HOLIDAY

CAROL OF THE BELLS A variety show and television performer, Jamie deRoy, and friends, kick off the holiday season at Barnes & Noble with a performance of songs from her recent albums, “‘Tis the Season” and “Animal Tracks.” Accompanying acts include singers Scott Coulter, Dee Hoty, Lisa Asher, and Jay Rogers. Barry Kleinbort is the director of this performance. Wednesday, 6 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-5859, free.

LET THERE BE LIGHT Central Park hosts its annual “HolidayLighting,” an afternoon event that includes an ornament-making workshop, tree decorating, live music by an a cappella group, the Accidentals, and other entertainment. Families are also invited to decorate and snack on festive cookies and other refreshments. Sunday, 3–5 p.m., Central Park, Dana Discovery Center, Harlem Meer, inside the park at 110th Street and Lenox Avenue, 212-860-1370, free.

CHANUKAH BAZAAR The library of the 92nd Street Y hosts a morning of Chanukah shopping. Children’s books, candles, dreidels, chocolate gelt, and a variety of other gift items areonofferandonsaleinthelobby. Today and tomorrow, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, free.

MUSIC

DIVINE CHORUS The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine hosts its annual Cathedral Christmas concert. The program includes performances by the Cathedral Choristers and Stewart Brass Works. Special guest performers include Three Mo’ Tenors, the stars of the off-Broadway show of the same name. Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave., between 111th and 112th streets, 866-468-7619, $20. To purchase tickets online go to ticketweb.com.

PAINTINGS

VIEW FROM A BOROUGH Painter Elizabeth O’Reilly often depicts New England landscapes, but in her latest exhibit at the George Billis Gallery, she also tackles the cityscapes of Brooklyn. The artist focuses on the play of light and shadow in renderings of the Gowanus Expressway, among other spaces. “‘From 3rd Street, Night,’ ‘Carroll Street Bridge,’ and ‘Dusk’ are magical images. Shaped by a knife, clouds and points of light — often indefinite — take on irrevocable contours,” critic Maureen Mullarkey wrote in the November 15 New York Sun. “And all have that sense of play inherent in cutouts.” Selections from the exhibit include “Green Shed and Shadows” (2007), above. Through Saturday, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., George Billis Gallery, 511 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-645-2621, free.

HOPE IN A BOTTLE “The Geometry of Hope: Latin American Abstract Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection,” on view at the Grey Art Gallery of New York University, concludes this week. The exhibit gathers more than 100 works from the acclaimed collection and provides a scholarly overview of the development of geometric abstract art — widely viewed as the apex of nonobjective art practice — in the Americas. The show also challenges the notion of Latin American art as a monolithic phenomenon by mounting work from five countries, spanning two continents and five eras. The work of Joaquín Torres-García, Gyula Kosice, Tomás Maldonado, and Geraldo de Barros, among others, is featured. Through Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., 212-998-6780, Grey Art Gallery, NYU, 100 Washington Square East, between Waverly and Washington places, free.

RIDING THE WAVE Gianfranco Gorgoni rode the wave of Pop Art in the 1960s, enjoying the camaraderie of artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein through his work as a photojournalist. He came to New York in 1968 to work on a photographic essay. He stayed, taking on assignments and shooting for magazines including Time and Esquire. Through Wednesday, December 12, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Jim Kempner Fine Art, 501 W. 23rd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-206-6872, free.

READINGS

THE LAY OF THE LAND Richard Ford concluded his Frank Bascombe cycle a year ago with the publication of “The Lay of the Land” (Random House). The trilogy includes 1985’s “The Sportswriter” and 1996’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Independence Day.” Mr. Ford reads excerpts from his latest novel, which finds Bascombe contending with health, marital, and familial issues in the wake of the 2000 presidential election. Actor David Strathairn (“Good Night and Good Luck”) also reads from the author’s work during this monthly gathering of the Thalia Book Club. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $21 in advance, $25 general, $17 members.

BECKMAN’S WAY The Poetry Society of America presents Joshua Beckman, who is featured during “The New Salon: Readings and Conversations With Emerging Poets.” The new series features a reading by a poet, followed by a discussion. Mr. Beckman, an East Coast native reared in New Haven, Conn., mourns the depravity of American urban life in his latest collection, “Shake” (Wave Books). The poet reads from his collection and Deborah Landau leads the conversation that follows. The reading is cosponsored by the Creative Writing Program at New York University. Thursday, 7 p.m., New York University, Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 W. 10th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-254-9628, free.

TALKS

NEWARK IS BURNING Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno’s documentary, “Revolution ’67” (2007), explores urban rebellion in black communities during the 1960s by focusing in particular on the six-day outbreak in mid-July 1967 in Newark, N.J. Twenty-six people were killed. Widespread unrest in inner-city neighborhoods was often fueled by the effects of police and governmental abuse. The New-York HistoricalSocietypresentsascreening of the documentary. A discussion following the screening includes opinion writer Bob Herbert and Tom Hayden, the author of “Ending the War in Iraq” (Akashic Books) and a co-founder of the Students for a Democratic Society. The writers discuss how the Newark uprisings became a historic turning point for a generation of civil rights activists. Tonight, 6 p.m., New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at 77th Street, 212-868-4444, $18 general, $12 students, seniors, and teachers, $8 members.

THEATER

GOOD AS GOLD The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 25th annual Next Wave Festival comes to a close this week with the premier of James Thiérrée’s “Au Revoir Parapluie” (“FarewellUmbrella”). Mr. Thiérrée, an actor, producer, choreographer, and acrobat combines all of his talents in this “nouveau cirque” production, using trapezes and dancing to te the story of a golden creature covered in glitter that becomes distressed upon realizing it cannot shed its patina. Dancers engaged in a pitched battle leap from and climb ropes suspended from the ceiling. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., through Saturday, December 15, dates and times vary, BAM Harve Theater, 651 Fulton St. at Rockwell Place, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $20–$60.

A GOOD JEWISH GIRL The Zipper Factory presents “Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad,” a vaudevillian production to showcase the talents of performers and writers, including Ophira Eisenberg, whose work has been featured on the Comedy Central network; a spoken word artist, Vanessa Hidary, and the burlesque duo Sister Schmaltz. Comedian Goddess Perlman, who has appeared most recently on television’s “Last Comic Standing,” is host of the show. The self-described “JGirls” explore preconceived ideas about Jewish femininity, probe their personal mishagas, and send up religious and cultural traditions. Wednesday–Friday, 9:30 p.m., Zipper Factory, 336 W. 37th St. between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-352-3101, $25.

JUNIORS ON BROADWAY Thirty students from Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts are cast in the school’s production of “City of Angels,” the Tony Award-winning musical with original music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by David Zippel. Set in 1940s Los Angeles, the show follows the efforts of a young writer as he writes a screenplay for a Hollywood producer. The production features a score performed by a 20-piece jazz ensemble, and is presented on a custom-built revolving stage. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Fiorello H. La Guardia High School, 100 Amsterdam Ave. at 65th Street, 212-496-0700, $20. To purchase tickets online, go to laguardiahs.org.

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.