ART

HOMEGROWN ARTIST An art critic for The New York Sun, Maureen Mullarkey, presents her first solo exhibit with the George Billis Gallery. Her collages feature artifacts of old books and paper. Ms. Mullarkey writes in the catalog: ” How we remember the past determines the way we inhabit the present. Forgetting is not an option.” Selections include “Drop of Day” (2006), above. Tonight through Saturday, March 3, reception tonight, 6 p.m., exhibit hours, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., George Billis Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, ground floor, 212-645-2621, free.

DESIGN

HEY, GOOD LOOKING The New York Design Fair features dealers offering all kinds of design wares, from antiquities through the 21st century. American, European, and Continental designs are mostly featured. The fair attempts to balance comfort and great design in pieces ranging from garden pieces to home accessories. Today through Sunday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Seventh Regiment Armory, 643 Park Ave. at 66th Street, 914-437-5983, $20.

FAMILY

SAY IT WITH CALLIGRAPHY “Beautiful Words, Beautiful Writing: Calligraphy With Elinor Holland” is an instructional event on the elegant, if neglected, art. The program for young adults is led by Ms. Holland, an expert on Arabic illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy. Today, 3:30 p.m., New York Public Library, Castle Hill Branch, 947 Castle Hill Ave. at Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx, 718-824-3838, free.

FOOD & DRINK

STIR THINGS UP A LITTLE The Eight at Eight Dinner Club hosts a “progressive” night out for singles ahead of Valentine’s Day. While the group has typically organized dinner parties of four men and four women, the event has been expanded in honor of a holiday that can leave the uncoupled feeling excluded. Guests are invited to a night of dinner, bar-hopping in TriBeCa, and with any luck, a chance to meet a special valentine. Hostesses join guests to ensure there is mingling. Saturday, 7 p.m., meet at Cercle Rouge bistro, 241 W. Broadway, between Beach and White streets, 212-785-5888, $50 general, $35 members. For complete information, go to 8at8.com.

MUSIC

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE Carnegie Hall presents a performance of Ruth Fazal’s “Oratorio Terezin,” a dramatic work set in the context of the Holocaust. Ms. Fazal composed the piece using children’s poetry that survived from the ghetto of Terezin (a concentration camp north of Prague) together with passages from Hebrew scripture to portray the feeling of spiritual grace in the midst of suffering. Conductor Kirk Trevor leads the Perspectives Ensemble Orchestra. The Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, New Streams Children’s Choir, and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City are among featured guests. Tonight, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, 54 W. 57th St. at Seventh Avenue, 212-247-7800, $25–$50.

BANG THE DRUM BAMCafé at the Brooklyn Academy of Music hosts “Bonga & the Voodoo Drums of Haiti,” an evening of traditional Haitian roots music, performed in raw form by the Voodoo Drums of Haiti collective. Musician and instructor Gaston Jean-Baptiste leads the group in energetic drumming, dancing, and acoustic ceremonial singing drawn from a repertoire of Afro-Haitian rhythms. Tomorrow, 10 p.m., BAMCafé, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette St., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Fort Greene, 718-636-4139, free.

READINGS

CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK KGB Bar hosts a reading by a group of young black novelists who are making waves in the publishing industry. Colson Whitehead, Martha Southgate, and Eisa Ulen discuss and read from recently published works as part of the “Behind the Book Reading Series.” A nonprofit literacy program, Behind the Book, works with low-income students in New York City public schools in an effort to cultivate young readers. Tonight, 7 p.m., KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-769-6816, free.

TALKS

DRIP, DROP The panel discussion “World Water: Perspectives on Freshwater Resources in the 21st Century” focuses on ways developing societies can obtain clean, safe water as global water consumption grows at twice the rate of the world’s population. The panelists also discuss how the city’s water supply has traveled from local ponds to upstate reservoirs since the 18th century. Panelists include a fellow at the Institute of Urban Studies at the City University of New York, Albert Appleton, and a professor of economics at the Universidad Autonama Metropolitana in Mexico City, David Barkin. A professor of architecture at the Cooper Union, Kevin Bone, is moderator of the event. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St. at Third Avenue, 212-353-2200, free.

DUST TRACKS ON A ROAD Poet and author Quincy Troupe discusses the writing of an autobiography in a talk presented by the Institute of African American Affairs of New York University. Mr. Troupe has collaborated with such figures as jazz legend Miles Davis and businessman Chris Gardner, whose tale of struggle, “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Amistad), is the subject of a feature film. Mr. Truope is also the editor of the university’s literary journal, Black Renaissance Noir. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., NYU, Institute of African American Affairs, 7th floor, 41 E. 11th St., between Broadway and University Place, 212-998-4222, free.

AN UNCONVENTIONAL ROMANCE “Beauvoir and Sarte: A Passionate Pact” is the topic of a talk featured as part of the Meet the Artists Series presented by the French Institute Alliance Française. The author of “Tête-à-Tête: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre” (HarperCollins), Hazel Rowley, and playwright Fabrice Rozié lead a discussion of the unconventional manner in which the French literary couple approached love, passion, writing, and sexual freedom. Author Honor Moore is moderator of the event. Tonight, 7 p.m., French Institute Alliance Française, Tinker Auditorium, 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-355-6160, $12 general, $8 students and members.

THEATER

FROM THE LOW TO THE HIGH The St. Bart’s Players perform Ken Ludwig’s “Moon Over Buffalo,” about a fading Broadway couple who tour Buffalo and receive a call from a prominent Broadway director. The revival is directed by Brian Feehan, and actors include Robert Berger, Brian Haggerty, and Anne Watters. Tonight through Sunday, February 18, Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., St. Bart’s Playhouse, 109 E. 50th St. at Park Avenue, 212-378-0248, $25 general, $23 students and seniors.

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.