(Various Locations along the Hudson River, from Manhattan to Upstate Hudson Valley) The Hudson River Valley Ramble celebrates the history, culture and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, as well as the amazing landscape, communities, and trails throughout the region. This year, the Ramble takes places over four weekends in September and features nearly 300 individual events being offered in communities from Saratoga to NYC. Many Ramble events highlight themes such as the Revolutionary War, Great Estates, Hudson River School artists, Greenway Trails and the Hudson River Estuary. Whether you are interested in a challenging hike, bike or paddle, an inspiring walk through the grounds and homes of some of the Valley’s most notable artists, authors, and Great Americans, a trip back in time to experience the significant role the region played in the Revolutionary War, or a family-fun festival or river exploration event, the Hudson River Valley Ramble truly offers something for everyone! Event Website

(Various Locations) In 18 days even the most intrepid theatergoer can only sample a small fraction of the over 200 offerings at the New York International Fringe Festival. The Fringenyc Encores Series is a showcase some of the best and most crowd-pleasing shows from the New York International Fringe Festival, most of them right from their sold out runs. 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

(Governor's Island, Accessible by Battery Maritime Building, Slip 7, New York, NY 10004) (11am - 6pm) Presenting selections of work by more than 150 artists to the public for free. The site of a former military compound, Governors Island is a five-minute ferry ride (also free) from lower Manhattan, and comprises 22 acres of 18th-century fortifications, pre-Civil War arsenal buildings, Victorian and Romanesque Revival housing, early 20th-century neo-classical architecture, and a killer viewpoint of Lady Liberty. Event Website

(Various Locations) Crossing the Line is a platform for transformation. A festival of new work that enables all of us to re-imagine the way we exist in the world, the way we look at the world, and the way we sense and experience the world. Crossing the Line works with artists who, perhaps, have their origins in more traditional or specific disciplinary practices like dance, music, film, visual arts, and cuisine; but who, by re-inventing their relationships to those practices, are completely transforming the practices themselves. Event Website

(Morgan Lehman Gallery, 317 10th Ave, New York, NY 10001) Acutely aware of being different in a world of New York society, Smith struggled for years with her identity as a lesbian and an artist. As she came to terms with her sexual orientation, Smith found herself searching for positive role models within the gay community. While portraiture has been used for centuries to memorialize the family lineage, these visual depictions have focused almost entirely on the heterosexual family unit. Smith conceived of a project that would not only provide the role models she so craved, but would also contribute to the current cultural debate around homosexual unions by finding monogamous and stable exemplars. 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

(Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023) The 47th Annual New York Film Festival returns to the fully renovated Alice Tully Hall. The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience. Event Website

(Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 544 West 26th St, New York, NY 10001) DENNIS HOPPER: SIGNS OF THE TIMES will include a vast selection of the artist's iconic 1960s photographs, twelve enormous and never-seen-before "billboard paintings," and select video excerpts from Hopper's extensive body of work as an actor and director in film and television. A legendary icon at the epicenter of many decades of exciting innovation and cultural upheaval, Hopper documented the likes of Ike and Tina Turner, Phil Spector, Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, Paul Newman, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Martin Luther King and the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery- Alabama. Event Website

(Leslie/Lohman Gallery, 26 Wooster St, New York, NY 10013) Talk to just about anyone in the queer community in San Francisco, and they know Rink, at least by reputation. Go to any queer demonstration, street fair, bar event, film screening or protest march, be it early in the morning or late at night, and Rink's there, his face hidden behind a camera, crouched down to get the best shot. Rink is a photo-journalist, but as with other photojournalists like Frank Capra, Dorothy Miller and the great Henri Cartier Bresson, the prosaic term “journalism” doesn't do full justice to the work. In this exhibition of but a tiny percentage of Rink's nearly half a million images, you can assess his photographic eye for yourself. Like Cartier Bresson, Rink seems to have a gift for being there at the right moment, not only to catch the action, but also to catch the image that is rich enough, dense enough, strange enough, to tell, like all great photos, a complex story without words. 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

(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

(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

(Henry Miller Theatre, 124 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036, 212-239-6200) (8PM) Get ready to PUT ON A HAPPY FACE! Birdie returns in an all new production of the classic Tony Award®-winning musical smash BYE BYE BIRDIE. The exuberant rock 'n' roll smash hit gets hips swinging again for the first time in almost 50 years. Previews Sept 10th opens Oct. 15th ($91.50 +) Event Website

(Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128) (See website schedule) Kandinsky is a central figure in the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. His works not only represent a part of the core and essence of the collection, but also helped to inspire the creation of the building. In 1929, Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting Kandinsky’s canvases under the advisement of artist Hilla Rebay. ($18) Event Website

(Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave at 75th St, New York, NY 10021) (See website schedule) Although Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) has long been celebrated as a central figure in twentieth-century art, the abstract works she created throughout her career have remained overlooked by critics and the public in favor of her representational subjects. The exhibition includes more than 130 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures by O'Keeffe as well as selected examples of Alfred Stieglitz’s famous photographic portrait series of O’Keeffe. ($18) 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)