(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

(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

(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

(South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford St, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY 11217) New political theatre featuring black queer protagonists. The work collectively covers a spectrum of human struggle and culture. 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

(Various Locations) (2pm - 12am Weekdays; 12pm - 12am Weekends) FringeNYC is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues – that's a total of more than 1300 performances! FringeNYC generates an atmosphere of extreme excitement, and the energy is contagious! Event Website

(Delacorte Theater, Central Park at 81st St, New York, NY 10024) (8 PM) JoAnne Akalaitis returns to The Public Theater to present Greek tragedy as it was always meant to be seen – in the open air of the city. This visionary interpretation, featuring a lush choral score by Philip Glass, re-imagines the classic story about what happens when a government attempts to outlaw desire. FREE tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are distributed on the day of the performance beginning at 1PM at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The (FREE) 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

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

(Riverside Park, Pier 1 @ 70th Street, New York, NY 10024) (Varies see website) Summer on the Hudson is the Parks Department’s annual outdoor arts & culture festival that takes place in Riverside Park South on the Upper West Side. With a mix of music concerts, dance performances, movies under the stars, DJ dance parties, kids shows, special events, and wellness activities, there is something for everyone! (FREE) 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

Tuesdays at 7pm, 3rd St & Prospect Park West; Wednesdays at 6:45pm, 236 West 73rd St; Saturdays at 9:15am, 236 West 73rd St Event Website

(Fighthouse, 122 West 27th St, New York, NY 10001) (5 - 7pm) Metro Wrestling is New York City's gay freestyle wrestling club. Gay, straight, male or female, all are welcome to attend. Event Website

(CBST, 57 Bethune St, New York, NY 10014) (10am) Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (3 PM) Join us for docent-led tours of our exhibition galleries. Highlighting works from both our permanent collection and our rotating exhibitions, tours are free with museum admission and start from the bookstore. (Free!) (212 255 0719) carolin@chelseaartmuseum.org Event Website

(Big Apple Ranch, 39 West 19th St, New York, NY 10011) (9PM) Founded in 1997, Big Apple Ranch has hosted a weekly country-western dance for the gay and lesbian community virtually every Saturday night for eleven years. Our huge dance floor welcomes people of all dance-abilities, and our friendly people go out of their way to make sure everyone has a good time and keeps coming back. The Ranch’s growing crowds are proof that the fun of partner dancing is contagious Polish up your boots, and come on and see what all these cowgirls and cowboys are talking about!! Event Website

(Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011) (3.00 p.m.) Docent Tours are held in Chelsea Art Museum every Saturday at 3.00 p.m. (free)