Enjoy more NYC with a daily look at where to go and what to do — close to home and around the city.
SPAN-TASTIC! The Get Fit Health Walk, sponsored by Let’s Move! Brooklyn, promotes fitness among city residents. Start your morning with a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge and back. Registration at 9:30 a.m. Walk at 10:30 a.m. Free. Begins at Brooklyn Korean War Veterans Plaza, Cadman Plaza Park West and Tillary St. (917) 573-8377.
JUST AROUND THE BEND. Check out Astoria Park Shore Fest: River Jam for a dance performance, a ukulele social, standup comedy, live music, fitness programs and food-tastings. 1-7 p.m. Free. Shore Blvd., adjacent to Astoria Park, Queens. AstoriaParkShoreFest.yolasite.com.
PADDLE PARADE. Take a 15-minute paddle along the South Beach Boardwalk courtesy of Kayak Staten Island. Wear clothes that can get wet. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Event canceled if high winds or lightning. Noon-4 p.m. Free. South Beach Boardwalk at Ocean Ave.. NYCGovParks.org/events/2012/08/19/ free-kayaking.
BLISSFUL BAROQUE. Get on down to Le Poisson Rouge to hear some of the greatest music from the 17th and 18th centuries by one of the freshest and most vital young orchestras around. The New York Baroque Incorporated is an unconducted group founded by students and alumni of the Juilliard School. The evening program will consist of Vivaldi and Telemann. $15/$20. 6:30 p.m. 158 Bleecker St. (212) 505-3474.
IMPROV MANIA. The Upright Citizens Brigade, whose alumni include regulars from “Saturday Night Live,” “The Office” and “Parks & Recreation,” stages some improv that is bound to please. Free. 7 p.m. East River Park, FDR Drive and Grand St. (212) 366-9176.
WRITE ON. Do something creative today. Housing works SoHo is playing host to Lev AC Rosen, who will hold a free fiction writing workshop. Rosen is the author of “All Men of Genius,” and has taught at the Oberlin Experimental College. 11 a.m. 126 Crosby St. (212) 334-3324.
REACH FOR THE SKY. Brooklyn-based indie rock band Sky-Pony isn’t your average group. They incorporate costumes, choreography and mixed media elements in their high-energy shows, and create music inspired by the American Songbook. $12. 7:30 p.m. Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (212) 967-7555.
BROOKLYN FLEA. Head to the Williamsburg Flea for great food, clothes, housewares or the many oddities under the tents. It’s also a great way to support local businesses and keep the independent artisan trade alive. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (rain or shine). East River Waterfront between N. Sixth and Seventh Sts.
WING IT. Sunday at East Village sake bar Satsko means 10-cent wings all night. Choose from buffalo, wasabi and sweet Korean BBQ flavor. 202 E. Seventh St. between Avenues B and C. (212) 614-0933.
JAZZ IN HARLEM. As part of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, pianist and composer Andy Milne presents a branch of his main group — Dapp Theory — with Bandwidth. Expect an acoustic sound with familiar tunes and some of Milne’s lesser performed works as well as standards with vocalist La Tanya Hall. Red Rooster, 310 Malcolm X Blvd., between 125th and 126th Sts. (212) 792-9001.
LOOKING AHEAD: GREAT STORIES FROM THE GREAT
PLAINS. Josh Garrett-Davis, author of “Ghost Dances: Proving Up on the Great Plains,” will read from his narrative about his childhood in South Dakota. Monday, 7 p.m. Free. The Half King Bar and Restaurant, 505 W. 23rd St. (212) 462-4300.
OPEN ‘SESAME.’ Want to be on “Sesame Street”? The children’s TV series is hosting an open casting call for a new recurring Hispanic character. Requirements at m.playbill.com/jobs/ find/job_detail/46126. Monday, 10 a.m.2 p.m. Free. Roseland Ballroom, 239 W. 52nd St.
WATERSIDE SOUNDS. Enjoy classical music as students from Mannes College The New School for Music perform on one of Hudson River Park’s most beautiful piers. Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. Free. Pier 45 at Christopher St. (212) 627-2020.
BOOK TALK. Victor LaValle discusses his new novel, “The Devil in Silver,” with fellow author Kelly Link. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Free. Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton St., at South Portland Ave., Brooklyn. (718) 246-0200.
AFRICAN JAM. WNYC Battle of the Bronx Bands winner BODOMA Garifuna-Cultural Band performs West African-influenced music. Wednesday, 7 p.m. $2-$8. Wave Hill, W. 249th St. and Independence Ave., Bronx. (718) 549-3200.
MIX IT UP. Four of New York’s best underground bartenders share tips for mixing cool drinks in the city’s underthe-radar venues. Tasting cocktail included. Thursday, 7-8 p.m. $15. Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, at E. 12th St. (212) 473-2591.
STORY TIME. Ron Sopyla tells the Puerto Rican story “Small and Best” at the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center. Saturday, 11 a.m.noon. Free. Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park, near 72nd St and Fifth Ave. hcastorycenter.org.
BROOKLYN BEATS. Catch the first day of the eighth annual Afro Punk Fest, featuring acts including Erykah Badu and Das Racist. Saturday, 11 a.m-10 p.m. Free. Commodore Barry Park, Nassau St., Park Ave., between Navy St. and N. Elliot Place, Brooklyn. afropunkfest.com.
BURSTING IN AIR. Enjoy the music of Deja Vu and New York Minute before a fireworks show at 9.m. Friday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. South Beach Boardwalk, Father Capodanno Blvd. and Sand Lane, Staten Island. (718) 816-2133.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER. Help Canadian artists Thomas + Guinevere transform the park into a field of freestanding, larger-than-life, glowing sculptural scarecrows. Preregistration at socratessculpturepark.org encouraged. Saturday, 12-3 p.m. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., Queens. (718) 956-1819. Marisa Iati, Brenna Walton and Jordan Teicher