free opening receptions:
– gowanus swim society @ trestle projects (gowanus, today only) >>
– group show: ‘the new romantics’ @ eyebeam (chelsea, thru 5/10) >>
– group show: pratt senior bfa candidates @ kunsthalle galapagos (dumbo, thru 4/24) >>
– group show: ‘resonance’ @ headscapes warehouse (lic, thru 4/27) >>
– group show: ‘spring art market’ @ spacewomb (les, thru 4/30) >>
– joel meyerowitz: ‘my european trip: photographs from the car’ @ howard greenberg gallery (ues, thru 5/31) >>
– julian schnabel: ‘view of dawn in the tropics: paintings’ @ gagosian gallery (chelsea, thru 5/31) >>

12-8pm (thru 4/22): coney island’s luna park is open weekdays for spring break this week. after 4/22, it will only be open on weekends until regular weekday hours begin 5/23. >>

6pm: mods, rockers, and screaming girls: phyllis magidson, curator of costumes and textiles at the museum of the city of new york, and barbara cohen-stratyner, curator of exhibitions at the library for the performing arts, discuss the transatlantic fashion trends of the 1960s and how the beatles impacted those trends. nyplpa, free. >>

6pm: learn how to make your presents all purdy at the kate’s paperie gift wrapping class. $10 includes all materials (rsvp). >>

6pm: bukowski from beyond, named one of the top ten off-broadway plays of 2005, is back for one night with actor steve payne portraying the late writer reading his poems with piano accompaniment. $15 admission includes a drink (reservations recommended). >>

6pm doors, 7pm show: attend a free preview screening of the season two premiere of the bbc’s orphan black
at sunshine cinema, followed by q+a with the stars and creators. arrive early to grab a seat! >>

7pm: how much do you tip your tattoo artist? how long should you honk your horn? answer these and other questions with illustrator/designer nathan pyle and nyc basic tips and etiquette. bonus: free nyc etiquette tote bag for the first 20 attendees. word, free. >>

7pm: widow jane distilling will serve bourbon samples at the book launch of dane huckelbridge’s bourbon: a history of the american spirit. purchase the book, enter to win a bottle. powerhouse arena, free. >>

7pm: earth, wind + fire falsetto philip bailey discusses his new book, shining star: braving the elements of earth, wind + fire with bet network executive stephen hill. b+n 82nd + broadway, free. >>

7pm: astronomy on tap = galactic lectures + chats in a bar. tonight’s topics: the moon, the voyager missions, and the history of astronomy with speakers from amnh and columbia. ding dong lounge, free. >>

7, 9:30pm: rival your darkest mommy issues at videology’s screenings of proxy (7pm, followed by q+a with director zack parker and actor alexia rasmussen) androsemary’s baby (9:30pm). bonus: free admission and a free drink! >>

7:30pm doors, 8pm show: the weekly myrtle comedy show at clinton hill’s splitty features h. jon benjamin, dave hill and jo firestone joining hosts greg johnson + larry murphy. $5. >>

7:30pm doors, 8pm show: friend roulette, son step, conveyor and small wonder play knitting factory. $10. >>

8pm: explore the history of the beautiful and twisted sides of the pathological arts as morbid anatomy museum visiting scholar-in-residence dr. richard barnett discusses and signs his new book, the sick rose: disease in the art of medical illustration. observatory, $5. >>

8pm: director zachary levy does q+a following a screening of his 2009 doc. strongman, about stanley ‘stanless steel’ pleskun, the strongest man in the world at bending steel and metal. gramercy park’s national arts club, free. >>

8pm: the weekly ’emily’ show celebrates the worst of the worst submitted poems, short stories, plays, screenplays, sketches and essays. tonight’s theme: ‘taxes, with guests tim duffy, naomi karavani, lukas kaiser, anna drezen and hosts lizzie martinez, tim racine and emily bogue. upstairs at 2a, free. >>

8pm (thru 4/21): the 16th annual mata festival of new music presents new works by 34 international composers under 40 performed. the kitchen, $20. >>

8pm doors, 9pm show: minneapolis indie rockers cloud cult plays acoustic and electric sets at mhow. $18. >>

8pm-4am: unleash your inner black swan at the night of a thousand feathers. the  alternative fashion and performance art show, the feather ball, returns for an evening of dark revelry including live music and djs, dance, burlesque and body painting. r bar, $7 with rsvp, $10 without. >>

8:30pm: the new it’s sooo up and coming comedy show at 739 franklin (crown heights) features abbi crutchfield, julian guarino, lane pieschel, nimesh patel, andy spital, terrence james, regina decicco and host khalid a. rahmaan. free. >>

9pm: the talk show series presents: the kevin corrigan show with guests michael shannon (boardwalk empire), natasha lyonne (orange is the new black, slums of beverly hills) and abbi jacobson + ilana glazer (broad city). over the eight, free. >>

9pm-midnight: dante’s! inferno! the 21st annual reading of selections from the work takes place on the maundy thursday vigil… the very hours dante intended. the cathedral of st. john the divine, free. >>

9:30pm (+ 4/18 @ rough trade): swedish indie duo i break horses and rival consoles play mercury lounge. $15. >>

ends today: tout truffaut: film forum concludes a 21-film françois truffaut retrospective with such a gorgeous kid like me and the last metro. $13. >>

thru 4/27: 13th annual tribeca film festival returns with 12 days of features, shorts, free outdoor ‘drive in’ screenings (8pm today thru 4/19: mary poppins, splash, next goal wins), 35 free screenings (4/25, pick up tickets at 60 at+t stores by today. any remaining free tickets will be made available on online), free panels and talks, a street fair (4/26), more. various prices. >>

thru 5/4: fifth annual east village theater festival presents ‘east side stories’ – 4 programs of 12 new one-act plays and monologues about the life and lore of the l.e.s.. metropolitan playhouse, $20.99/program. >>

check our website for a list of ongoing events.

coming up

4/18 10am-6pm (thru 4/20): the annual orchid show at the new york botanical garden includes thousands of the flowers plus demos, talks, music, tours, more. $12-17 plus ticket fees here (reg. $20-25). >>

4/18 10am-10pm (thru 4/27): the annual new york international auto show features new models, concept cars, energy savers, gas guzzlers, special exhibits and events. jacob javits center, $15. >>

4/18 12pm: can’t fight the seether! tickets to see ’90s alt-rockers veruca salt at bowery ballroom and mhow 7/25-26 go on sale today. $25. >>

4/18 1pm (thru 6/6): en garde! free outdoor fencing classes return to bryant park for the season. 5th ave terrace @ 41st st. >>

4/18 5pm (thru 4/20): the village’s sweetwater social hosts an adult bar easter egg hunt with chances to win drink tickets and bottles of booze. 643 broadway @ bleecker st., free admission. >>

4/18 7-9:30pm (thru 4/25) sponsored: art meets games at you may meet her, and immersive interactive performance installation. abrons art center. $15 voyeur tickets with promo code ‘skint’ (reg. $20) >>

4/18 7pm-1am (fri-sat, ongoing): the weekly brooklyn night bazaar night market brings bands, food, breweries + wineries, vendors, light installations, and mini golf, ping pong + skeeball to a 24,000 sq ft warehouse. this week’s music comes from fear of men, beverly (featuring frankie rose, formerly of dum dum girls and vivian girls), beach day, alvvays, no joy, eternal summers, beach day and little big league. 165 banker st @ norman ave (greenpoint), free admission. >>

4/18 7pm doors, 7:30 show: the little mermen cover beloved disney hits — rock style — at a fundraiser for musicians on call, a charity that brings music to children in hospitals. the studio at webster hall, $10. >>

4/18 7:30pm (thru 24): we’re happily surprised to hear positive early buzz about the new one, but we’re first going to enjoy a 60th anniversary restoration of ishiro honda’s original 1954 godzilla. film forum’s bruce goldstein give a post-film comparison between the japanese and heavily-edited and altered american versions at 7:30pm on 4/18-19 +4/21. $13. >>

4/18 7:30pm: hedwig‘s john cameron mitchell joins filmmaker jonathan caouette for q+a following a screening of his intense autobiographical 2003 doc., tarnation. bam, $13. >>

4/18 8pm: some things are just not on reruns, and that includes ’90s shows like clarissa explains it all, the adventures of pete and pete, and all that. the ’90s nickelodeon party at videology fixes that by showing episodes of these shows with drinking games, trivia + prizes, and music. themed dress is encouraged. $5. >>

4/18 8pm: the lady warriors of g.l.o.b. (gorgeous ladies of bloodwrestling) throw their annual easter vs. passover-themed wrestling matches in fake blood set to punk rock tunes at hanks saloon. $7 >>

4/18 10pm: djs spin new wave, post-punk, goth and industrial at the ward 6 party in lpr’s gallery. $7. >>

4/18 10pm: scream out the jams as the original bad-asses of live band punk rock heavy metal karaoke celebrate their 15th anniversary at fontana’s. $5. >>

4/18-20: anthology’s annual old school kung fu fest pays tribute to filmmaker/martial artist lau kar-leung with eight of his best and a surprise screening. $10. >>

4/18-mid-october: the high line food vendors open for the season: delaney barbecue’s smokeline, melt bakery, peoples pops, l’arte del gelato, la newyorkina, the taco truck, brooklyn soda works, and blue bottle coffee. terrior at the porch, a full-service café with wine + beer, will open in may. >>

sales, deals, freebies

sponsored: get a free lunch when you sign up with city lunch club, a new online platform that offers daily curated lunch delivery. full details here >>

today: sullivan street bakery celebrates its 20th anniversary by offering two-for-pizza slices. chelsea and hell’s kitchen locations. >>

thru 4/18: take an extra 20% off a local beauty + spa groupon deal with promo code ‘spa20’ >>

get $3.50 mets tickets (the 1964 price) to games 4/18-20 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of shea stadium (plus ticket fees). >>

get tickets to see the yankees for $16-115 (reg. $32-200) and the mets for $6-19 (reg. $11-50). plus ticket fees, various dates. >>

get tickets to the pulse contemporary art fair at the metropolitan pavilion 5/8-11 for free-$10 ($20 value) >>

stream new albums from kelis, death, the both (amiee mann + ted leo), ben watt and more on npr >>