ART

SIDEWALKING “The Secret Lives of Streets” is an exhibit organized by 10 Brooklyn high school students who researched how Brooklyn’s streets were originally named. The students used the resources of the Brooklyn Historical Society to complete their research, in a pilot after-school program called Exhibition Laboratory. The teenagers curated the entire exhibit, showing how culture, historic Brooklyn events, and notable Brooklyn residents factored into the naming of the streets. Tonight, 5:30 p.m. opening reception, exhibit through Sunday, September 2, Wednesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m., Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepoint St. at Clinton Street, 718-222-4111, free.

WOMEN BUILT TO FIGHT The BravinLee gallery hosts a reception to celebrate the opening of the “Vogue Series,” an exhibit of works on paper by Marcia Kure. Ms. Kure’s technique is inspired by the ancient cave drawings of southern Africa and the Uli wall murals of Nigeria. In this show, Ms. Kure depicts a small army of voluminous female figures using pigment derived from the West African kola nut. The images evoke glamour, even as they present a commentary on the impersonal sexuality of fashion and advertising. Tonight, 6 p.m., through Friday, July 13, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., BravinLee, suite 211, 526 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-462-4404, free.

FAMILY

TIPPY TOES The American Ballet Theatre’s ABTKids program presents a performance of excerpts from this season’s works, including “The Sleeping Beauty.” ABT’s resident children’s ballerina, Angelina Ballerina, dances the parts, and is available after the show for photographs and autographs. Saturday, 11:30 a.m., Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, Broadway and 65th Street, 212-362-2000, $25.

FILM

VANISHED WORLD As part of its Film Day series, the Yeshiva University Museum hosts “Jews in Poland, 1930s,” an afternoon screening of movies about Jewish life in pre-World War II Poland. The program is presented in conjunction with the ongoing exhibit “And I Still See Their Faces: The Vanished World of Polish Jews.” Among the highlights is “Children Must Laugh” (1935), one of few surviving pre-war documentaries about this theme, which screens at noon. “Yiddle With His Fiddle” (1936), a Yiddish musical folk comedy about a penniless man and his daughter who decide to become traveling musicians, screens at 2 p.m. The executive director of the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University, Sharon Pucker Rivo, introduces the films. Sunday, noon–4 p.m., exhibit through Sunday, June 24, Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-294-8330, free with museum admission, $8 general, $6 students and seniors.

FOOD & DRINK

MOUTHWATERING SPECTACULAR The fifth annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party takes over Madison Square Park this weekend, featuring pitmasters and their handiworks from across the country. Pitmasters this year include Michael Rodriguez from the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas; Chris Lilly of Big Bob Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala.; Ed Mitchell of Mitchell’s BBQ in Wilson, N.C., and John Wheeler of New York’s Rack & Soul. Seminars feature speakers including food writers Jane and Michael Stern and Matt and Ted Lee, restaurateur Danny Meyer, and chefs Fred Thompson and Ron Lieber. Saturday and Sunday, noon-6 p.m., Madison Square Park, between 23rd and 26th streets and Fifth and Madison avenues, 646-747-0584, free, food can be paid for at tables with cash, credit cards, or a BubbaFastPass, $100.

MUSIC

THE CHAPERONE OFF-STAGE As part of its “Live at Lincoln” series, Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center Triangle presents a performance and CD signing by cast members of award-winning Broadway show “The Drowsy Chaperone.” In the musical-within-a-comedy, a devoted musical theater fan plays his favorite cast album on a turntable as the musical literally bursts to life in his living room, telling the tale of a brazen stage starlet trying to find her true love. The production features music and lyrics by Tony-award winners Lisa Lambert and Gregg Morisson. Featured guest performers include cast members JoAnne Worley, John Glover, Beth Leavel, and Peter Bartlett. Friday, 5:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Center Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

PHOTOGRAPHY

THE STREETS AND THE GARDENS “Blind Letter” is the first American exhibit of works by Japanese photographer Mikiko Hara, who captures tranquil, seemingly ordinary scenes of daily life in Tokyo and elsewhere and adds an element of surprise. In one photograph, “Untitled (Is As It)” (1996), an upturned camera lens captures a fruit tree in a garden, obscured by the face of an angry rodent. Selections include another work titled “Untitled (Is As It)” (1996), above. Through Saturday, July 21, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Cohen Amador Gallery, the Fuller Building. 41 E. 57th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-759-6740, free.

READINGS

BOOKSTORE BACCHANAL The author of “The Uncertain Hour” (Bloomsbury), Jesse Browner, reads from his newly published historical novel, as the McNally Robinson Bookstore and the book’s publisher A host a Roman “bacchanal,” including wine, food, and conversation. The book’s action takes place during the course of a single evening in 66 before the common era. Titus Petronius, a Roman aristocrat who has been falsely implicated in a crime, is planning his suicide. Between a string of flashbacks, Petronius muses on his past and comes to philosophical conclusions about the meaning of life. Tonight, 7 p.m., McNally Robinson, 52 Prince St., between Mulberry and Lafayette streets, 212-274-1160, free.

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE An awardwinning American short story writer and political activist, Grace Paley, gives a rare public reading during a fund-raiser to benefit Brooklyn Parents for Peace. The Bronx-born writer is the author of collections including “The Little Disturbances of Man” (Penguin) and “Later the Same Day” (Penguin). The event also features a wine reception, buffet, and the music of Strings for Peace. Brooklyn Parents for Peace is a network of residents of the borough who take a dovish stance on war. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., the International Center for Tolerance Education, fourth floor, 25 Washington St., between Plymouth and Water streets, DUMBO, Brooklyn, 718-624-5921, $100 and up.

DISTRICT SIX IN CAPE TOWN The Housing Works Bookstore Café hosts “Dream in the Next Body: Women Writers From South Africa,” an evening of readings by authors whose work offers a diverse view of the region and womanhood. Among the featured readers are playwright Nadia Davids and poet Gabeba Baderoon, who often explores such themes in her verse as the life of an exiled adult and negotiating the self against the backdrop of a world demanding explanations for identity. Ms. Baderoon is the author most recently of “The Dream in the Next Body” (Kwela/Snailpress). Tonight, 7 p.m., Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, free, donated books welcome.

TALKS

EAT UP ON-SCREEN In anticipation of the upcoming NYC Food Film Festival later this month, the James Beard Foundation presents “Beard on Film,” a roundtable discussion featuring directors whose films are featured in the upcoming festival. Filmmakers include George Motz, Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly, and Natasha Dow Schull and Hillevi Zazel Loven. Trailers of the three films are shown. Chef Harry Hawk of the restaurant Schnack provides refreshments. Friday, noon, James Beard Foundation, 167 W. 12th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-627-2308 ext. 243, $35 general, $30 members, $10 students.

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.