ART

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE Laura Kimpton’s exhibit “Burning Words” combines the artist’s penchant for collage and sculpture to create a unique kind of installation art focused around a 10-foot-tall steel tree created by artist Jeff Schomberg. Ms. Kimpton was inspired to create “Burning Words” as an artistic response to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. Selections include “Drennon Where Are You?” (2007), above. Through Saturday, June 23, Tuesday–Saturday, noon–6 p.m., New York Studio Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 612-987-1473, free.

SOMETHING TO BRING HOME The annual Affordable Art Fair features more than 70 exhibitors offering contemporary art ranging in price between $100 and $10,000, with 75% of works priced at $5,000 or less. The fair opens with a Wednesday opening night benefit to raise funds for the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America. The School of Visual Arts presents a series of weekend lectures including “First Steps: Beginning and Developing Your Art Collection” and “The Paper Chase: Collecting, Owning and Preserving Works on Paper,” and the Children’s Museum of the Arts holds various children’s art workshops. Tonight, 6 p.m. opening night benefit, fair begins tomorrow, noon–5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon–8 p.m., Sunday, noon–5 p.m., the Metropolitan Building and the Altman Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-255-2003, fair admission $15 general per day, $10 students and seniors per day, $50 benefit tickets in advance, $75 at the doors.

COMEDY

FROM DOWN UNDER Calling herself New Zealand’s only Jewish comedienne, Deb Filler performs “Filler Up!,” a solo show based on the story of a fictitious “Deb” who tells her family’s life story while baking a real loaf of challah bread onstage. Tonight and tomorrow, 8 p.m., Jewish Community Center, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, 646-505-5708, $20 general, $15 members.

FAMILY

LOOKING FISHY “Crab Meets the Sea Monkeys” is a family-friendly event presented by the Staten Island Museum Junior Science Club. Children learn about the intricacies of crustaceans by observing the behavior of live crabs, learning about the life cycle of brine shrimp, dissecting a crayfish, and observing microscopic crustaceans in pond water. The science projects are led by Clay Walker. Saturday, 10 a.m., Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Pl. at Wall Street, 718-727-1135 ext. 105, $8 general, $5 members.

FASHION

FROM PRATT TO PRADA The Pratt Institute and Barnes & Noble Chelsea present “Pratt Fashion Design: Class of 2008,” a juried exhibit of garments by 14 rising senior students of the fashion design program. The show includes more than 20 selections from students’ spring 2007 end-of-year collections. The clothes were pre-selected by industry critics and feature categories such as resort and ready-to-wear. Through Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 675 Sixth Ave. at 22nd Street, 212-727-1227, free.

FOOD & DRINK

STIRRED AND SHAKEN The Obivia lounge hosts a vodka tasting led by a head bartender and co-proprietor of the watering hole, Michael Matzo. Mr. Matzo shares the secrets of mixing the perfect vodka martini and other popular vodka cocktails, from a James Bond Martini to a Butterfly and the alwaysclassic Cosmopolitan. The event is open to imbibers of all levels of knowledge, who mix under Mr. Matzo’s tutelage. Complimentary tapas are served. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., Obivia, 201 Lafayette St., between Broome and Kenmare streets, 212-226-4904, $20.

MUSIC

INSPIRED BY A LAMA Pianist and performance artist Anthony de Mare performs as part of the final installment of “Concerts of Impermanence,” a music series designed as a response to an exhibit currently hanging at the Rubin Museum of Art, “The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama.” Mr. de Mare combines piano with vocals and electronic tracks to perform pieces, which include James Mobberley’s “Missing Peace,” written for this concert, Bruce Stark’s “Fugue, Interlude, and Finale,” as well as works by Bach, Debussy, and Laurie Anderson. Tonight, 7 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-620-5000 ext. 344, $25.

FOR THE CHILDREN The Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza presents a free family-friendly concert featuring the Brooklyn Repertory Ensemble. The program is directed by master drummer Wade Barnes. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Central Library, Grand Army Plaza, between Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, 718-230-2100, free.

FIREWORKS IN THE SKY The Brooklyn Philharmonic celebrates summer with a performance of Handel’s “Royal Fireworks Music,” complete with a fireworks display over the East River. The concert also includes works by Mendelssohn, Gluck, Bartok, and Rossini, and the orchestra is conducted by George Mathew. The performance is included as the finale to the Target Children’s Day and Fireworks at South Street Seaport festival, presented by the River to River festival, and is hosted by an afternoon host on the classical music station WQXR, Elliott Forrest. Saturday, 8 p.m., 9:30 p.m. fireworks, South Street Seaport, Pier 17, FDR Drive, between Fulton and Beekman streets, 212-732-7678, free.

READINGS

THE WEDDING SUITE As part of its inaugural “Out of the Book” series, McNally Robinson Booksellers hosts Ian McEwan, the author of the newly published “On Chesil Beach,” a novella that depicts the marital and sexual trauma suffered by a young couple in the early 1960s. The evening’s program begins with a brief dramatic scene adapted from Mr. McEwan’s book, and performed by local actors. A screening of a short documentary film, directed by Doug Biro and featuring the author, precedes a panel discussion of the book’s themes. Among the featured panelists are authors Colum McCann and Kathryn Harrison. An afterparty at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction to cap the festivities is at 8:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m., Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 E. 3rd St. at Avenue A, 212-254-3300, afterparty at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction, 34 Ave. A, between 2nd and 3rd streets, $5-$10, tickets available for purchase at McNally Robinson Booksellers or Pioneer Theater. For complete information, go to mcnallyrobinsonnyc.com.

TALKS

THE AUDACITY OF OPRAH “The Future of Black America: The Burden of History or the Audacity of Hope?” a debate about the state of affairs in the 21st century and whether a new black politics is in order, is presented by the Smith Family Foundation. Panelists discuss what some view as a “post-race” America, in which figures such as Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, and Dick Parsons have achieved untold success. Featured panelists include a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute and a columnist of The New York Sun Oped page, John McWhorter, and the John Cowles Professor of Soci ology at Harvard University, Orlan do Patterson. An arts journalist, Fe licia Lee, is moderator of the event A reception follows. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Donnell Library Center, New York Public Library, 20 W. 53rd St. between Fifth and Sixth avenues 646-452-9995, free.

NECESSARY BOOK REVIEWS As part of its ongoing “Campaign to Save Book Reviews” series, the Na tional Book Critics Circle and the New York Center for Independent Publishing host a discussion featur ing a variety of panelists for whom the issue has proved to be pressing In recent years, readers have watched as the book review sections of newspapers across the country have been slashed or shrunk be cause of budget cuts and changes in the way books are consumed Among the featured speakers are the publisher of Seven Stories Press Dan Simon; the owner of McNally Robinson Booksellers, Sarah Mc Nally, and the editor of the One Sto ry literary journal, Hannah Tinti The president of NBCC, John Free man, is moderator of the panel. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen Library 20 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-764-7021, free.

SOUTHERN DIGITAL A resident at the apexart gallery and a curator and co-founder of Aotearoa Digital Arts in New Zealand, Stella Bren nan, presents “There and Back Again,” a talk about differing inter pretations of digital art in the inter national sphere. She also speaks about New Zealand’s small but growing new media art scene. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., apexart, 291 Church St., between White and Walker streets, 212-431-5270, free.

TICKET TO DANCE As part of its “Live at Lincoln” series, Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center Triangle hosts a discussion of the upcoming New York International Ballet Competition, a biannual event that attracts top dancers from around the world. The founder and director of NYIBC, Ilona Copen, and the artistic director, Eleanor D’Antuono lead the talk. Featured guests in clude current and past entrants to the competition. The contest has led some winners to prestigious contracts with such companies as the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Tickets to the June 20–24 competition are raffled off. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & No ble, Lincoln Center Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595 6859, free.

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.