The Bwog presents you with another recommended potpourri of goings-on to explore this weekend.  Rustic smell/pinecone bits not included. (* indicates free, « indicates on-campus)

THURSDAY

New York Philharmonic with soprano Dawn Upshaw at Lincoln Center. See the NY Phil after their return from North Korea, with to-be Music Director Alan Gilbert conducting.  Repertoire includes Berio’s Folk Songs and Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony. Also playing Friday, Saturday. (7:30PM, $12 Student rush)

*« Persepolis screening at Maison Française, Buell Hall. The Oscar-nominated animated film about a young Iranian girl growing up during the Iranian revolution, based on Marjan Satrapi’s graphic novels. The catch: it’s in French…apparently with French subtitles?  (7:30PM, FREE)

« The Tallis Scholars sing Victoria’s Requiem at Miller Theatre. If you’re into early music – or heck, even if you’re not – listen to the well-known vocal group sing a beautiful Spanish requiem straight out of the Renaissance. Other composers include Cardoso, Lobo, Melgas , and Mendes. (8PM, $7 w/CUID)

Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theatre. The last NY stand-up show this season from everyone’s favorite witty British transvestite. (10:30PM, $40)

 

FRIDAY

New York Philharmonic with soprano Dawn Upshaw at Lincoln Center. See Thursday for more info. (2PM, Rush Tickets sold out)

The Met Opera’s Peter Grimes at Lincoln Center. One of English composer Benjamin Britten’s most psychologically stunning works, Peter Grimes is the story of a fisherman who becomes isolated by his village after the death of a boy on his boat. Directed by John Doyle, who received a Tony for his 2005-2006 interpretation of Sweeney Todd. (8PM, $35 Student tickets/$20 Standing Room)

Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theatre. See Thursday. (10:30PM, $40)

SATURDAY

* Supima Cotton gives away….cotton? at the corner of Broadway and Houston. Apparently to celebrate its upcoming opening on March 14th, the store has created a COTTON FIELD in the middle of New York City. Supima employees will actually be giving out bales of cotton on the street to passers-by, so, uh, here’s your chance. (Assumedly daylight hours, FREE)

* The  11th Annual USA Memory Championship at the Con Edison Grand Auditorium. Mental athletes compete to see who can recall the longest series of numbers, lists of words, non-rhyming poems, the order of shuffled card decks, etc..(8:30AM-5PM, FREE)

* The 27th Annual “Making Brooklyn Bloom” at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. An annual earth-friendly expo where members of the Brooklyn community teach you all kinds of great green secrets, such as how to compost your food, or create an indoor garden to cheer your EC high-rise. Or, you could simply take advantage of the event to explore the beautiful conservatories at the BBG. (10AM-4PM, FREE with flyer from site)

New York Philharmonic with soprano Dawn Upshaw at Lincoln Center. See Thursday for more info. (8PM, Rush tickets sold out)

Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal with violinist Joshua Bell, Kent Nagano conducting at Carnegie Hall (Stern/Perelman). Program includes Debussy, Scriabin, Unsuk Chin, and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Pre-concert talk at 7PM with Professor Simon Morrison from Princeton University. (8PM, $10 Student rush)

*« The Kitchen Cabinet at ADP. If you’d like to stay close to home, check out one of Columbia’s up-and-coming bands right down 113th Street. (9PM, FREE)

Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theatre. See Thursday. (10:30PM, $40)

 

SUNDAY

(See ongoing events.)

 

ONGOING

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2008 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center. Fifteen French films making their US/NYC premiere in the annual showcase. This is your last chance – the event ends on March 9th. (Times vary, $8 Student tickets at FSLC/$12 at IFC)

Biennial 2008 at The Whitney. “[T]he seventy-fourth in the series of Whitney Annual and Biennial exhibitions held since 1932, presents eighty-one artists working at a time when art production is above all characterized by heterogeneity and dispersal.” Artists showcased include Columbia’s own Coco Fusco, Spike Lee, and  many others. (Ongoing, FREE)

75 Years of Architecture at MoMA. You’ve got until the end of the month to see the exhibition that celebrates the MoMA Department of Architecture’s 75th birthday. (Ongoing, FREE)

The Herbie Hancock Project at Iridium Jazz Club. An all-star concert featuring “Wallace Roney, Buster Williams, and friends pay[ing] tribute to the Grammy-winning pianist and composer.” (8:30/10:30PM, $35 w/$15 food & drink minimum)

From The New Yorker to Shrek: William Steig at The Jewish Museum. Your last chance to see this gallery of work by “The King of Cartoons.” (Ongoing, FREE w/CUID)