Calendar

DANCE

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Charles Cowles Gallery

'Variation

CARNIVAL IN MOTION Mexican choreographer Ofelia Loret de Mola performs the world premiere of her "Available Space" as part of the conclusion to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Sitelines season. The site-specific piece transforms City Hall Park into a colorful circus. Ms. Mola's dance company, Danscores, performs to carnivalesque live music before leading viewers in a marching band procession to the Brooklyn Bridge. The dance is also part of the Celebrate Mexico Now 2008 festival. Saturday-Monday, 8 p.m., City Hall Park, enter at Broadway and Warren Street, 212-219-9401, ext. 119, free.

GALLERY-GOING

GROUPED TOGETHER Leo Kesting Gallery forgoes the fall-solo-show tradition and presents "Guaranteed Good," a group exhibition to open the season. The show features work from 26 young New York artists, including Daniel Edwards, Brian Leo, and Diane Dwyer. The exhibit serves as a preview of the gallery's fall season. Through Sunday, September 21, Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Leo Kesting Gallery, 812 Washington St. at Gansevoort Street, 917-650-3760, free.

NO CURE Rare Gallery presents "Summertime Blues," the third solo show by Johnston Foster. The exhibit consists of four new pieces produced in the last year. Mr. Foster is known for sculptures made of materials found along highway medians and in Dumpsters and alleyways. The show explores conflict and the way the growth of technology has improved living standards. Through Saturday, October 4, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Rare Gallery, 521 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-268-1520, free.

PRINT TO PAINT Works that combine text and imagery are the focus of "More Than Words," a new exhibit at the Von Lintel Gallery. The group show features pieces by more than a dozen artists seeking to test the viewer's reaction to symbols of language, and how those can be employed as modes of visual expression. In Stephen Ellis's "Things" (2003), for instance, nearly illegible phrases are subsumed within a canvas of thickly applied paint. Through Saturday, October 11, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Von Lintel Gallery, 555 W. 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-242-0599, free.

GATHERINGS

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT An interfaith ceremony commemorating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, takes place at Pier 40, where attendees can float paper lanterns in the Hudson River. Free lanterns are provided, while performances of Japanese drumming and Buddhist sutra chanting take place. Interfaith prayer and meditation sessions are also offered. Today, 6-9 p.m., Pier 40, West Houston Street at the Hudson River, 212-678-0305, free.

GIVE A HEAD START The Children's Museum of Manhattan presents a benefit event with comedian Chris Rock. The evening begins with cocktails at the Studio Museum in Harlem from 6-7:30 p.m., followed by a performance by Mr. Rock, "No Apologies," at the Apollo Theater at 8 p.m. Proceeds benefit a program providing free museum admission for families that participate in Head Start. A single ticket for the benefit, at $500, provides free admission to the Studio Museum for 35 Head Start family members. Tomorrow, cocktails, 6 p.m., Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 W. 125th St., between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue; performance, 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass boulevards, 212-721-1223, $500.

WHAT A FIND The City Opera Thrift Shop presents its annual "Fall Preview" sample sale, a one-day shopping event featuring new designer offerings; shoppers can also choose from the store's seasonal inventory. The store holds a large collection of shoes, clothing, and accessories from designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, and Michael Kors, most ranging from $25-$250. Furniture, photography books, home accessories, and antiques are also on sale. Today, 5-8 p.m., City Opera Thrift Shop, 222 E. 23rd St., between Second and Third avenues, 203-228-5090, $10.

OPERA

LOOKING TO THE PAST Composer Iannis Xenakis wrote his 1966 opera, "Oresteia," in the style of "koh," a genre of classical Japanese musical drama. Based on the play by Aeschylus, the piece is his sole work in the Greek Modernist genre. Choreographer Luca Veggetti presents the New York premiere of the opera at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. The performance features a chorus of 37 singers as well as six dancers, a children's chorus, and an orchestra. Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 8 p.m., Columbia University, Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, 212-854-7799, $35.

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.