BENEFITS

LANDMARK AFFAIR
Liz Smith hosts the Landmarks Conservancy’s Living Landmarks gala, which this year honors Candice Bergen, Marshall Rose, George Steinbrenner, and others. The commissioner of the New York Police Department, Raymond Kelly, will receive the Lew Rudin Living Landmarks award. Wednesday, 7 p.m. cocktails, 8 p.m. dinner and dancing, The Plaza, 212-995-5260, $750-$1,500.

BOOKS

QUEEN FOR A NIGHT
Margaret Drabble reads from her novel “The Red Queen” (Harcourt Brace & Company). The book tells the story of an academic who receives a mysterious gift – a copy of the 18th-century Korean Crown Princess Hyegyong’s memoir – before she leaves for a conference in Seoul. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

FILM

PARTISAN PARTY
The Conservative Film Festival screens right-wing movies including “Celsius 41.11” and “Fahrenhype 9/11,” two responses to Michael Moore’s anti-Bush opus. Also included is “Brainwashing 101,” a look at the growing role of political correctness on college campuses. Tonight, 6 p.m., Bond Street, 54 Bond St., between Bowery and Lafayette Street, free, reservations required by e-mailing shooterstevei@gmail.com.

HALLOWEEN

HAUNTED HOUSE
Brooklyn resident Elaine Mercado says that her house was haunted for 13 years, until a parapsychologist and medium discovered the identity of the ghosts and “assisted them to the light.” Ms. Mercado describes her family’s “nightmare”: They heard whispers and felt as if they were being watched. She recounts these incidents and others in her book “Grave’s End” (Llewellyn), which she reads from at a book signing spooky enough to be billed as “not suitable for children” (tonight, 7 p.m., the BookMark Shoppe, 6906 Eleventh Ave. at Bay Ridge Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-680-3680, free). Children are welcome, however, at a “Scary Story Time” reading this weekend in the same bookstore (Saturday, 5 p.m. funny and silly stories, 6 p.m. ghost stories).

BLOODCURDLING BROOKLYN
The Micro Museum hosts a weekend of Halloween activities, including a gala awards ceremony in honor of the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center. Pianist Chris Chalfant plays the Lumiano, a one-of-a-kind piano that lights up when played. The event features food from local eateries, including the French favorite Robin DesBois (Friday, 6-9 p.m., $20). Younger Brooklynites might enjoy the “haunted maze,” with Halloween treats a-plenty (Saturday, noon-6 p.m., $2 general, free for children under 5). All events: Micro Museum, 123 Smith St., between Dean and Pacific streets, Brooklyn, 718-797-3116.

FRANK TALK
Ken Russell’s 1986 film “Gothic” depicts Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, and their friend Dr. Polidori as they gather for a long, strange evening that inspired noteworthy literary output. Saturday, 4:30 p.m., American Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, 718-784-0077, $10 general, $7.50 seniors and students, $5 for children ages 5-18, free for members and children under 5.

MUSIC

IMAGINING DANCE
Music director Sung Jin Hong leads the One World Symphony in a program that includes Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and scenes from Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” Local composer Stanley Grill’s “Invisible Ballet,” which was inspired by audience members’ individual interpretations of music, has its premiere. Tonight, 8 p.m., St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 718-462-7270, $30 general, $20 seniors and students. Also: Tomorrow, 8 p.m., St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, 157 Montague St. at Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn.

SONGS OF FREEDOM
Jazz at Lincoln Center commissioned “Let Freedom Swing” as a musical tribute to champions of human rights. It sets the words of activists to original music performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with its artistic director, Wynton Marsalis. Highlights include a new libretto written by Czech leader Vaclav Havel, paired with music by Emil Viklicky and performed by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. The program is part of the grand-opening festival of the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall. Tonight through Saturday, 8 p.m., Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, 212-721-6500, $30-$150.

FEMM AT BAM
Trombonist Toli Nameless leads the seven-piece all-female dance band Femm Nameless. The band brings its Afro-beat sound to BAMcafe (tomorrow). The next evening, sound designer and bandleader Skooby Laposky performs (Saturday). Both performances: 9 p.m., Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, free admission, $10 food and drink minimum.

TALKS

FRANCE’S FEELINGS
French attorney Henri Hajdenberg delivers a lecture on “The New Antisemitism in France.” Tonight, 5:30 p.m., NYU Kimmel Center, 802 Shorin Performance Studio, 60 Washington Square South, between Laguardia Place and Thompson Street, 212-998-8754, free.

GAME DAY
Experts in video games, technology, and law convene for “State of Play,” a conference that explores cyberspace in real space. This year’s themes address the role of intellectual property laws in virtual worlds. Topics include legislatures’ jurisdiction over virtual worlds, copyrights and trademarks in cyberspace, and practicing real-world democracy online. Tonight through Saturday, tonight, 6 p.m. registration and sessions to follow, tomorrow, 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m., New York Law School, 57 Worth St. at Church Street, 212-431-2368, $350 includes all meals. See www.nyls.edu/stateofplay for full schedule and more information.

THEATER

CHEK IT OUT
The “Chekhov Now” festival presents eight new theater works inspired by Anton Chekhov’s plays, letters, and fiction. Highlights include performances of “3 Sisters Redux,” which strips 1210 1462 1320 1472away all ancillary characters in the play “Three Sisters” and is performed using only the dialogue of the siblings themselves (Saturday-Monday, Wednesday, and Monday, November 8), and a staged reading of “Uncle Victor,” Rosary O’Neill’s pastiche of “Uncle Vanya” that is set in turn-of-the-century Louisiana (Saturday, November 6). The festival is produced by the Laboratory for International Theatre Exchange, helmed by artistic director Adam Melnick. Festival: Saturday through Sunday, November 21, Monday-Thursday, 8 p.m., Friday, 8 and 10 p.m., Saturday, 2, 5, 8, and 10 p.m., Sundays, October 31 and November 7, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, November 14, 2, 5, and 8 p.m., Sunday, November 21, 2 and 5 p.m., Connelly Theatre, 220 E. 4th St., between avenues A and B, 212-414-7773, $15. See www.chekhovnow.com for full schedule and more information.

ART

CHILD’S PLAY
Painter Mike Cockrill imbues the pieces in his exhibit “Then Again” with religious imagery and the spirit of midcentury middle-class life. Female subjects are the focus: One little girl smiles primly in a halo and another, dressed in white, stares sullenly at the viewer. The figure in “Madonna of the Roses” (2004), left, can be seen as an icon suspended in air but also as a child jumping rope. “The Iliad” (2004), above, inserts a no-nonsense mother into a tableau combining war and commerce. A previous exhibit depicted young girls attacking circus clowns, a theme that is echoed here in Mr. Cockrill’s painting of a praying girl in clown makeup. Through Sunday, November 14, Friday-Monday, 1-7 p.m., 31 Grand, 31 Grand St. at Kent Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-388-2858, 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.