I can't go, but you should: a full day of FREE music courtesy of J.S. Bach and Symphony Space In my view the better programs are in the afternoon and evening but the lines will be longer. Check out the times of each performance . I've been before. It's wonderful. Daniel

The Fund-raiser Schmooze-Fest at Cipriani 23rd Street (at 5th Ave) is pricey but fun; features "the wire" creator David Simon, NYC Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito; California lawyer, activist donor Steve Phillips. As an activist-blogger you can get cut rate tickets. Bargain hard; DMI wants you to attend. How low will they go?. Call 646-274-5700. email: 2008benefit@drummajorinstitute.org

Get there early. Doors open at 6PM. Bring Picnic dinner. Music (from the Brooklyn Phil) fireworks (Grucci) special bridge lighting. If the weather is good, the place, in DUMBO, by the River under the Bridge is magic. Full details of this and more are here including the first free Friday Night movie on May 23rd -- Enchantment, a 2007 Disney confection. (with free popcorn)

The Theater for The New City, 155 1st Ave., presents the 13th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts . (scroll down for schedule) Friday, May 23rd, 6pm - 1am Saturday, May 24th, 10am - 1am 10am - 6pm - OUTSIDE ON E. 10th STREET - Cultural Fair, Performances, Food, Vendors! 2pm - 5pm - INSIDE - Performances for Kids and by Kids Sunday, May 25th, 6pm - 1am

The Theater for The New City, 155 1st Ave., presents the 13th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts . (scroll down for schedule) Friday, May 23rd, 6pm - 1am Saturday, May 24th, 10am - 1am 10am - 6pm - OUTSIDE ON E. 10th STREET - Cultural Fair, Performances, Food, Vendors! 2pm - 5pm - INSIDE - Performances for Kids and by Kids Sunday, May 25th, 6pm - 1am

The Theater for The New City, 155 1st Ave., presents the 13th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts . (scroll down for schedule) Friday, May 23rd, 6pm - 1am Saturday, May 24th, 10am - 1am 10am - 6pm - OUTSIDE ON E. 10th STREET - Cultural Fair, Performances, Food, Vendors! 2pm - 5pm - INSIDE - Performances for Kids and by Kids Sunday, May 25th, 6pm - 1am

Manhattan's melange of culture is most mixed on the Lower East Side. Come visit the Loisada Festival this Sunday. I plan to get there in the late afternoon. Look for the table of CODA, the neighborhood's left political-social action group which will be between 8th & 9th Streets (on C obviously).

The Theater for The New City, 155 1st Ave., presents the 13th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts . (scroll down for schedule) Friday, May 23rd, 6pm - 1am Saturday, May 24th, 10am - 1am 10am - 6pm - OUTSIDE ON E. 10th STREET - Cultural Fair, Performances, Food, Vendors! 2pm - 5pm - INSIDE - Performances for Kids and by Kids Sunday, May 25th, 6pm - 1am

Join us on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 as the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy hosts the latest installment of our 'Marketplace of Ideas' series featuring Sara Flocks, Co-Founder of Young Workers United. In 2007, San Francisco became the first place in the nation to guarantee paid sick days to every person employed full- or part-time in the city. Sara Flocks and her organization, Young Workers United, led the successful effort to pass the law by ballot proposition. Under San Francisco’s law, employees may use the leave for personal illness or to care for a sick family member. The policy is projected to increase workplace productivity, decrease employee turnover and reduce the spread of disease. Following San Francisco’s first-in-the-nation policy, Washington D.C. also mandated paid sick leave in 2008 and Congress is considering a bill to establish a national paid sick leave policy. WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2008 8:00-10:00 a.m. The Harvard Club 35 West 44th Street (bet. 5th & 6th Avenues) light breakfast will be served Space is limited. Admission is free. RSVP and registration are required.

United For Peace & Justice's fundraising 15-Mile bike ride through upper Manhattan "Pedal for Peace" pushes off at 11AM at Central Park North (110th Street) & Adam Clayton Powell Bl'vd; Registration at 10 AM. Register online on or site.

New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse has written a really interesting, well researched book: The Big Squeeze. He's on book tour and will read and speak at Demos 220 Fifth Ave (26/27th St) 5th Floor at Noon on June 5, 2007. If fair wages and good working conditions are issues on your agenda, go. Below, the blurb: The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker takes a fresh, probing, and often shocking look at the stresses and strains faced by tens of millions of American workers as wages have stagnated, health and pension benefits have grown stingier, and job security has shriveled.

This is one of the more wonderful events in NYC: The Housing Works Bookstore Street Sale Tens of thousands of books for $1. Some serious good buys for book lovers and dealers, some trash. Add Huge crowds, t-shirts, snacks, vintange clothing $20 for a large, carefully packed bag and you have a uniquely NY scene. See you there early. Open Air Book Fair! Saturday, June 07, 2008 at 10:00 AM We're making our Open Air Book Fair a twice-a-year experience so you can stock up for summer. Crosby Street between Prince and Houston will be filled with thousands of books, records and CDs for a dollar a piece, plus clothing, shoes and accessories from Housing Works Thrift Shops for $20 a bag.

Domestic workers have been working to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights since 2004. Take a stand, so the 200,000 NY women whose work helps make all else possible, don't have to wait another year. 11:00 am Rally and March from City Hall in Manhattan on Broadway South of Chambers to Union Square. Take the R/W to City Hall or 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge