ARCHITECTURE

CIVIC PRIDE The exhibit “Civic Spirit: Changing the Course of Federal Design” celebrates the 10th anniversary of the U.S. General Services Administration program for design. The exhibit features 20 federal projects from around America and explores how the GSA program has improved the architecture of office buildings, border stations, and other government structures. Through January 8, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, between Bleecker and West 3rd streets, 212-358-6111, free.

ART

GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY An exhibit of black-and-white photography by Machiel Botman loosely follows the artist’s life over the past 25 years. The self-taught photographer’s show includes images from France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Belgium, America, and his birthplace, the Netherlands. Through Saturday, November 20, Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Gitterman Gallery, 170 E. 75th St., between Third and Lexington avenues, 212-734-0868, free.

BENEFITS

HEALING HANDS The Children’s Health Environmental Coalition joins the nonprofit Arts for Healing center for the “One World One Child” benefit. Olivia Newton-John,Creative Music Therapy’s co-founder, Clive Robbins, and Whole Foods are honored for their contributions. Beth Nielsen Chapman and Richard Marx provide musical entertainment and a live auction is hosted by Christie’s. Tonight, 6:30 p.m. cocktails, 7:30 p.m. dinner, the Plaza, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, 914-834-2868, $500-$5,000.

RIVER BANK Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dan Akroyd host a photography auction that benefits Riverkeeper, an environmental nonprofit that focuses on the Hudson River. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Joel Grey, and Jacques Lowe are on the auction block. Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. light supper and silent auction, 9 p.m. live auction, Boylan Studios, 601 W. 26th St., between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues, 14th floor, 845-424-4149 ext. 243, $100.

BOOKS

DE LOVELY The authors of “De Kooning: An American Master” (Knopf), Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, discuss their biography of Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning. He arrived in New York as a stowaway from Rotterdam in 1926, joined the city’s bohemian underworld, and eventually became a major figure in the New York school of painting. Today, noon, Municipal Art Society’s Urban Center Books, 457 Madison Ave. at 51st Street, 212-935-3592, $5 suggested donation.

WHITE NIGHT Tom Wolfe reads from his new novel “I Am Charlotte Simmons” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), about a small-town girl’s freshman year on a college campus. Tonight, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 E. 17th St. at Broadway, 212-253-0810, free.

REASON TO LIVE Editors and contributors to Reason magazine’s new “best of” anthology, “Choice” (Benbella), gather for a reading and discussion. Participants will be the libertarian journal’s editor in chief, Nick Gillespie,asenior editor, Brian Doherty, and contributors Joe Bob Briggs and Cathy Young.A writer for the Onion, Joe Garden, moderates. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Greenwich Village, 396 Sixth Ave. at 8th Street, 212-674-8780, free.

COMEDY

FUNNY BUSINESS Mo’Nique, the host of “Showtime at the Apollo” and star of the sitcom “The Parkers,” closes the New York City Comedy Festival. Saturday, 7 p.m. requested arrival, 8 p.m. show, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, $49-$69.50. 476 1475 635 1485Festival: Through Saturday, various times and locations, 212-307-7171, prices vary.See www.nycomedyfestival.com for full schedule and more information.

KING OF COMEDY Catskills comic Freddie Roman and comedian Judy Gold discuss Alan King’s influence on American comedy. The tribute includes clips from King’s performances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Monday, 8:15 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $25.

DANCE

SPRING STEPS The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performs a colorful contemporary program as part of a family dance series. Selections include “Peach Flower Landscape,” based on a Utopian vision by 4th-century Chinese poet Tau Yuan Ming; the quartet for women, “Raindrops;” and a performance by Chinese Opera-style specialist Tao Liu.The afternoon concludes with “Festival,” a depiction of the summer Dragon Boat Festival in China. Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Tribeca Performing Arts Center,Theater 1, 199 Chambers St. at West Side Highway, 212-220-1460, $14 general, $9 children.

DESIGN

CAN-DO ATTITUDE At the Canstruction design competition, builders construct huge sculptures out of cans of food. In previous contests, designers have created a huge Humpty Dumpty, a trio of enormous candles, and a tribute to the sculpture of Easter Island. The awards are given out tonight in a private ceremony, but the results will be on display for several weeks. Admission is one can of food – to benefit the Food Bank of New York City. Exhibit: Tomorrow through Wednesday, November 24, Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Ave. at 32nd Street, 212-679-9500, free admission with one can of food.

FAMILY

CLAY LAMPS AND COLLAGES Children can explore artist Romare Bearden’s col lages, which were influenced by African and European art. After examining Bearden’s children’s book illustrations, children ages 6 and older can create their own collages and watercolors (Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m., 718-735-4400 ext. 112, registration required). The next day, a concert features the jazz music that inspired much of Bearden’s work (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.). Both events: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Mark’s Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-735-4400, $4 general, free for members.

COSTUME CUSTOMS A workshop shows children ages 6 to 12 how people around the world use costumes in theater, rituals, Halloween, and Mardi Gras. Participants first check out 19th-century sculptural portraits from Africa,Asia, and Europe. Afterward, children can decorate their own masks to take home. Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m., Dahesh Museum of Art, 580 Madison Ave., between 56th and 57th streets, 212-759-0606, program free for children 12 and under, companions pay regular museum admission, $9 general, $4 seniors and students.

PAPER PEOPLE A benefit for the Paper Bag Players children’s theater group welcomes families for an evening of fun. Highlights include carnival games, arts and crafts, musicians, fortune-tellers, caricaturists, acrobats, magicians, and a preview of the players’ new show, “Put On Your Shoes, I’ve Got News!” Sunday, 1-3 p.m., Chelsea Piers, Pier Sixty, 23rd Street and the Hudson River, 800-777-2247, $75-$5,000.

FILM

DOCUMENTARY DAYS The Margaret Mead film and video festival is the longest-running American showcase for international documentaries. The festival kicks off with the New York premiere of Leslie Sullivan’s “A Touch of Greatness,” a portrait of a maverick school teacher that weaves contemporary interviews with footage filmed by Robert Downey Sr. (tonight, 7 p.m.). “The Beauty Academy of Kabul” is Liz Mermin’s story about a group of American beauticians who traveled to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban to open the country’s first beauty school (tomorrow, 8:45 p.m.). A tribute to French ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch (1917-2004) includes screenings of three works that highlight his time in America. Rouch was also honored with a retrospective in 1977, the festival’s inaugural year (tomorrow, 6:30 p.m.).Though many of the films are playing again next weekend, the festival officially closes with Sergio Morkin’s “Oscar,” the story of an Argentinian taxi driver and “guerilla artist” (Sunday, 8:15 p.m.). Festival: Tonight through Sunday, and Saturday and Sunday, November 20 and 21, times vary, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5200, $99 includes 12 tickets and admission to opening night film and reception, $11 individual screenings, $10 seniors and students.

MUSIC

YOSHIMI SINGS The Japanese band OOIOO is headed by Yoshimi P-We, the inspiration for the Flaming Lips’ latest album,”Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.” The band is also known for their frequent appearances in body paint. Tomorrow, 11 p.m., Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., between Church Street and Broadway, 212-219-3132, $12 in advance, $14 at the door.

MARKING ARMISTICE DAY The Downtown Chamber & Opera Players opens its season with an Armistice Day concert. The program includes Kurt Weill’s “Four Walt Whitman Songs,” featuring the group’s director, Mimi Stern-Wolfe,on the piano. Other highlights include the New York premiere of Timothy Brown’s “In Flanders Field,” with coloratura Gayla Morgan and the Downtown Piano Quartet, and Katherine Hoover’s “Central American Songs.” Sunday, 3 p.m., St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue, 212-477-1594, $10.

NATURE

PINING AWAY The Benenson Ornamental Conifers are back on view at the New York Botanical Garden after an extensive five-year restoration. The 15-acre site includes more than 400 conifers from all over the world, including 200 new trees that were added during the renovation. A concurrent exhibit at the garden’s library, “Cultured Conifers,” features botanical illustrations and rare books. Garden: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., New York Botanical Garden, Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, Bronx, 718-817-8700, $13 general, $11 seniors, $5 children ages 2 through 12, free for younger children. Exhibit: Through January 30, Tuesday-Thursday, noon-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon-5 p.m., NYBG Library Gallery, 718-817-8604, free with garden admission.

POETRY

SPINOZA SAYS Poet Colette Inez celebrates the release of her new collection, “Spinoza Doesn’t Live Here Any More” (Melville House), with a reading and reception. Ms. Inez was born in Belgium and raised in an orphanage before moving to New York City. She now teaches poetry at Columbia University. Tonight, 7 p.m., Poets House, 72 Spring St., between Broadway and Lafayette Street, 212-431-7920, free.

SPORTS

DERBY DAY Gotham Girls Rollery Derby presents its first exhibition competition, between the Manhattan Mayhem (wearing orange) and the Brooklyn Bombshells (in “sailorette” stripes). The all-female teams will battle for the title of “Toughest Gang of Chicks on Skates.” Tomorrow, 7 p.m. doors open, 8 p.m. competition, Skate Key Rink, 220 E. 138th St. and Canal Place, Bronx, www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com, $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

TALKS OCEAN EXPLORATION A daylong Explorers Club seminar focuses on stories of 1232 1211 1338 1222ocean exploration.Topics include “New York’s Captain Kidd,” “Long Island Sound Shipwrecks,” and “The Floating Art Gallery” of the Andrea Doria. Saturday, 9 a.m. registration, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. lectures, 6 p.m. cocktail party, Explorers Club, 46 E. 70th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-628-8383, $45, contact events@explorers.org for more information.

THE WORLD’S A STAGE A panel discusses the state of contemporary international theater, touching on works from “The Dybbuk” to “The Temptation of St. Anthony.” A reception follows. Saturday, 2-5 p.m., Brooklyn Academy of Music, Hillman Attic Studio, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $10 general, $5 members.

THEATER

LOVE TRIANGLE Playwright Edna O’Brien’s “Triptych” follows three women as they reveal their love for the same man. Through Sunday, tonight and tomorrow, 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.

SHE’S ON THE CASE The new family musical “Cam Jansen” is based on David Adler’s popular book series featuring a young heroine of the same name. Opens: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Runs: Tomorrow through Sunday, November 28,Tuesday-Friday, 7 p.m., Saturday, noon, 3:30, and 7 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Lamb’s Theatre, 130 W. 44th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-239-6200, $25. Note: No performance on Thursday, November 25 (Thanksgiving) and additional performance on Friday, November 26, at 2 p.m.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE Nikolai Gogol’s 1833 comedy “Marriage” takes place in St. Petersburg and follows a young unmarried woman who is wooed by four bachelors. The play is performed in repertory with Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” and begins previews tomorrow. Opens: Saturday, November 21, 8 p.m. Runs: Through Sunday, December 19, days and times vary, the Pearl Theatre Company, Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark’s Place at First Avenue, 212-598-9802, $40 for Tuesday-Thursday shows and Saturday matinees, $50 Friday-Sunday shows.

TOURS

GREENE DAY A New York Like a Native walking tour explores Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. The Brooklyn stroll includes stops at row houses, mansions, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Pratt Institute. Sunday, 1:30-4 p.m., 718-393-7537 for meeting place and reservations, $13.

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.