Compiled by Scott Stiffler
CHINESE MOON FESTIVAL CRUISE
The Moon Festival (also called the Mid-Autumn Festival) is an important day on the Chinese lunar calendar — marked by celebrations of abundance taking place at a time when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. Celebrate with this cruise — during which you’ll enjoy a four-course dinner from the Chinese restaurant Red Egg while listening to a musical performance using Chinese instruments. There will be a demonstration of calligraphy and a Han Couture showcase of fashion inspired by 5,000 years of Chinese apparel. You’ll also enjoy moon cakes — in the moonlight! The cruise departs from (and returns to) Pier 81 (W. 41st St. & Hudson River) on Wed, Sept. 22 and Thurs, Sept. 23. Board at 6pm, sail from 7pm-10pm. For tickets ($89 for adults, $25 for kids under 12), call 212-630-8100.
ROOFTOP YOGA ON THE LES
The Educational Alliance takes you up on the roof — not to goof around and enjoy the view, but to literally get in touch with yourself. These rooftop yoga classes will help you tone muscles, shed pounds and probably achieve a little more piece than life affords you at the present moment. Do that stretch and breathe thing on the scenic rooftop of The Educational Alliance’s headquarters. The small class size gives both beginners and advanced students 1-on-1 attention. Bring your own towel — they supply everything else. Through Oct 15. Purchase a 10-class punch card for $120 ($12/class), or attend any class for $15. To register in advance, call 646-395-4081. In case of rain, classes take place in the Alliance’s indoor yoga studio. For the specific schedule (Vinyasa Yoga, Power Yoga and more), call 646-395-4081 or visit www.edalliance.org/LESwellness. At The Educational Allience (197 E. Broadway, corner of Jeffferson St.).
STEPHAN SAID
& PETE SEEGER
With so many people going nutty over the “Ground Zero Mosque,” maybe a little music will get us all thinking rationally about peace, love and understanding. Folk legend Pete Seeger and Iraqi-American musician-activist Stephan Said are the right guys for the job. Happening on the eve of the International Day of Peace, this concert features a multi-generational mix of socially progressive musicians (including Ghanaian-American Hip Hop artist Blitz the Ambassador). It also functions as the launch of www.difrent.org — Said’s online movement designed to connect musicians, activists and audiences. Mon., Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St.). For $20 advance tickets, visit www.lepoissonrouge.com. Tickets are $25 at the door.
HOWL! READING AND BENEFIT: WE’LL BE FINE
Here’s a multitasker worth rooting for. By day, playwright Michael Small is the managing director of Bravo TV’s website (www.bravotv.com). But by night (and, perhaps, any spare time during the day), he’s hard at work in the decidedly un-mass medium of theater. Support his current work in progress by attending a reading of the family drama “We’ll Be Fine.” The play concerns a New England factory manager who doesn’t quite get the reaction he’s expecting when he gives his 9-year-old son a violin. Instead of promoting harmony, the father’s gesture plunges the family into a state of perpetual conflict that lasts throughout the 70s and 80s. If that intrigues you, you’re not the only one. This event caught the interest of the counterculture culture vultures behind the HOWL! Festival (it’s part of the sprawling month-long fest). The $10 ticket benefits HOWL! HELP — a fund which provides emergency financial assistance to artists who serve the East Village and LES. Sun., Sept. 19, 4 p.m. at Theatre 80 (80 St. Marks Place, at 1st Ave.). For more info, visit www.howlfestival.com.
NU DANCE THEATER
“Si seulement Si…” (or “If only If”) is the name of Nu Dance Theater’s site-specific dance performance set amidst the splendor of the East Village’s 6BC Botanical Garden. Audiences become spectators, and spectators become participants — as this dance piece, conceived as a game, plays itself out in every hidden corner of the garden. Along the way, you’ll contemplate the superstitions and strange habits we create when logic fails to explain things. Thurs., Sept. 16 through Sun., Sept. 19. The audience is free to come and go, starting at 7:15 p.m. — at 6BC Botanical Garden (6th St., btw. Aves. B & C). Visit www.nudancetheater.com and www.6bc.org.
