ART

THE BOWERY IN CHELSEA Bowery Gallery presents a group show of work, mostly paintings, by 34 of its members. Most of the artists – including Barbara Grossman, Naomi Nemtzow, Christine Hartman, and June Silverberg – adhere to the gallery’s commitment to create work “seen through the lens of European and American modernism.” Reception: Tonight, 5-8 p.m. Exhibit: Through Saturday, January 29, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Bowery Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, fourth floor, 646-230-6655, free.

BEAUTY, THE BEAST An exhibit of feminist artist Martha Rosler’s photomontages focuses mostly on work from two series. “Bringing the War Home: House Beautiful/In Vietnam” was made between 1967 and 1972, and “Beauty Knows No Pain, or Body Beautiful,” from 1965 to 1974. For the latter series, Ms. Rosler cut out female body parts from issues of Playboy and pasted them onto advertisements for kitchen appliances and lingerie. Several new collages are also included in the exhibit. Through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Gorney Bravin + Lee, 534 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-352-8872, free.

BOOKS

MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH The author of “Dead Man Walking,” Sister Helen Prejean, discusses her new book on capital punishment, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions” (Random House), which examines two executions that Sister Prejean attended. Tonight, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

EMBRACING BLOCKBUSTERS Tom Shone discusses his book “Blockbuster: Or, How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer” (Free Press). The book explores the role of multimillion-dollar summer hits in Hollywood, beginning with Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Park Slope, 267 Seventh Ave. at 6th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-832-9066, free.

DANCE

WATER WORK The Avodah Dance Ensemble presents “Mayim,” a meditation on the healing qualities of water choreographed by the group’s new artistic director, Julie Gayer. As part of the program, Rabbi Norman Cohen speaks about the symbolism of water in the Jewish tradition. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religions, 1 W. 4th St., between Broadway and Mercer streets, 212-477-1368, $12 general, $8 seniors and students, photo identification required for entrance.

BROOKLYN BEACON Yanira Castro + Company performs its new site-specific program “Beacon” at the Brooklyn Lyceum, a former bathhouse. The contemporary piece explores the “darkness, confusion, and chaos” that result from catastrophe. Set to original music by Dan Siegler, “Beacon” features muscular bursts of dance accompanied by recitations from Aechylus’s “The Libation Bearers.” Each of the three Sunday performances is followed by a question-and-answer session. “Beacon” is produced by the Dance Theater Workshop. Tomorrow through Sunday, January 23, Fridays and Saturdays, 7 and 9 p.m., Sundays, 6 p.m., Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 Fourth Ave., between President and Union streets, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 212-924-0077, $20.

FAMILY

MARCHING KINGS El Museo del Barrio throws its 28th annual Three Kings Day parade to celebrate the popular Latin American and Caribbean holiday. Costumed schoolchildren, floats, music, and large puppets march in the procession. Afterward, the Harbor Conservatory performs in the museum courtyard and Teatro Hecksher presents dance and dramatic selections. Today, 8:30 a.m. registration for marchers, 10 a.m. parade begins at 106th Street and Fifth Avenue, then continues up Third Avenue to 116th Street, down Lexington Avenue, and back to the museum, 212-831-7272, free.

FILM

SCREEN SIREN Bollywood movie idol Aishwarya Rai stars in “Raincoat,” a boymeets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-uses-raincoat-to-win-girl-back tale that is playing at the ImaginAsian Theater beginning tomorrow. Appearing on “60 Minutes” last Sunday, Ms. Rai made headlines in India when she said that upon her move to Hollywood she will consider an onscreen kiss – a major taboo in Indian cinema. She is currently starring in the British film “Bride and Prejudice.” Tomorrow through Thursday, January 13, noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45, and 9 p.m., ImaginAsian Theater, 239 E. 59th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-371-6682, $10 general, $8 seniors and children, $6 for students on Tuesdays.

ONLINE SHORTS Blogger and filmmaker Greg Allen (www.greg.org) shares an installment of his Souvenir Series of short “video blogs,” accompanied by clips by his influences. The talk is sponsored by the independent-film group the Reel Roundtable. Monday, 7:30 p.m. reception, 8 p.m. screening and talk, the Millennium Theater, 66 E. 4th St., between Second Avenue and Bowery, www.reelroundtable.com ,$5.

FOOD & DRINK

SWEET CHARITY Tabla will host a five course meal of new Indian cuisine. The restaurant will donate 100% of the proceeds to Save the Children’s tsunami relief efforts. The two wine tastings for each course are donated by Korbrand (Monday, 6:30 p.m. Champagne reception, meal to follow, Tabla, 11 Madison Ave. at 24th Street, 866-562-7263, $175). Meanwhile, restaurants in the B.R. Guest group – which includes Blue Water Grill, Ruby Foo’s, Dos Caminos, and Fiamma – will donate 20% of all net sales for three days to the International Red Cross. The effort, which lasts from this Sunday’s brunch through Tuesday’s dinner, is expected to raise more than $150,000. See www.brguestrestaurants.com for full list of restaurants.

MUSIC

EARLY JAZZ The series “Highlights in Jazz” presents an evening of early jazz performed by trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, trumpeter Randy Sandke, and vocalist Carrie Smith. The eight-piece Manhattan Ragtime Orchestra joins in. Tonight, 8 p.m., Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St., between Greenwich and West streets, 212-220-1460, $27.50 general, $25 students.

SINGING HISTORY At a “shape-note singing” session, singers sit facing a leader, who stands in the center of the room, and sing 16th-century choral music a cappella. The sing-along style is seen as the precursor to gospel music, and was popular in the American South, especially among Baptist sects that eschewed instruments other than voice. The four-part harmony music was later revived in the North in the 1960s folk music movement. The singing is now a social event that draws people of all backgrounds and skill levels. Saturday, 3-6 p.m., the Living Room, 154 Ludlow St., between Rivington and Stanton streets, 212-533-7235, free.

BIRTHDAY CONCERT Saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera celebrates his 50th birthday with a musical party that includes performances by Bill Cosby, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes, Brazilian songstress Rosa Passos, and many others. Monday, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, 212-247-7800, $18-$66.

SISTER ACT Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara perform their indie pop tunes at the Bowery Ballroom next week. A former half of the Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, and writerly emo kids the Honorary Title open. Wednesday, 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. at Bowery, 212-533-2111, $13 in advance, $15 at the door.

POETRY

DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE Architect Ben Jacks collaborated with poet Annie Finch to curate the new exhibit “Walking, Poems & Buildings.” It features poems and architectural models of a bus shelter, a nature center, and a “writer’s hut” created by students at Miami University. The show connects the disciplines by exploring how both architects and poets “build and inhabit durable and harmonious forms.” At tomorrow’s opening, Ms. Finch will read poetry (6-8 p.m.). Exhibit: Tomorrow through Friday, February 25, Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Poets House, 72 Spring St., between Lafayette and Crosby streets, second floor, 212-431-7920, free.

TALKS

CHAMPAGNE CHAT The president of Clicquot Inc., Mireille Guiliano, discusses her new book “French Women Don’t Get Fat” (Knopf) at an event sponsored by the French Alliance/Alliance Francaise. Tonight, 7 p.m., Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison avenues, $18 general, $12 members.

LIVING WITH NATURE The president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Steven Sanderson, discusses the balance between allocating resources toward protecting endangered species and addressing human poverty. Tuesday, 8:15 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $25 general, $18 members.

ART IMITATING LIFE Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Steve Earle and Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme discuss their work, with special attention to the subject of how politics and current events influence artistic ex pression. Friday, January 14, 7 p.m., the New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum, 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, 212-930-0855, $10 general, $7 members.

THEATER

INTERNATIONAL LAUGHS Each of the seven one-act comedies in Rich Orlof f’s “Foreign Affairs” is set in a different country: The action plays out in Argentina, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Antarctica, and the Vatican (where the pope finds himself married to a showgirl). Holli Harms directs the Foolish Theatre Company and WorkShop Theater Company production. Previews begin: Tomorrow, 8 p.m. Opens: Monday, 7 p.m. Runs: Fridays, 8 p.m., Saturdays, 6 and 9 p.m., Sundays, 7 p.m., 312 W. 36th St. at Eighth Avenue, fourth floor, 212-352-3101, $15.

DOWN WITH MEN “Eugene: A Bioethical Romance” is performed in a workshop setting next week. B.R. Westbrook’s play follows a man who is lured into the gene manipulation underground, becomes a radical feminist, and attempts to un leash a virus that would decimate “the male race.” Matt Okin directs the Gilbert-Westbrook production. Monday and Tuesday, 8 p.m., Manhattan Theatre Source, 177 Macdougal St. at West Street, 212-501-4751, $12.

TOURS

WATERFRONT WALK A walking tour explores waterfront development in Lower Manhattan. Participants will walk to the Fulton Fish Market from the River Project at Pier 26.The director of the Municipal Art Society’s metropolitan waterfront alliance, Carter Craft, leads the tour, which includes stops at the Winter Garden, historic Pier A, Castle Clinton, and the Battery Maritime Building. Sunday, 11 a.m., meet at the River Project, Pier 26 and North Moore Street, 212-439-1049, free.

WORKSHOPS

TO THE LETTER The editor of the lettering journal Alphabet, Christopher Calderhead, presents a lecture and workshop on calligraphy in the East and West. Mr. Calder head and an East Asian scribe will discuss the role of tools and script in text based art. At a workshop the next day, the basic components of Eastern and Western writing styles will be taught. Items from the Rubin Museum of Art’s collection of Himalayan art are available to inspire the inscription process. Talk: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Workshop: Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-620-5000 ext.344, $15 talk only, $95 talk and workshop, not including materials. See www.rmanyc.org for more information.

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