ART

DYED IN THE WOOL Erma Martin Yost’s hand stitched felt artworks are on display at the Noho Gallery. Many of the pieces in “Feltworks” are diptychs of animals, such as fish, birds, and dragonflies. Through Saturday, February 19, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 530 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, fourth floor, 212-367-7063, free.

GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE The 7,500 banners in Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” will be unfurled this weekend. The installation, which will be on view for 16 days, will line 23 miles of Central Park’s footpaths. Saturday, 8:45 a.m., on view daily through Monday, February 28, Central Park, free.

DEEP FREEZE Tony Stanzione’s site-specific sculpture “Cold Storage” consists of stacked steel bunk beds, bedpans, and pillows made of ice. Over the course of the exhibit, running water that corresponds to the temperature outside will freeze as it runs over the 15-foot-tall structure. Reception: Friday, 6-9 p.m. Exhibit: Friday through Monday, March 14, Friday-Monday, noon-6 p.m., Black & White Gallery, 483 Driggs Ave., between N. 9th and N. 10th streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-599-8775, free.

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT Two Williamsburg galleries host a group exhibit of contemporary art exploring the American South. “Cracker,” which closes this weekend, features Chris Verene’s photography series focusing on his grandfather and his caretaker in Florida, Travis Lindquist’s “Pentecostal Playboy Bunny” figurines, and Katherine Daniels’s homage to West Virginia crafts. Exhibit: Through Sunday, free. NURTUREart Gallery: Friday, noon-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon-6 p.m., 475 Keap St. at Union Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-782-7755. Naked Duck Gallery: Saturday, 1-5 p.m., Sunday, noon-6 p.m., 66 Jackson St., between Leonard and Lorimer streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-609-4096.

BENEFITS

THEATER TREATS The New Federal Theatre celebrates its 35th anniversary with a gala concert honoring the black theater community. Performers include Leslie Uggams, Phylicia Rashad, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Hattie Winston. Ossie Davis, who died last week, was among the scheduled hosts; he will be remembered with a tribute. Sunday, 3 p.m., Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-838-2660, $75-$300 includes dinner.

DOUGHNUTS AND DANCING The UJA-Federation of New York presents the “Music to Their Ears” benefit party to celebrate the Grammy Awards. Young professionals gather to nosh on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, enjoy unlimited Absolut vodka drinks, and dance the night away. Sunday, 8 p.m.-midnight, BLVD, 199 Bowery at Spring Street, 212-836-1129, $40 in advance, $60 at the door.

GAINING GROUND Common Ground, a nonprofit organization that combats homelessness, honors Russell Simmons and Lee, Dana, and Peter Larson at its annual gala. Two tenants who have benefited from Common Ground’s services will talk about how their lives have changed, and works of art by tenants in the organization’s building will be on display. Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. cocktails, 7:30 p.m. dinner, Grand Hyatt ballroom, Park Avenue at 42nd Street, 212-471-0885, $800.

BOOKS

OUT OF THE PARK Art Shamsky discusses his book “The Magnificent Seasons” (Thomas Dunne), about the 1969-70 sports season when the New York Jets, Mets, and Knicks all won championships. He is joined by the author of “Heart of the Game: An Illustrated Celebration of the American League, 1946-1960” (SportClassic), Andy Jurinko. Saturday, 6 p.m., Coliseum Books, 11 W. 42nd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-803-5890, free.

CELESTIAL REASONING Mary Rose Occhino discusses her book “Beyond These Four Walls” (Berkley Trade), about her psychic abilities – she claims to use “celestial whispers” to help the living communicate with the dead. Saturday, 1 p.m., Barnes & Noble Staten Island, 2245 Richmond Ave., between Travis and Nome avenues, Staten Island, 718-982-6983, free.

DANCE

AMERICAN SPIRIT Thunderbird American Indian Dancers hold their 30th annual dance concert and storytelling “pow wow.” Highlights include Raymond Two Feathers’s hoop dance, an Inuit “caribou dance,” and a shawl dance from the Oklahoma tribes. In the final section of the program, the audience can join in the Round Dance, a friendship dance. The troupe’s director, Louis Mofsie, will narrate all the performances. Proceeds will go to college funds for needy American Indian students. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m., Sunday, 5 p.m., Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. at 10th Street, 212-254-1109, $10.

FAMILY

FAMILY PORTRAITS El Museo del Barrio opens its doors to the public for a day of free family activities. The exhibit “Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits,” which includes more than 100 portraits from 15 countries, is the day’s highlight. Visitors can create their own family portrait and try on period costumes inspired by the exhibit. Saturday, noon-4 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-831-7272, free.

FILM

BLACK AND WHITE The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s repertory film program, BAMcinematek, resurrects some of the highlights from last year’s New York African Diaspora Film Festival. The series kicks off with “Denying Brazil,” a documentary about black actors’ struggles to break into Brazilian soap operas (Friday, 2 p.m., Thursday, 4:30 p.m.). Two screenings of “Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality” are followed by a question-and-answer session with director Maya B.(Friday, 9:15 p.m., Monday, 6:50 p.m.). Friday through Thursday, times vary, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette St., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100 for information, $10 general, $7 seniors, students on Monday-Thursday, and children under 12, $6 members.

DOWNCAST DROMEDARY The Mongolian film “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary, returns to the big screen at the ImaginAsian theater. The film tells the story of a family of herders in the Gobi desert whose camel rejects its newborn calf. Eddie Goldberger noted in The New York Sun, “If you like camels, especially sad ones, this film should not disappoint.” It is screened with the short animated film “Little Terrorist,” also nominated for an Oscar this year (7:45p.m. show only). Friday through Friday, February 18, 3 and 7:45 p.m., ImaginAsian, 239 E. 59th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-371-6682, $10 general, $8 seniors and children, $6 students on Thursdays.

MUSIC

PLASTIC PUNK The art punk band Tracy + the Plastics presents its first full-length performance and video installation, ROOM. During the day, the space is a “utopian living room” art project co created by sculptor Fawn Krieger. By night, Wynne Greenwood uses it as a stage for her music performances as Tracy + the Plastics, which include “conversations” via video projection with her two disaffect ed bandmates, Nikki and Cola. Ms. Greenwood plays all three members of the band. It’s all very complicated and arty, but it’s also suffused with cheeky humor. Through Saturday, 8 p.m., the Kitchen, 512 W. 19th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-255-5793 ext. 11, $12 general, $10 seniors and students.

COOL AND NOT-SO Smarty-pants rapper Kool Keith, also known as Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom, performs at B.B. King. He raps about subjects that gangsta rappers wouldn’t touch: dressing up like Shakespeare, Campbell’s Soup, and a unified theory of complex systems. (Friday, 11 p.m., $20). In a few weeks, uncool Donny Osmond performs two nights at the blues club. His latest release, “What I Meant to Say,” is his 54th studio album. (Wednesday and Thursday, February 23 and 24, 8 p.m., $40). B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42 St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-307-7171.

EASY AS 1, 2 … AT 3 P.M. The New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble performs Vasily Kalinnikov’s Symphony no. 1 and Charles Ives’s Symphony no. 2. Sunday, 3 p.m., Julia Richman Education Complex, 317 E. 67th St. at Second Avenue, 646-245-9430, $10.

FINN’S FAVORITES The music of composer Bill Finn takes center stage at “Broadway Sings the Jews.” Mr. Finn, whose most recent musical is “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” performs his songs with Betty Buckley. Vocalist Don Croll joins them to perform tunes from “Porgy and Bess” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” all celebrating Jewish identity. Sunday, 5 p.m., Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 W. 83rd St. at Central Park West, 212-929-9498, $36.

HOW’S THE WEATHER? The local band Sam Champion, named after the WABC weatherman, plays rock music in the early 1990s mold – it counts Wilco and Pavement among its influences. The three-piece ensemble performs this weekend at the soon-to-close Luna Lounge. Saturday, 9:30 p.m., Luna Lounge, 171 Ludlow St., between Stanton and Houston streets, 212-260-2323, free.

PARTY

CANINE CAVORTING The Dog Show Party is an irreverent celebration that coincides with the last night of judging at the Westminster Dog Show. A live video telecast of the final ceremony is embel lished with “expert” analysis by comedians Mike O’Brien, Jon Bulette, Jon Friedman, and Rich Zeroth. The “Dog Show Dancers” provide another distraction and singer-songwriter Nellie McKay performs a short set. Winners of the night’s multitude of goofy contests receive copies of the books “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” “Dogwalker,” and “Doggerel: Poems About Dogs.” Proceeds go to Rational Animal, which advocates for at-risk animals in New York. Tuesday, 7 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk St., between Delancey and Rivington streets, $10.

TALKS

SETTING THE STAGE Designer and director Julie Taymor and set designer Ming Cho Lee talk about their collaborations and their use of the stage as a “sculptural space.” Sunday, 3 p.m., Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd St. at Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, 718-204-7088, free with admission, $5 general, $2.50 seniors and students, free for children under 12.

E=CUNY² Professor David Cassidy (not that David Cassidy) kicks off a lecture series at CUNY celebrating the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s annus miravilis, the “miracle year” in which he published three papers that revolutionized physics. Mr. Cassidy is the author of “Einstein and Our World” (Humanity). Monday, 6 p.m., CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34 Street, 212 817-8215, $10 general, $45 for entire series.

THEATER

60 FIRST KISSES In Jay Hanagan’s play “First Kisses,” a couple’s relationship grows over 60 years of love, birth, and death. A one-night-only reading of the play, with 16 actors playing the couple as they age, benefits the Boomerang Theatre Company. Sunday, 7 p.m., Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St., between Bleecker and Bedford streets, 212-279-4200, $25 and $70.

MONSTER MASH The new off-Broadway play “The Frankenstein Summer” opens this weekend. Catherine Bush’s drama is about the meeting of Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley at Byron’s Swiss villa in the summer of 1816. The decadent summer inspired Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein.” Marc Geller directs and acts in the Red Light District production. Opens: Sunday, 7 p.m. Runs: Through Saturday, February 26, Tuesday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 p.m., Phil Bosakowski Theatre, 354 W. 45th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-352-3101, $15.

TOUR

GREENWICH GATHERING A walking tour explores Greenwich Village, focusing on the neighborhood’s historic residents. Sunday, 1 p.m., meet in front of Christopher Street Park, Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street, 212-979-8013, $12 general, $10 seniors and students.

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