ART

THE ART OF COLLECTING ART In conjunction with the Affordable Art Fair, taking place this weekend, the School of Visual Arts presents two panel discussions for new and experienced collectors of contemporary art. On Saturday, author Lisa Hunter leads a discussion entitled “First Steps: Beginning and Developing Your Collection,” covering such issues as buying art as an investment, doing research, and specializing in various media. Panelists include an editor at Domino magazine, Tom Delavan, a reporter for Bloomberg News, Lindsay Pollock, and the director of the Winkleman Gallery, Ed Winkleman. On Sunday, a faculty member at SVA, Judith Solodkin, moderates a panel entitled “The Paper Chase: Collecting, Owning and Preserving Works on Paper.” Panelists include master paper maker Shannon Brock, artist Jackie Gendel, master printmaker Gunars Prande, and framer Richard Ziello. Saturday and Sunday, 2 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.

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 Place at Wall Street, 718-727-1135 ext. 105, $8 general, $5 members.

FESTIVALS

DRAGONS GALORE The Grand Street Settlement’s Grand Coalition of Seniors Program presents a series of events to celebrate the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, including traditional Cantonese songs and Chinese folk dance, a cooking demonstration, and multicultural celebrations including Spanish salsa dancing and Mandarin Chinese songs. The festival is celebrated to commemorate Qu Yuan, an ancient minister who was celebrated to fight corruption but was exiled instead. After he drowned himself in a river, fisherman threw rice into the water to keep fish from feeding on the body. Friday, 10 a.m., Grand Street Settlement, Senior Housing Building, 711 E. 6th St. at Loisaida Avenue, 212-674-1740, free.

MUSIC

TUNEFUL FIREWORKS 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 , 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.

PAINTINGS

TURNING HEADS “Portraits (based on the irreconcilable)” is Scott Richter’s fifth exhibit with the Elizabeth Harris Gallery. For this latest series of works, Mr. Richter painted upon wool rugs as his canvases. In The New York Sun on June 7, Stephen Maine wrote: “Simultaneously brawny and delicate, Mr. Richter’s work emerges from a limited, high-contrast palette, a sophisticated graphical vocabulary, and abundant wit.” Selections include “Portraits (Tom and Maria)” (2007), above. Through Friday, July 20, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Elizabeth Harris Gallery, 529 W. 20th St., between Tenth Avenue and the West Side Highway, 212-463-9666, free.

READINGS

JOIN THE ‘FIGHT CLUB’ The Strand Bookstore hosts “An Intimate Afternoon with Chuck Palahniuk,” a reading by the author of the newly published “Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey” (Doubleday). Mr. Palahniuk signs copies of his dark urban novel set in the future, about a young man — a so-called rotten seed — destined to live fast, take as many lives as he can in the process, and die young. A discussion of the book follows. Saturday, 2 p.m., Strand, 828 Broadway at 12th Street, second floor, 212-473-1452, $35 includes a signed copy of the book.

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, 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

PHOTO FLASH “Magnum at 60,” a tribute and discussion of the renowned photo agency created in 1947 by four photographers after witnessing atrocities committed during World War II, is presented by the 2007 Magnum Festival ’07 and as part of the “Live from the NYPL” series at the New York Public Library. The Magnum ethos sought to break free of editorial constraints and challenged the prevailing idea that a magazine or newspaper could own their images. Among the featured panelists is a documentary filmmaker whose recent work has focused on the civil rights case of Emmett Till, Keith Beauchamp; photographer Susan Meiselas, a Magnum member since 1980 who is best known for her coverage of the insurrection in Nicaragua, and a veteran member of Magnum, Philip Jones Griffiths, who has covered wars in Algeria, Central Africa, and Vietnam. Saturday, 7 p.m., NYPL, Celeste Bartos Forum, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-868-4444, $15 general, $10 for library donors, seniors, and students.

THEATER

CULTURAL EXCHANGE The Asia Society and the National Asian American Theater Festival hosts “Double Exposure: Connecting Arts Presenters With the Asian American Theater Community,” a talk designed to encourage a deeper understanding of the vibrancy and history of Asian-American theater and to develop strategies to encourage a broader presentation of this work. Panelists include the artistic director of the Ma-Yi The ater Company, Ralph Pena, the di rector of the National Perfor mance Theater, June Wilson, and actress Kristina Wong. The produc er of “Under the Radar,” Mark Rus sell, moderates the discussion. Fri day, 4 p.m., Asia Society, 725 Park Ave. at 70th Street, 212-352-3101 $20.

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.