(Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, Southwest corner of Lincoln Center Plaza at 62nd St btwn Columbus & Amsterdam Aves, New York, NY 10023) Midsummer Night Swing, now in its 21st season, heats up Damrosch Park with the rhythms that keep New York dancing. This year brings out the very best of swing, salsa, soul, tango, rockabilly, and much more, showcasing some of the finest musicians and DJs from this country and abroad. For dance fanatics, enthusiastic beginners, and everyone in between, Midsummer Night Swing is the city’s hot spot for three weeks in July. Event Website

(Various Locations) The Midtown International Theatre Festival announces that the Fresh Fruit Festival (FFF) will collaborate with the Midtown International Theater Festival (MITF) to curate the LGBT segment of MITF. The Fresh Fruit Festival will continue to present its multidiscipline festival of LGBT arts & culture in July. The FFF in association with the MITF will select at least eight works for the LGBT division. These plays will be presented at the Theatre Building, 312 West 36th St. The MITF’s 2009 season runs from July 13 – August 2, 2009. The FFF will run from July 13 – 26 in various venues, presenting jazz at, comedy, variety, visual arts, literature and two weeks of plays. Event Website

(Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023) Surround yourself with stunning theater, music, and dance at Lincoln Center Festival 2009! For three exciting weeks in July, artists from around the world share their stories on the human experience, ranging from tragic to enraged, from poignant to hopeful and joyful. Event Website

(Elevated Acre, 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10005) (Sun down about 8pm) July 13: THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (1974); July 20: WEST SIDE STORY (1961); and July 27 SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957). Short films precede features. (FREE)

(Various Locations) Three weeks. Over 250 NYC restaurants. Lunch = $24.07. Dinner = $35. Event Website

(Dixon Place, 254 Bowery, New York, NY 10012) The oldest, continual festival of queer performance and culture in the world. This year's festival debuts on with a blowout kick-off party at the brand new, state-of-the art Dixon Place theater complex and concludes with a queer music and performance concert. Event Website

(The Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003) The Summer Play Festival (SPF) stages original new plays and musicals by emerging writers during the summer months at the legendary [ Public Theater ] in New York City. Since its inception in 2004, SPF has invested millions of dollars in emerging theatre artists, produced over 500 public performances, and has provided an opportunity for 75 writers, as well as hundreds of directors, designers, actors, stage managers, and interns to present their work in a protected environment. Event Website

(See website for different venues) (7PM) Now in its tenth year & celebrating the diversity of theatre. The MITF welcomes theatrical storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres, forms, identities, cultures, and appetites. The MITF seeks to nurture these new ideas, perspectives, and stories on its stages, with an eye set on guiding these productions toward future success and longevity. The festival, represents a fantastic, often paradoxical, adventurous and intriguing cross-section of the forefront of the theatre world. See website for complete schedule. ($20) Event Website

(Madison Square Park, 23rd St and Madison Ave, New York, NY 10011) (6pm) See great talent in the realms of Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk, R&B, Soul and Pop on the lawn. June 17th Opening Night is a real “family affair.” This triple bill features three uniquely talented voices of the highly acclaimed Wainwright family -- Loudon, Sloan and Lucy. (FREE) Event Website

(Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011) The Joyce Theater welcomes back Pilobolus, a fan favorite for over twenty years. The company will present three programs consisting of two NYC premieres and one season highlight. Programs will include a new shadow work entitled Dog-Id and the third offering from the International Collaborators Project, as well as an array of recent and classic repertory. Event Website

(Central Park, 58th St, New York, NY 10155) (8pm) The Met’s annual concerts in New York City parks are one of the most beloved summer traditions in the city. This year, the company will present a six-performance series of recitals. (FREE) Event Website

(Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215) (Varies see website) All Celebrate Brooklyn! Performances Take Place at the Prospect Park Bandshell. All performances are free with a $3 suggested contribution except Benefit Concerts. (FREE) Event Website

(Central Park, Rumsey Playfield, 70th St at Mid Park, New York, NY 10023) The best place to take in free concerts all summer long. Complete schedule online. Check website for complete schedule. Highlights: June 12 Josh Ritter and The New York Pops, June 16 Indigo Girls, July 13 The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital, July 24 Bettye LaVette Budos Band, July 31 RIOULT Germaul Barnes/Viewsic Expressions, August 07 Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Event Website

(American Museum of Natural History, 175 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023) This exhibition will examine one of the most pressing scientific issues of our time -- the massive, human-induced warming of Earth, a phenomenon that could lead to drought, rising sea levels, heavy storms, and other events with potentially dire impacts on the health of society and the natural world. Explore the science, history, and impact of climate change, and find out ways in which individuals, communities and nations can reduce their carbon footprints. Event Website

(The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave at 82nd St, New York, NY 10028) (All Day) The first major exhibition in New York in 20 years devoted to one of the most important painters of the twentieth-century, Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective will feature 130 works (65 paintings and 65 archival items) that span the entirety of the artist’s full and celebrated career. The landmark exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, which mark the centenary of the artist’s birth in Dublin in 1909, will bring together the most significant works from each period of Bacon’s career. (Donation) Event Website

(Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128) This 50th anniversary exhibition brings together sixty-four projects designed by one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, including privately commissioned residences, civic and government buildings, religious and performance spaces, as well as unrealized urban mega-structures. Presented on the spiral ramps of Wright’s museum through a range of mediums—including more than 200 original Frank Lloyd Wright drawings, many of which are on view to the public for the first time, as well as newly commissioned models and digital animations—Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward illuminates Wright’s pioneering concepts of space and reveals the architect’s continuing relevance to contemporary design. Event Website

(LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011) (OPENING RECEPTION on June 11, 6-8pm) Fifth Annual NYC Photo Club Exhibition. As We See It 2009, features stunning imagery from erotic to political, from pop art to politically incorrect, from travel to portraiture and everything in between by some of the finest emerging photographers in NYC. The Center. (FREE) (212.620.7310) Event Website

(LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011) The Summer Exhibits include he work of the following: Ellen Shumsky, Portraits of Transformation: 1967- 1973. Photography capturing the political unrest of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Steven F. Dansky, Gay Liberation Front (1969-1971): A 40th Anniversary Retrospective. An archive of activism and protest, intimacy and relation, portraits of cultural icons and reinterpretations of gender. Gay & Lesbian Photography Club, As We See It: The Fifth Annual Photography Exhibition. Featuring stunning imagery from the erotic to political…from pop art to politically incorrect…from travel to portraiture…and everything in between. Boris Torres, Portraits of a Congo and Positive Paintings. A series of paintings/drawings of Congolese rape victims and effected children. Event Website

(International Center of Photography, 1133 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036) Richard Avedon (1923–2004) revolutionized fashion photography starting in the post-World War II era and redefined the role of the fashion photographer. He shook up the chilly, static formulas of the fashion photograph and by 1950 was the most imitated American editorial photographer. Injecting a forthright, American energy into a business that had been dominated by Europeans, Avedon's stylistic innovations continue to influence photographers around the world. This exhibition will be the most comprehensive exploration to date of Avedon's fashion photography during his long career at Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, The New Yorker, and beyond. Working closely with The Richard Avedon Foundation, ICP curator Carol Squiers and guest curator Vince Aletti will present new scholarship on the evolution and extraordinary, ongoing impact of his work. The exhibition will feature more than 200 works by Richard Avedon, spanning his entire career, and will include vintage prints, contact sheets, magazine layouts, and archival material. Event Website

(Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036) Vanities spans the turbulent '60s through the late '80s and explores how important friends are, as one faces life’s defining moments. Event Website

(New York Transit Museum, corner of Boerum Pl & Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201) (Tu - Fri 10AM to 4 PM; Sat. & Sun 12 noon to 5 PM) Incorporated in 1834, the Long Island Rail Road is the oldest rail road in the United States still operating under its original name. Initially built to be a shortcut to Boston, it has adapted to the ever-changing needs of its customers and survived competition, takeovers, hard times and bankruptcy. Today it is the busiest commuter railroad in the country and is embarking on a massive expansion project known as East Side Access which will bring LIRR trains into Grand Central Terminal. Historic and contemporary photographs, maps and illustrations ($5 adults; $3 children & Seniors (62+) Seniors free on Wednesdays) (718 694-1600) roxanne.robertson@nyct.com Event Website

(P.S.1, 22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, Queens, NY 11101) The first solo exhibition of the New York-based artist at a New York museum. Working in video, sculpture, sound installation, and photography, Horowitz critically examines the cultures of politics, celebrity, cinema, war, and consumerism. Horowitz repositions news publications like Life and Time, evocative of wholesome American ideals, to draw subversive connections. Other work addresses the inverted politics of celebrity activism, whereby celebrities align themselves with particular issues in order to construct and reclaim their identities. Event Website

(Rooftop of the Old American Can Factory, 232 3rd St at 3rd Ave, Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215) (8pm doors) Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series, the 13th year of "Underground Movies Outdoors," will run every weekend from May 15 - September 20. Programming for the 2009 Summer Series includes feature-length films and programs of shorts, all new, all independent. Most of the feature films are either New York, US or World Premieres. Most screenings will include a filmmaker Q & A. Films represent a diverse range of documentaries, fiction, drama, comedy animation and more. Nightly: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records at 8:30pm, Film at 9pm. ($9) Event Website

(Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41st St, New York, NY 10036) This revival of the classic musical about gamblers, showgirls, and the Salvation Army, stars Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham. Event Website

(Riverside Park South, 72nd St & the Hudson River) (10am - 5pm) Join the Downtown Boathouse for 20-minute instructional paddles, and explore the Hudson River firsthand. Weather permitting. Kayaking will be available Saturdays & Sundays, May 16 – October 11. No registration required. (FREE) (212.408.0219) Event Website

(The Putting Lot, 12 Wyckoff Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237) (Wed-Fri, 12 - 8pm; Sat & Sun 10 - 8pm) You're invited to play nine holes of miniature golf in a previously vacant lot in Bushwick, Brooklyn, each designed by a different team of artists or architects. Enjoy local Brooklyn-based bites at the snack-shack, participate in a variety of activities and events, or just stop by and hang out in the shade. The Putting Lot explores the possibilities of vacant lots in the city with an emphasis on community spaces. ($5/$3 children) Event Website

(Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave at 75th St, New York, NY 10021) Holzer’s pioneering approach to language as a carrier of content, and her use of nontraditional media and public settings as vehicles for that content, make her one of the most interesting and significant artists working today. Event Website

(Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036) The revival of the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical premiered last summer at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Event Website

(Tyler Rollins Fine Art, 529 West 20th St, New York, NY 10011) Considered to be one of Singapore’s preeminent contemporary artists, Ong has been noted for his large scale, figurative charcoal works on paper since his first solo exhibitions in the 1980s. During the past year, he became fascinated with the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic that recounts the exploits of Rama and his dutiful wife, Sita. Ong has brought his own unique viewpoint to this classic story. Inspired by the Ramayana’s characters and its dramatic themes of love, combat, and heroic adventure, he has created new narratives that are informed by his sensitivity as a gay man to the way gender roles play out in contemporary relationships. Event Website

(Madame Tussauds, 234 West 42nd St btwn 7 & 8th Aves, Times Square, New York, NY 10036) Madame Tussauds is offering a history lesson alongside its wax figurines this month: Beginning on Martin Luther King Day, visitors can participate in a special scavenger hunt, with clues based on African-American icons (like Malcolm X and Rose Parks) whose likenesses are in the wax museum. The clues can be downloaded from the website. ($22.40 - $35) (212-512-9600) Event Website

(Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036) The play presents a dramatic and fictionalized account of the confrontation between Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. Event Website