Festival Wednesday: Puppet Fringe opens today and Harlem Week enters its final two days — plus free lunchtime jazz at Bryant Park, the free Blues BBQ Festival Saturday, and a film-and-jazz double feature at Ornithology.

Live Music

  • Piano in Bryant Park — TODAY 12:30–2:30pm, Upper Terrace (between Bryant Park Grill and the Café): ragtime, stride and jazz on the park piano, free lunchtime set — the daily series runs weekdays through October (NYC Parks)
  • PEPPERPOT: Jungle Edition — Fri 8/14, 5–11pm, The Sultan Room, 234 Starr St, Bushwick, $20, 21+: Samantha DaSilva’s dance party goes jungle/drum & bass with kstrobez, Sam Santini b2b DaSilva, Vibeiana and Yesterdayneverhappened; tickets at ra.co/events/2497958 (r/Bushwick)
  • Blues BBQ Festival — Sat 8/15, 1–9pm, Pier 76, Hudson River Park: NYC’s longest-running free blues festival, 26th year — two stages (Bobby Rush, Sugaray Rayford, Buckwheat Zydeco Jr., Bywater Call + Jazz Foundation stage), BBQ from Dinosaur and Kimchi Smoke, Hot Sauce Alley, dance lessons — free, all ages (Hudson River Park)

Festivals & Cultural

  • Harlem Week Part II — still going on through Fri 8/14, mostly free: music, films, food across Harlem; day-by-day schedule at harlemweek.org/events — final two days (Bluesky · manhattanbuzz)
  • International Puppet Fringe Festival — OPENS TODAY, Aug 12–16, centered at The Clemente, 107 Suffolk St, LES: 100+ performances from 10 countries, plus workshops, exhibitions and screenings — gloriously weird, five days (Time Out)

Art Openings

  • Pastel by CJ Hendry at Salon 94 Design — through Sun 8/16, 3 E. 89th St (UES): plunge into a massive pastel-bead pit and build your own bracelet or charm in this interactive installation — a rare exhibit you’re encouraged to take a piece of home from (Time Out)

Film & Screenings

  • Coffy at Ornithology Jazz Club — Sat 8/15, doors 6pm, screening 8:30pm, Ornithology Jazz Club, Brooklyn: Jack Hill’s 1973 Pam Grier grindhouse classic plus four live jazz sets and two jam sessions on one ticket; proceeds support the Gotham Yardbird Sanctuary’s live jazz programming; tickets at eventbrite.com (r/Bushwick)
  • Free screening of Aliens — Sat 8/15, doors 6pm, preshow game 6:15, movie 6:30, Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan St, Bushwick (L/Morgan) — Scream Scene’s Cameron classic with horror host Martin Monster, free (r/Brooklyn)
All gathered items — what was cut and why (6)