ART

BEATLE BIRTHDAY
John Lennon would have turned 64 on Saturday. In his honor, Yoko Ono and Bag One Arts assembled an exhibit of his original drawings and prints. The traveling exhibit, “When I’m Sixty-Four,” features works created between 1968 and Lennon’s death in 1980, including the “Real Love” drawings sketched for Lennon’s son, Sean. Tomorrow through Sunday, tomorrow, 5-9 p.m., Friday, noon-9 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 102 Wooster St., between Prince and Spring streets, 212-595-5537, $2.

GOLDEN NEW YORK
Brooklyn native Lucille Fornasieri Gold has been photographing the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan for more than 30 years using 35mm film. An exhibit of her photographs from the 1970s, which closes next week, captures fireworks at a Chinese New Year celebration, a chasidic family on their stoop near their black neighbors, and many scenes of New Yorkers enjoying parks throughout the city. Through Monday, daily, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Chelsea Market gallery, 75 Ninth Ave. at 15th Street, 212-243-6005, free.

BENEFITS

HEALTH HELP
The Friends of Sinikithemba put on a benefit for the Sinikithemba House, an AIDS treatment center in Durban, South Africa. The evening, which is hosted by WABC Radio’s Ron Kuby, includes a silent auction and raffle. Friends of Sinikithemba was founded by the medical director of Project Samaritan AIDS Services, Dr. Barbara Zeller, who spent the summer of 2003 working at the clinic. Tomorrow, 7-9:30 p.m., Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 110th Street, 718-681-8700 ext. 2107, $50.

PATRONS OF THE ARTS
The National Arts Awards gala, presented by the Americans for the Arts, honors Chuck Close, philanthropist Raymond Nasher, choreographer Paul Taylor, Procter & Gamble’s A.G. Lafley, and high school principal William Bassell. Wednesday, October 13, 6:30 p.m., Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 E. 42nd St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 202-371-2830, $1,000-$5,000.

BOOKS

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Neal Stephenson reads from his new novel “The System of the World: Volume Three of the Baroque Cycle” (William Morrow). The book is Mr. Stephenson’s third entry in his epic fictional account of the origins of the modern world. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th St. at Broadway, 212-253-0810, free.

PORTRAIT OF A NOVELIST
Colm Toibin reads from his novel “The Master” (Scribner), a fictional account of five years in the life of Henry James. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., NYU Glucksman Ireland House, Fifth Avenue between 8th Street and Washington Square North, 212-998-3950, $10, reservations suggested.

DANCE

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING
Henning Rubsam’s Sensedance company performs his new contemporary ballet piece “Django,” set to music by European jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. The program, which features four members of the on-hiatus Dance Theatre of Harlem, also includes a tribute to pop composer Woody Herman, a pointework piece set to music by young composer Richardo Llorca, and the new “Guitar Concerto.” Readers of The New York Sun are eligible for a special ticket price of $15 (www.sensedance.org, enter discount code “dancer”). Wednesday, October 13 through Sunday, October 17, Wednesday, October 13-Friday, October 16, 8 p.m., Saturday, October 16, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, October 17, 3 p.m., Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. at 25th Street, 212-868-4444, $30 priority seating, $22 general, $15 seniors and students.

FAMILY

RAINBOW BRIGHT
One of the American Museum of Natural History’s most popular exhibits, the Butterfly Conservatory, arrives at the museum for the seventh consecutive year. The spectacular exhibit features more than 400 live, free-flying butterflies housed in a walk-in vivarium. The tropical collection will fly all the way through fall, winter, and spring. Opens: Saturday. Runs: Saturday through Monday, May 30, daily, 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m., American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5200, $12 general, $9 students and seniors, $7 children.

MUSIC

MEDELLIN KIDS
Music of the Americas opens its fall series with a wind ensemble concert by the Youth Orchestra of Medellin. Guest conductor Mariaelena Tobon leads the group in a program of works by Dvorak, Holst, Carlos Montoya, and several jazz favorites. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, Teatro Heckscher, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-277-8359, $15 general, $10 seniors and students, free for members.

FINNISSY’S FINESSE
British composer and pianist Michael Finnissy discusses his work before a concert that includes the world premiere of his “Verdi Transcription No. XXII.” Marilyn Nonken performs a variety of Mr. Finnissy’s piano works from the last 25 years, which incorporate a witty variety of sources from music history. (One work that will not be played in the concert is Mr. Finnissy’s five-hour piano piece “The History of Photography in Sound”). Friday, 7 p.m. discussion, 8 p.m. concert, Columbia University, Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, 212-854-7799, $20 general, $12 students and Columbia staff, $7 Columbia students.

POETRY

SURREAL STANZAS
Poet Janet Hamill’s class, “Surrealism and the Radical Imagination,” covers the Romanticists’ fascination with the sublime, how Symbolists elevated the use of imagery, and the Surrealists’ attempted liberation of the poetic imagination. Students are advised to bring “a desire to rescue poetry from some of its present unimaginative abuses.” Tuesdays, October 12 through November 5, 7 p.m., Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. at Tenth Avenue, 212-674-0910, $300 includes one-year membership and tuition to any and all fall and spring classes.

TALKS

CITY LEGENDS
Professor Matias Martinez discusses urban legends, both true and false, at a talk sponsored by Columbia University’s Deutsches Haus. Tonight, 8 p.m., Columbia University, Deutsches Haus, 420 W. 116th St. at Morningside Park, 212-854-1858, free.

TECHIE TUNES
Electronic musician Brian Eno discusses his work with filmmaker and fan Todd Haynes (“Far from Heaven”) as part of MoMA’s Music and Media series. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., CUNY Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th Street, 212-817-8215, $15 general, $10 members, $8 students.

THEATER

PUPPET PLAY
The Dream Music puppetry festival features Kevin Augustine’s “Animal,” which uses carved-foam creatures to explore the health-care industry. Tonight through Friday, 7 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m., HERE Arts Center, 145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick Street, 212-868-4444, $20.

LOVE TRIANGLE
Playwright Edna O’Brien’s “Triptych” follows three women as they reveal their love for the same man. Ally Sheedy portrays a woman whose lover also has a wife and child. Opens: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Runs: Through Sunday, November 14, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 8 p.m., Wednesday, 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Irish Repertory Theater, 132 W. 22nd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-727-2737, $40 and $45.

TOURS

ETHNIC AFTERNOON
A multiethnic walking tour through the Lower East Side, 796 1240 875 1250Chinatown, and Little Italy serves as an overview of Manhattan’s immigrant history. Stops include the African Burial Ground, Mulberry Bend, and sites associated with Pierre Toussaint, Padre Valera, Mother Cabrini, and Abraham Cahan. Tomorrow, 1 p.m., meet on the southeast corner of Broadway and Chambers Street, 212-439-1090, $12 general, $10 seniors, students, and New-York Historical Society members.

GRAVE SIGHTS
The East Village’s shaded Marble Cemetery is usually only accessible to birds and squirrels, but this weekend the doors creak open to the public. Famous residents such as President James Monroe lie alongside curious unknowns like Mangle Minthorn Quackenbos and Preserved Fish. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., East 2nd Street between First and Second avenues, www.nycmc.org, free.

WORKSHOPS

GETTING IN
Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in gifted and talented programs and high-performing elementary schools can attend a workshop in getting into the city’s best public schools. Topics include an overview of some of Manhattan’s school districts, the qualities that gifted and talented programs look for in candidates, and how to improve a child’s chances of admission. All attendees at the Smart City Kids workshop receive a copy of “Getting in: Parent’s Survival Kit for getting into New York City’s Best Public Schools.” Tonight, 6-8:30 p.m., Friends Seminary, 222 E. 16th St. at Third Avenue, 212-979-1829, $195.

GUIDE TO AUDITIONS
A casting director for the soap opera “Guiding Light,” Rob Decina, teaches wannabe small-screen stars how to audition for television roles. Mr. Decina, the author of “The Art of Auditioning” (Allworth), argues that acting and auditioning are two very different skills. Wednesday, October 13, 6:30 p.m., Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-944-0595, reservations required.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.