this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

GRANTA 116: TEN YEARS LATER

Tuesday, September 6, Barnes & Noble, 150 East 86th St. at Lexington Ave., free, 212-369-2180, 7:00
Wednesday, September 7, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 2920 Broadway, free, 5:00
Thursday, September 8, McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince St. between Lafayette & Mulberry Sts., free, 212-274-1160, 7:00
Friday, September 9, BookCourt, 163 Court St.
Sunday, September 18, Brooklyn Book Festival, Borough Hall Community Room, free, 10:00 am
www.granta.com

For more than thirty years, UK publisher Granta has been putting out a quarterly trade-paperback-size magazine featuring articles, essays, poems, short stories, and novel excerpts by an international collection of writers on such themes as travel, home, film, aliens, sex, and nature. They often get political, as in such issues as “The Rise of the British Jihad,” “Over There: How America Sees the World,” and “While Waiting for a War.” In their latest publication, Granta 116: Ten Years Later (Grove Press, $16.99), they have put together sixteen stories dealing with the aftereffects of 9/11, with pieces by award-winning authors Pico Iyer and Nicole Krauss, former Guantanamo prisoner Ahmed Errachidi, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Phil Klay, foreign correspondents Anthony Shadid and Declan Walsh, photojournalist Elliott Woods, and translator Linda Coverdale, among others, writing about life around the world since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Granta will be holding a series of special free events this month in conjunction with the publication of the new issue and the tenth anniversary of 9/11, beginning tonight with “The Fireman’s Family and the Soldier,” a reading and discussion at the 86th St. Barnes & Noble hosted by Peter Carey, executive director of Hunter College’s creative writing MFA program, who will introduce two of his students, Klay and Samantha Smith. On September 7, Granta teams up with Voices of Witness and the South Asian Journalists Association for “Islamophobia, the Media, and Echoes of 9/11” at the Columbia School of Journalism, with Granta 116 contributor and law professor Lawrence Joseph, journalist Todd Gitlin, civil rights attorney Alia Malek, and Granta editor John Freeman. On September 9, Granta 116 contributors Klay, Joseph, Krauss, and Jynne Martin will be at BookCourt with Freeman for the official Brooklyn launch of the new issue. Freeman will be back in Brooklyn on September 18 for the Brooklyn Book Festival, when he will be joined by Madison Smartt Bell, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, and others for the program “Conflict, Trauma and Writing: How We Tell Stories After a Crisis.”

1st IRISH 2011: A FESTIVAL OF IRISH THEATRE

Mabou Mines examines the life of James Joyce’s daughter in LUCIA’S CHAPTERS OF COMING FORTH BY DAY at 1st Irish theater festival

Multiple venues
September 5 – October 2, free – $55
www.1stirish.org

The fourth annual 1st Irish theater festival begins on Labor Day, comprising eight theatrical productions and five special events continuing through October 2. Among the plays are Teresa Deevy’s complicated love story Temporal Powers, directed by Jonathan Bank at the Mint; Brenda Murphy and Donna O’Connor’s A Night with George, about a woman’s obsession with George Clooney, presented by the Brassneck Theatre Company at the Times Square Arts Center; Deirdre Kinahan’s Bogboy, which follows the life of a heroin addict, at the Irish Arts Center; and Mabou Mines’ Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth by Day, a multimedia examination of James Joyce’s daughter, Lucia. On September 16, Terry Loane’s film Mickybo & Me will screen at the New York Irish Center, “The North Face – A Panel Discussion on Arts in Northern Ireland” will take place at the Bruno Walter Auditorium on September 20, the panel discussion “Challenge for the Actor” will be held at NYU Glucksman Ireland House on September 22, the Origin Theatre Laboratory will host “Breaking Ground,” featuring new work by six playwrights, on September 24 at A.R.T. New York Studios at 520, and the American Irish Historical Society and Tir Na Theatre will present a reading of Conor McDermottroe’s Dawnhurst on September 26.

CONEY ISLAND HISTORY DAY

Riders who take a spin on Deno’s Wonder Wheel on Coney Island History Day will receive a special gift

Coney Island History Project & Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park
West 12th St. & the Boardwalk
Saturday, September 3, free, 1:00 – 5:00
www.coneyislandhistory.org

No other part of New York City has the kind of colorful history that Coney Island has. That past will be celebrated today at Coney Island History Day, beginning at 1:00 at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Coney Island History Project. Originally scheduled for August 28 but postponed because of Hurricane Irene, History Day will begin with the induction of the Shore Theater and Lady Deborah Moody, the first woman to found a colony in the new world, Gravesend, in 1645, into the Coney Island Hall of Fame. Previous inductees include Sea Lion Park builder Paul Boyton, baby incubator inventor Dr. Martin Couney, hot dog inventor Charles Feltman, Luna Park creator Fred Thompson, Steeplechase founder George Cornelius Tilyou, sideshow impresario Samuel W. Gumpertz, wood carver Marcus C. Illions, exotic dancer Fahreda “Little Egypt” Mahzar, ride inventor and amusement manufacturer William F. Mangels, Parachute Jump designer James Hale Strong, and roller coaster designer La Marcus Thompson. History Day also features a trivia contest with historian Charles Denson, live music by the Hungry March Band, the Hot Sardines, and the Banjo Rascals, and a performance by Kae Burke of Lady Circus. In addition, attendees can contribute a romantic Coney Island story to the Oral History Project.

One of Coney’s most iconic and endearing historic landmarks is Deno’s Wonder Wheel, which has been home to young couples in love making out while looking out over beautiful Coney Island since 1920. This is not your average Ferris wheel (owner Dennis Vourderis refers to the 200-hundred ton, 150-foot-high wonder as an “eccentric Ferris wheel”); sixteen of the twenty-four cars slide from side to side while rocking back and forth and moving up and down, so you’re in nearly constant motion. Be sure to pay attention to rule number six: “Do not force your child to ride if he or she is frightened. A scared child on the ground may well panic on the ride.” Slip the carny a few extra bucks and he might let you linger at the top, where you get a spectacular view of all of Coney Island as you share a romantic interlude that only the heavens can see. This 150-foot-high national landmark was owned for years by Deno Vourderis (Dennis’s father; the attraction is co-owned by his other son, Steve), who lived the American dream by immigrating to Coney Island, working as a hot dog vendor, and eventually buying a part of New York history. As part of Coney Island History Day on September 3, all Wonder Wheel riders will receive a special gift each paid ticket and can take a goofy old-time photo for free.

The Cyclone has been flying high since 1927

We make sure to hit the Cyclone, another integral part of Coney Island’s history and an official national historic landmark, at least once every summer, and it has never let us down. We know every curve, bump, and drop like the back of our hand, but the rickety old joy still surprises us every time we take it for a spin. We like to begin in the last car, where you get thrown around like a rag doll, then move up to the first car, which is as awesome as you would imagine. Since 1927, the three thousand feet of track that make up the Cyclone have held no hidden tricks from the very start of the ride; it takes you straight up, offering a fabulous view of Coney Island, but don’t get too lost in the picturesque scenery, because you’re about to go on a killer eighty-five-foot drop. Riding the Cyclone is our favorite 110 seconds in the world; it even impressed Charles Lindbergh, who piloted the Cyclone in 1927 and said it was more thrilling than flying across the Atlantic. Coney Island has been undergoing a lot of change over the last few years, for better and for worse, but the Cyclone keeps rolling along, as dependable as ever, even if the price has gone up to $8, there is no more “ride again” discount, and the new Luna Park regulations don’t allow you to wait a ride or two until the first car is available.

NEW YORK HELL’S KITCHEN FILM FESTIVAL

Craig Viveiros’s LOST IN ITALY is the closing-night selection of the first annual New York Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival

The Producers’ Club
358 West 44th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
September 1-11, $12-$20
212-315-4743
www.newyorkhellskitchenfilmfestival.com

When we were growing up, Hell’s Kitchen was the place to go when in need of cheap booze or an even cheaper crack whore. But times have changed, and Hell’s Kitchen has transformed into a more desirable location to live, eat, and just hang out. Increasing the neighborhood’s visibility and growing connection to the arts world, the first annual Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival begins today and runs through September 11, featuring new digital works that have not had a theatrical release or been aired on television or online before. Approximately three dozen feature-length films and about one hundred shorts from around the world will be screened at the Producers’ Club on West 44th St., as well as student films, music videos, and works-in-progress. Tonight’s opening gala includes Jay Duplass’s Kevin, about Austin musician Kevin Gant, Luke Matheny’s Oscar-winning God of Love, a live performance by Gant, and a Q&A with Duplass. On Friday night, NYHKK pays tribute to legendary photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark with a special tenth anniversary retrospective gala screening of his 2002 film, Ken Park, with the director and star Tiffany Limos, who played Peaches, in attendance. The centerpiece selection (September 4) is Josh Hyde’s Peruvian drama Postales, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. The closing-night selection is the world premiere of Craig Viveiros’s Lost in Italy, starring Ray Winstone. And on September 4 at 7:00, the city battles it out with Hollywood as Team NYC (the AV Club’s Alison Willmore and Fangoria’s Samuel Zimmerman) goes five rounds with Team LA (Allison Loring and Film School Rejects’ Kate Erbland) to determine which city is the best when it comes to making, writing about, and appreciating film.

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK: CONCERTS CANCELED

Long Beach, Long Island (and other venues)
September 1-15, free
www.quiksilverpro.com

Things are about to get pretty extreme in Long Beach, and we’re not talking about any lingering aftereffects of Hurricane Irene. From September 1 through 15, the beachfront community will play host to Quiksilver Pro New York, two weeks of intense competitions (with $1 million in prizes at stake), live performances, and living on the edge. The festival officially gets under way Friday on Pier 54 in Hudson River Park, where the Tony Hawk Vert Jam will take place at 2:00 in a large halfpipe with appearances by Hawk, Kevin Staab, Jesse Fritsch, Mitchie Brusco, Sandro Dias, Neal Hendrix, and Elliot Sloan, followed by an after-party at the Standard Hotel. Then it’s back to Long Beach for surfing, volleyball, BMX demos, the Roxy Surf Camp, the Bravest Versus Finest Surf Comp, autograph signings, and other events and activities based in and around the Village. Among those on hands will be Corey Bohan, Allan Cooke, Craig Mast, Anthony Napolitan, Edwin DeLarosa, Josh Kalis, Matt Miller, Wes Kremer, Rob Wise, Jeremiah Smith, Alfredo Mancuso, Kelly Bolton, Brad Simms, Brett Banasiewicz, and Ryah Jordan. More than two dozen bands will hit the stage for free concerts, including Girl Talk, the English Beat, the Ettes, Interpol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Benjamins, the Max Weinberg Experience, Wavves, Neon Indian, and the Flaming Lips, while Kelly Slater & Friends will lead a benefit show on September 10. The festivities return to Manhattan on September 7 for the world premiere of Travis Rice’s snowboarding movie The Art of Flight at the Beacon, followed on September 8 by Roxy Fashion Night Out at the Roxy Store in SoHo. Oh, and did we mention that it’s all free?

Update (9/2/11): As it turns out, Long Beach is in fact still feeling the lingering aftereffects of Hurricane Irene, which has forced the cancellation of most of the special events that were scheduled to take place as part of Quiksilver Pro New York, including all of the free concerts as well as the autograph signings and demonstrations that were to take place in what was being called the Village, which is no more. However, there is a petition demanding that the concerts go on as planned; you can read and sign it here. The professional competition is still on, as is this afternoon’s Tony Hawk Vert Jam on Pier 54.

10 YEARS OF MAGNOLIA PICTURES: GREAT WORLD OF SOUND

Clarence (Kene Holliday) and Martin (Pat Healy) become traveling salesmen in the music biz in offbeat GREAT WORLD OF SOUND

GREAT WORLD OF SOUND (Craig Zobel, 2006)
BAMcinématek
BAM Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Wednesday, August 31, 6:50
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.greatworldofsound.com

Craig Zobel’s debut feature film is a smart, subtle comedy set in the somewhat shadier corners of the music industry. Desperately in need of money and jobs, soft-spoken Martin (Pat Healy) and rambunctious Clarence (Kene Holliday) become traveling salesmen for GWS, a small music company that auditions wannabes, then asks them to pay (up front) upwards of thirty percent of the costs of producing their own CD. As Martin and Clarence get better and better at their sales pitch, they become more and more suspicious of the whole endeavor as they are ordered by company founder Layton (Robert Longstreet) and his right-hand man, Shank (John Baker), to sign up the hopefuls regardless of their talent level. Using the Maysles brothers’ outstanding documentary Salesman (1969) as a point of departure, Zobel adds the public’s seemingly insatiable demand for reality-show stardom — all of the musical performers in the film believed they were auditioning to make records, not appearing in a fiction film, resulting in a series of wonderful unscripted scenes. (The filmmakers revealed their true intentions at the end of each audition.) Healy (Undertow) and Holliday (who starred in such TV shows as Matlock and Carter Country and is now an evangelical minister) make a great team, both in good times and bad, as they each attempt to better their life — much the way the wannabe musicians try to as well. Great World of Sound is a terrific sleeper of a film that was a festival hit all over the world. It is screening August 31 at 6:50 at BAM as the last film in the “10 Years of Magnolia Pictures” series and will be followed by a Q&A with Zobel.

THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: SUMMER HD FESTIVAL

HD festival gives opera lovers the chance to catch free screenings of recent Met performances

Lincoln Center, Josie Robertson Plaza
Columbus Ave. at 63rd St.
August 29 – September 5, free, starting time between 7:15 and 8:30
212-769-7028
www.metoperafamily.org

Hurricane Irene might have forced the cancellation of the first two nights of the Met’s Summer HD Festival, but the fat lady has not sung quite yet. Every night from August 29 through September 5, the Metropolitan Opera Guild will be presenting a free screening by the fountain in Josie Robertson Plaza of a previous Met performance, each one preceded at 3:00, 4:00, or 6:00 by an indoor ticketed lecture ($8-$12) given by a member of the Community Programs staff. (Many of these talks are already sold out, so be sure to get your tickets in advance.) Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra were stormed out, so the festival gets under way Monday night, August 29, at 8:30 with Susan Graham and Plácido Domingo in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, recorded live this past February. On August 30, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna star in Puccini’s La Rondine (8:00) from January 2009, while August 30 features a February 2011 performance of John Adams’s Nixon in China (7:45), a collaboration with Peter Sellars. On September 1, Elīna Garanča and Alagna appear in Bizet’s Carmen (7:45), directed by Richard Eyre, from January 2010. The next night, Deborah Voigt gives her all in a January 2011 performance of Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West (8:00). Stephen Wadsworth’s new production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, from October 2010 with René Pape, will be shown on September 3 (7:15), with Natalie Dessay in Mary Zimmerman’s version of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (8:00), from March 2011, screening on September 4. The series concludes on Labor Day at 7:15 with Verdi’s Don Carlo, directed by Nicholas Hytner, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and starring Alagna, Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and Simon Keenlyside, filmed on December 11, 2010.