BENEFITS

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

BEST DESIGN
Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Awards gala celebrates innovative architecture, environmental design, fashion, and product design. Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. cocktails, dinner and awards to follow, Cooper-Hewitt, 2 E. 91st St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8304, $1,000-$5,000.

BOOKS

FIRST SEDUCTION
Betsy Prioleau discusses her book “Seductress: Women Who Ravished the World and Their Lost Art of Love” (Viking), a combination history and self-help manual that examines how sexually confident women get what they want. Tonight, 7 p.m., Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Ave. at 27th Street, 212-689-6337 ext. 115, $12 general, $10 seniors, students, and members, reservations suggested.

BEHIND BARS
Author Ha Jin reads from his new novel “War Trash” (Pantheon), told from the perspective of a Chinese writing professor looking back on his years in a Korean P.O.W. camp. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

FAMILY

STATEN ISLAND SQUASH
A fall Pumpkinfest provides family fun. Highlights include a sword-fighting pirate show, a glove-puppet workshop, family dances, and hayrides. Sunday, noon-5 p.m., Snug Harbor Cultural Center, front lawn, 1000 Richmond Terrace at Snug Harbor Road, Staten Island, 718-448-2500, $5 general, free for children under 3.

FESTIVAL

WILDE TIMES
The Oscar Wilde Society of America celebrates the 100th anniversary of their favorite writer’s birth with a weekend festival. Events include a guided walking tour of Wilde’s New York, a one-man performance of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and a visit to the Oscar Wilde Bookstore. Saturday, noon-6 p.m., meet outside the Gramercy Park Hotel, Lexington Avenue and 21st Street, 856-625-6793, $25. See www.owsoa.org for more information.

FILM

DECONSTRUCTING DERRIDA
The 2002 documentary “Derrida” returns for a limited engagement at Film Forum following the death last week of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Friday through Tuesday, 1:15, 3, 4:50, 6:45, 8:35, and 10:10 p.m., Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street, 212-727-8110, $10 general, $5 members and children under 12, $5 seniors on Monday-Friday before 5 p.m. 595 1238 664 1248

FOOD & DRINK

TASTY TRIO
An online auction benefiting the New York Public Library offers the culinary services of Mario Batali, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Eric Ripert. The chefs collaborate in whipping up a dinner for 12 in the highest bidder’s home – each chef will create a different course for the elaborate meal. Other prizes on the auction block include treats from Daniel and a private restaurant tour led by publisher Tim Zagat. Bidding: Today through Wednesday, October 27, www.nypl.org.

MUSIC

URBAN COWBOYS
The Russian-born, Bronx-bred musician Regina Spektor performs in the Live From Home concert series this week. Country rocker Buddy Miller and Bob Dylan-inspired John Wesley Harding join her for a performance that benefits Housing Works. Friday, 7 p.m. doors open, 7:30 p.m. show, Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, $25, seating is on a first-come first-served basis.

CHAMBER CONCERT
The Brooklyn Chamber Music Society presents its first concert of the fall season. Cellist Andres Diaz, violist Scott St. John, clarinetist Alan Kay, and violinists Margaret Bat jer and Carmit Zori perform works by Brahms, Dvorak, and Penderecki. Friday, 8 p.m., First Unitarian Church, Pierrepont Street between Monroe Place and Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, 718-858-0718, $25.

TALKS

EVER-GREENE
The centenary of Graham Greene’s birth is marked with a discussion moderated by a Salon senior writer, Laura Miller. Author Pico Iyer and literary critic James Wood participate. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., New York Public Library, South Court auditorium, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-930-0855, $10 general, $7 members.

THEATER

SPEAK (AND SING) OF THE DEVIL
Bernice Johnson Reagon’s musical-theater work “The Temptation of St. Anthony” is an interpretation of Flaubert’s account of St. Anthony’s spiritual testing. Brooklyn poet and performer Carl Hancock Rux leads the all-African-American cast as Anthony, whose relationship with God is tested by food, riches, and sex offered by the devil. In this version, a 14-member choir buttresses his faith. Robert Wilson directed the show and provided its striking set, which includes bamboo-armature birds held aloft by performers. Brooklyn musician Toshi Reagon, the playwright’s daughter, serves as musical director. Tuesday through Sunday, October 24, Tuesday-Saturday, October 23, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, October 24, 3 p.m., BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $25-$75.

TRANSPORTATION

DRINK AND RIDE
Tired walkers can get a break with a free pedicab ride courtesy of Red Bicyclette, a new French wine. Today and tomorrow, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., at Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Union Square, free.

TOURS

BENEATH CENTRAL PARK
A walking tour peels away Central Park’s grassy surface to discover the people that occupied its 778 acres before its creation: Bone-boiling plants, saloons, and shanties were displaced along with communities of free African-Americans and Irish and German immigrants. Saturday, 2 p.m., meet at the southeast corner of Central Park West and 83rd Street, 212-439-1049, $15 general, $12 members.

LOFTY VIEWS
A self-guided tour of a dozen TriBeCa lofts offers an inside view of the neighborhood’s architecture. Proceeds go to Friends of Duane Park, an organization devoted to the park’s upkeep and community family events. Sunday, 1-5 p.m., tickets on sale in the park at Duane and Hudson streets, 212-227-5843, $45.

DESIGN

REIMAGINING THE VOTE
“The Voting Booth Project” asked 50 artists and designers to reimagine actual Votomatic voting booths from the 2000 presidential election in Florida. Hotelier Andre Balazs bought dozens of the booths at a Miami flea market and the project was hatched when the dean of Parsons, Paul Goldberger, heard about the purchase and approached Mr. Balazs about exhibiting them. Participants include Christo, David Byrne, Milton Glaser, Frank Gehry, and Diane Von Furstenberg. The pieces seen above – Alexander Isley’s “Palm Beach Playhouse,” left, architect David Rockwell’s matchstick booth “Playing with Fire,” center, and Robert A. M. Stern’s “Hindsight 20/20” – are included in an auction benefiting Parsons and the nonprofit voting organization Declare Yourself (Wednesday, October 27, 6-7:30 p.m. auction preview at the gallery, 7-9:30 p.m. reception and silent auction, Twenty Four Fifth, 24 Fifth Ave. at 9th Street, 212-229-2101, $150). Exhibit: Through Monday, November 15, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Parsons School of Design gallery, 2 W. 13th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-229-8987, free.

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.