund hosts its annual dinner dance, this time in celebration of its 125th year of research and philanthropy. Michael Carney and his orchestra provide music. Monday, 6:30 p.m. cocktails, 7:30 p.m. dinner and dancing, Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave. at 49th Street, 212-494-0733, $750.

CIVIL LIBERTARIANS
Robin Williams, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sean Penn, Tony Kushner, and Sarah Jones read selections of Supreme Court decisions in which the ACLU played a role at The Freedom Concert, a benefit for the ACLU.The evening also includes musical performances by Paul Simon, Wyclef Jean, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Nanci Griff ith, Mos Def, and Philip Glass (the producer of the show). A tribute to Lenny Bruce, juxtaposing archival recordings of his comedy with his statements on free speech, is also included. Monday, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Center, Avery Fischer Hall, Columbus Avenue at 63rd Street, 212-721-6500, $100-$250.

BOOKS

UNTIL SHE DROPS
Sophie Kinsella reads from her latest “Shopaholic” novel, “Shopaholic & Sister” (Dell). Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

BOMBS OVER BAGHDAD
The New Yorker’s Iraq correspondent, Jon Lee Anderson, discusses his book “The Fall of Baghdad” (Penguin). Sunday, 7 p.m., The Half King, 505 W. 23rd St. at Tenth Avenue, 212-462-4300, free.

CARTOONS

A BIG DRAW
New Yorker cover artists and cartoonists convene in the “Leaf Lounge” during the New Yorker Festival this weekend. Drop-in guests are treated to complimentary Turning Leaf wines and a chance to mingle with artists including George Booth, Danny Shanahan, Marisa Acocella, and others. Friday, 3 p.m.-midnight, Saturday, noon-midnight, and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Punch, 913 Broadway, between 20th and 21st streets, 212-673-6333, free.

CRAFTS

KNACK FOR KNITTING
The Knit-Out and Crochet event gathers beginners and experts for an afternoon festival of yarn fun. One-on-one lessons, fashion shows for humans and dogs, projects for children, technique demonstrations, and displays of the latest patterns and tools turn Union Square into a knitter’s paradise. Sunday, noon-5 p.m., Union Square, 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue, free. See www.craftyarncouncil.com for more information.

FAMILY

FESTIVAL FUN
Culturefest draws more than 100 New York City arts organizations to Battery Park for a weekend of dance, music, and family-friendly fun. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Battery Park, State Street and Battery Place, www.nycvisit.com, free.

MEDIEVAL TIMES
The Medieval Festival transforms the area surrounding the Cloisters into a market village with knights in armor, jugglers, jesters, musicians, magicians, storytellers, and puppeteers. Artisans including blacksmiths, manuscript illuminators, potters, and wood carvers showcase their crafts. The fair concludes with jousting between knights on horseback. Attendees are welcome to dress in historical costumes. Sunday, noon-6 p.m., Fort Tryon Park, Margaret Corbin Circle and Fort Washington Avenue, free.

FILM

UNDERGROUND CINEMA
The Subway Centennial series opens with the 1995 anthology film “Subway Stories,” which was directed by 10 actors and directors (including character actor Bob Balaban, Lili Taylor, and nephew-and-uncle directors Ted and Jonathan Demme).The stories in the film were based on true tales submitted by HBO viewers. The 1953 short “Daybreak Express,” an impressionistic study with music by Duke Ellington, precedes the screening (Saturday, 2 p.m.). Stanley Donen’s 1949 musical comedy “On the Town,” which includes the “Miss Turnstiles” ballet, is preceded by an episode of “Seinfeld” that includes several subway surprises (Saturday and Sunday, 4 p.m.). Series: Saturday through Monday, October 11, times vary, American Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, 718-784-0077, $10 general, $7.50 seniors and students, free for members.

ART ON SCREEN
Brigitte Cornand’s new documentary “The Whisper of the Whistling Water” opens this weekend in a limited run following a summer preview at the Whitney Museum. The film presents artist Louise Bourgeois in her studio, making jokes and playing games while working on her art. Saturday through Thursday, October 14, times vary, Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave. at 2nd Street, 212-505-5181, $8 general, $6 seniors and students, $5 members.

FOOD & DRINK

CHINATOWN FLAVOR
As part of the fall “Taste of Chinatown” festival, an outdoor Autumn Moon event boasts $1 tasting plates of Chinese delicacies. 745 1515 899 1525Dozens of local restaurants are also offering multicourse prix fixe menus (Through Saturday, October 9, $8.88 lunch, $18.88 dinners). Festival: Saturday, 1-6 p.m., Baxter, Bayard, Elizabeth, Mott, Mulberry, and Doyers streets, www.explorechinatown.com for full map.

MUSIC

EARLY RISERS
The New York Early Music Celebration begins this weekend with a full roster of music, classes, and lectures from the 11th through the 18th centuries. This weekend’s highlights include a concert focusing on the chaconne, a 17th-century dance form noted for its “indecent” nature (Friday, 8 p.m., Brooklyn Friends Meeting House, 110 Schermerhorn St., between Smith Street and Boerum Place, Brooklyn, free); a selection of a cappella tunes from Tudor England (Friday, 8 p.m., Church of St. Ignatius of Antioch, 552 West End Avenue at 87th Street, $25 general, $15 seniors and students), and an outdoor concert of poly 784 1871 863 1881phonic sacred music from the 15th and 16th centuries (Sunday, 2 p.m., Sheridan Square, Seventh Avenue South at West 4th Street and Christopher Street, free). Series: Friday through Sunday, October 10, various times, locations, and prices, 212-280-0330, see www.nyemc.org for full schedule and more information.

WILD OPERA
A chamber music concert features “wild” opera works that are whimsical, dramatic, funny, or unusual. The host of WQXR’s “New York at Night,” Nimet Habachy, gives a preconcert lecture about “the spectacular aspects” of great opera. The evening is presented by the Music of the Spheres Society. Friday, 7:30 p.m. lecture, 8:15 p.m. concert, Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, 120 W. 69th St., between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, 212-877-4402, $30 general, $18 seniors and students.

NATURE

FEATHERED FRIENDS
The New York City Audubon Society presents a series of weekend bird-watching walks. Wave Hill opens early for the walks, which provide an opportunity to watch songbirds on their flights south for the winter. Participants should bring a field guide and binoculars to spot white throated sparrows, double-crested cormorants, red-belly woodpeckers, tufted titmice, and other travelers in flight. Sundays, October 3-October 31, 8:30 a.m., Wave Hill, meet at main gate, 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Bronx, 718-549-3200 ext. 305, $20 general, $15 members, registration required.

POETRY

WILD VERSES
Poet’s House sponsors a morning of wildlife-themed poetry at Central Park’s Wildlife Theater. Saturday, 11 a.m., Central Park Zoo, 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, 212-431-7920, free.

VERSE VOICES
The Re: Verse Festival, which celebrates “independent thought, writing, and media” in minority communities, includes poetry readings by Samiya Bashir, R. Erica Doyle, and Cheryl Boyce Taylor (6:15 p.m.). Festival: Saturday, 4-8 p.m., Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, Bronx, 718-530-9132, free.

SWIMMING

BRRR! BEARS
The surest sign that summer is over is that the Coney Island Polar Bear Club has started its weekly outdoor swims. “Cubs” – potential new members – are invited to take the plunge during the relatively mild month of October. Becoming a full-fledged Polar Bear requires taking 15 swims between November and April, including five of the coldest days of the year. Daring divers should bring a swimsuit, a towel, and some warm, dry clothes. Sundays, October 3 through April, 2005, 12:30 gathering, 1 p.m. swim, meet on the Coney Island boardwalk at 8th Street, Brooklyn, 718-356-7741, free.

TALKS

CHAT AND THE CITY
Tickets go on sale this afternoon for a just-announced addition to the New Yorker Festival: Sarah Jessica Parker in conversation with Susan Orlean. Tickets: On sale today, 3 p.m., only at Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E. 17th St. at Broadway, $30, cash only. Talk: Saturday, 9 p.m.,The Holding Tank, 555 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues.

SHAW’S SECRET
Daniel Leary discusses George Bernard Shaw’s play “Saint Joan” as “the open secret of Shaw’s creativity.” The event is the first meeting of the Bernard Shaw Society’s new season. A reception follows. Friday, 7:30 p.m., the American Irish Historical Society, 991 Fifth Ave. at 80th Street, 212-982-9885, $5.

CLINTON AND CRAIN’S
Senator Clinton discusses national and local issues at a breakfast forum sponsored by Crain’s Business. Monday, 8 a.m. breakfast, 8:30-9:30 a.m. program, Grand Hyatt, 42nd Street between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-210-0739, $50.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
A panel discusses New York City’s sanitation and waste disposal issues in light of the 2001 shutdown of Staten Island’s Fresh Kills facility and Mayor Bloomberg’s forthcoming solid waste plan for the city. Monday, 6:30-8 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., between 103rd and 104th streets, 212-564-4441, $10 general, $6 museum members, free for subscribers to free New York Civic newsletter (list@nycivic.org), reservations required.

TOURS

VILLAGE VIEWS
An architectural scavenger hunt for families with children between ages 7 and 12 examines the row houses of Greenwich Village. At the end of the walking tour, children get the chance to create a small model of a house that doubles as a piggy bank. The event is sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, 212-475-9585 ext. 32 for meeting place and reservations, $20 each parent and child pair, $15 members.

VICTORIAN VIEWS
A self-guided walking tour of Victorian Prospect Heights spotlights the neighborhood’s recent and upcoming changes, not all of which are welcomed by its residents. Stops include a bar faced by the wrecking ball, a penthouse in the News walk Building (once home to newspaper printing presses), and other structures with stained-glass panels, carved fireplaces, and elaborate interior woodwork. Proceeds from the tour go to neighborhood community organizations. Sunday, 1-5 p.m., tickets available at the Forest Floor, 659 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, 718-707-1277, $15 general, $10 general.

AUCTIONS

THE LINE KING
An auction of drawings and prints by the late illustrator Al Hirschfeld offers portraits of Fred Astaire, a young Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, and many other performers. More than 200 items from private collections will go under the gavel, including 27 of the pen-and-ink drawings for which Hirschfeld is most famous. Depictions of musical theater productions such as “Guys & Dolls”and “Rent”are for sale alongside drawings of Elvis Presley and Mick Jagger. A large collection of Hirschfeld’s drawings of Carol Channing is also on the block, including drawings of Ms. Channing with Pearl Bailey and Ethel Merman – who all played Dolly Levi in “Hello, Dolly!” – jumping through a hoop for producer David Merrick (1970, $10,000-$15,000), at left, and a sketch of Ms. Channing holding a cash register showing the record-breaking receipts from her best known show (1967, $8,000-$12,000), above. Finally, the auction features two portraits of the artist himself, including a self-portrait in profile. Viewing: Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Auction: Thursday, 2:30 p.m., Swann Galleries, 104 E. 25th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 212-254-4710 ext. 303. Online viewing at www.swanngalleries.com.