FAMILY

TALE OF THE URBAN WHALE The New York Public Library’s Cullman Center kicks off spring with “Whalesong: Past and Future, New York and the World,” a two-part symposium on the history, science, and perennial romance of the whale. Panelists include an array of scholars, musicians, historians, and scientists, including author D. Graham Burnett and curator Stuart Frank. The first part of the symposium is an exploration of the whaling industry in 19thcentury New York, and the second introduces attendees to the distinctive song of the humpback whale. Saturday, part one, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., part two, 2–4 p.m., New York Public Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, South Court Auditorium, 455 Fifth Ave. at 42nd Street, 212-340-0866, free. RSVP to csw@nypl.org for tickets.

DANCE

UNITED STATES OF DANCE Ballet Builders presents new works by choreographers from across the country during its annual showcase. A panel of ballet company directors and instructors selects the choreographers through a rigorous audition process. This year’s performance series features dancers and choreographers from Ballet Arizona, Colorado’s Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, and Ballet Neo, among others.

Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68th Street, between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-772-4448, $30.

THOROUGHLY MODERN Among the highlights of Ballet Tech’s Mandance Project is the excellent pair of solos. A pliant Ha-Chi Yu dances choreographer Eliot Feld’s “Pursuing Odette,” set to a stirring Mahler Adagietto. Ms. Yu bends into swanlike poses, wrapping a limb around her torso or bringing an outstretched foot to her forehead. In “Isis in Transit” (a premiere), Fang-Yi Sheu makes her way through what looks like a Plexiglas incubator and scales a thicket of pipe-like poles on her journey. Those unfamiliar with Mr. Feld’s Martha Graham-inspired use of abstract props might find the devices distracting, but the payoff is an exposition of modern technique at its most acrobatic. Today, 7:30 p.m., tomorrow through Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, 212-9740, $25–$44.

GATHERINGS

BROOKLYN BEE “Mother Tongue: Spelling and Grammar for Grown-Ups,” a spelling bee at Union Hall, tests the skills of competitors who have cut their teeth on hours-long games of Scrabble and highbrow bedside reading. Guests can participate or watch as some of the city’s brightest wordsmiths and grammarians compete for the top prize of $100. David Witt hosts the event.

Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Union Hall, 702 Union St. at Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-638-4400, free.

TOXIC AVENGER IN GOTHAM The city’s brilliant freaks and geeks, many of whom are burning up Web logs in anticipation of the feature film release of “Iron Man” next month, will find some relief at New York Comic Con, the largest pop culture convention on the East Coast. The event showcases the latest comics, graphic novels, anime, and manga, and features more than 300 panel discussions, screenings, previews, and autograph sessions. The co-creator of Spider-Man and the X-Men, among other characters in the Marvel comics stable, Stan Lee, is honored with the first New York Comic Con Legends Award during a ceremony on Thursday at 8 p.m. Convention begins Friday, through Sunday, dates, times, and event prices vary, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 W. 34th St., between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues, 888-605-6059, $30 and up. For complete information, go to nycomiccon.com.

MUSIC

HARPSICHORD HEAVEN Harpsichordist Elaine Comparone and the Queen’s Band Orchestra present “BachFeast,” a celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Program highlights include the cantata “Liebster Gott, wann wird ich sterben?,” or “Dearest God, When Will I Die?,” and the composer’s alternate version of the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, scored for harpsichord. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Church of the Transfiguration, 1 E. 29th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-280-1086, $25 general, $15 seniors, students, and musicians.

READINGS

UP IN SMOKE Author Denis Johnson’s “Tree of Smoke” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), the recipient of the 2007 National Book Award for fiction, clocks in at more than 600 pages and tells a sprawling tale with the Vietnam War as its backdrop. The cast of colorful characters includes a CIA operative, a Canadian nurse, and a North Vietnamese spy. Mr. Johnson reads excerpts from this and other works and discusses his literary achievements during a question-and-answer session with readers. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., The New School, Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St. at Sixth Avenue, 212-229-5611, free.

TALKS

IF THE SHOE FITS From the dainty fit of the ballet flat to the coquettish seduction of a kitten-heeled mule, a carefully selected shoe has throughout history had the power to bestow a range of qualities upon its wearer. The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology hosts “Shoes 101: Footwear of the 18th and 19th Centuries,” a talk given by Leigh Wishner, an associate at the Cora Ginsburg costume and antiques gallery. Ms. Wishner discusses shoes of the past and explains why some styles have endured, leaving an indelible impression on fashion and contemporary design, while other looks have gone the way of powdered wigs.

Thursday, 6 p.m., Museum at FIT, Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, 212-217-4585, free.

THEATER

DOOMSDAY DELICACY “Robohamlet,” a comedy about the extinction of the human race, was written by a former house manager of Theater for the New City, Pat Harper. The play, which has its debut at the Medicine Show Theatre, follows a band of scientists who create genetically modified crabs, “crylons,” as a caviar substitute, only to lose control of the rapidly multiplying fish eggs. In an effort to defend mankind from total annihilation, the scientists discover an unlikely secret weapon in the form of a Shakespeare-spouting robot.

Thursday–Saturday, 8 p.m., Medicine Show Theatre, 549 W. 52nd St., 3rd floor, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-262-4216, $20.

PAINTINGS

SOLEMN TRADE Ben Aronson’s “Urban Currents,” currently on view, is the second installment of his cityscapes at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery. Mr. Aronson’s photo-realistic brushwork is at once detailed and hazy. Anyone who has walked Paris’s labyrinth of charming, narrow streets will likely recognize the intersection captured in “Rising Shadows, Boulevard Saint Germain” (2008). Mr. Aronson “turns a tourist snapshot into an essay on movement and color,” Maureen Mullarkey wrote of the work in the April 10 New York Sun. But it is the artist’s Wall Street scenes that prove especially timely in light of the ongoing economic insecurity there. Mr. Aronson brings certain poignancy to the bankers and traders traversing city streets, a briefcase or folded copy of the Financial Times tucked firmly under their arms. Selections include “Financial District” (2007), above. Through Saturday, May 17, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Tibor de Nagy Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave., between 56th and 57th streets, 212-262-5050, 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.