ART

AN EMPTY SPACE TO FILL IN “Blue,” presented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery, is a group exhibition of painting and photography by gallery artists on the theme of the color blue. Selections include Adela Leibowitz’s “Tulip” (2006), top, and Terry Rowlett’s “As Friends Go” (2006), above. Through Saturday, March 3, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Jenkins Johnson Gallery, 521 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-629-0707, free.

FAMILY

SWEEPING THE CLOUDS AWAY “Elmo’s Coloring Book” is a Sesame Street Live production that features a cheerful selection of memorable songs, including “Sunny Days” and “True Colors.” In this staging, the popular Elmo, Zoë, Oscar, and others friends ask children to imagine what would happen if colors — which can evoke so many emotions — suddenly disappeared. Friday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday–Sunday, 10:30 a.m., 2, and 5:30 p.m., Monday, 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plaza at Seventh Avenue, between 31st and 33rd streets, 212-465-6741, $15–$54.

DON’T EAT YOUR VEGGIES The Metropolitan Playhouse presents “The Festival of the Vegetables,” a performance by the Truly Fooly Children’s Troupe. The production features a series of witty poems, piano pieces, and dances that explore the secret life of produce. Set in a big-box supermarket, a child, shopping with mother, nods off to sleep and the adventure begins. Ensemble members include Maya Sheehy, Hope Kuei, and Steven Melendez. Craig Combs is music director of the event. Families are invited to accompany children between the ages of 5 and 12. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., Metropolitan Playhouse, 220 E. 4th St., between avenues A and B, 212-995-5302, $10 children, $5 adults.

FESTIVALS

HAPPY NEW YEAR The New Tang Dynasty TV station presents a Chinese New Year Spectacular, a production set to a live orchestra and fresh on the heels of its Chinese New Year Global Gala staged in December. The performance celebrates the beauty of ancient Eastern ritual. Friday, 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Sixth Ave., between 50th and 51st streets, 212-247-4777, $38-$180. For complete information, go to wonders.ntdtv.com.

FILM

BROOKLYN, MY HABITAT A screening of Stefanie Joshua’s “Bushwick Homecomings” is featured as part of the “Best of the Fest” program presented by the Brooklyn Academy of Music to coincide with the opening of the African Diaspora Film Festival. The documentary explores the rapid change and gentrification in a Brooklyn neighborhood once plagued by poverty and violence and now a lure for developers. (Ms. Joshua’s 38-minute film is also featured as part of the ADFF’s “Brooklyn Stories” segment.) Friday, 6:50 p.m., BAM festival through Wednesday, February 21, BAM, Rose Cinema, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Fort Greene, 718-636-4100, $10. For complete information, go to bam.org.

MUSIC

JAZZ PERFORMER Pianist Lucian Ban and a jazz ensemble, the Heiroglyphics, perform a wideranging program including selections from Mr. Ban’s critically acclaimed albums. Violinist Mark Feldman and drummer Barry Altschul are among featured guests. The performers span generations and the concert features elements of improvisation, contemporary classical, and modern jazz. Friday, 9 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St., between Bleecker and West 4th streets, 212-989-9319, free with one-drink minimum.

LOVE OVERBOARD Carnegie Hall and the R &B station 98.7 KISS FM present Grammy-award winning singer Gladys Knight, who performs selections from her expansive soul catalog — both songs recorded with her backing vocalists, the Pips, and as a soloist. “If I Were Your Woman,” recently covered by singer Alicia Keys, and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” are among the crowd favorites. Ms. Knight’s most recent release is “Before Me,” an album of jazz standards. Saturday, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, 54 W. 57th St. at Seventh Avenue, 212-247-7800, $35–$200.

READINGS

THE MAN WHO FOULED HIS OWN NEST KGB Bar hosts a reading in honor of the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard. A group of New York authors who have been influenced by the poet and playwright read from and discuss their encounters with his work. Dale Peck, Rhonda Lieberman, and Ben Marcus are among featured readers. In the November 8, 2006, edition of The New York Sun, Eric Ormsby wrote that while Austrian writers such as Johann Nestroy were light hearted in style, “Bernhard was downright nasty (as well as funny). The undeniable fact that he wrote the most magnificent German prose since Kafka only salted the national wound intolerably.” Sunday, 7 p.m., KGB Bar, second floor, 85 E. 4th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-769-6816, free.

SPORTS

VROOM, VROOM The restaurant and sports club the ESPN Zone hosts a family-friendly viewing party for the Daytona 500. Children can enjoy arcade games, and contests and prizes are provided for race car fans. Sunday, 3:15 p.m., ESPN Zone, 1472 Broadway at 42nd Street, 212-921-3776, free.

TALKS

ART AROUND GOTHAM The National Academy Museum presents “The Review Panel: CAA Special,” a talk led by a panel of prominent art critics who discuss selected exhibits currently on view around the city. A consulting editor for The New York Sun, David Cohen, is moderator of the event. Featured panelists include a contributing editor of Art & Auction, Carol Kino, and an art critic for the Sun, David Grosz. Among the shows under review is that of Gillian Carnegie at the Andrea Rosen Gallery. Through her deft brushwork Ms. Carnegie lends conventional subjects — a landscape, a still life, a nude — a touch that is at turns tough, moody, and provocative. Friday, 6:45 p.m., National Academy Museum, 1083 Fifth Ave. at 89th Street, 212-369-4880, $5 general, free for students and members.

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.