According to news reports, this weekend is supposed to be the busiest travel period of the Thanksgiving holiday.  With so many heading out of town, the city should be quiet this weekend.  There is still much to do and see and, if the news reports are correct, you will be able to enjoy them in relative solitude.  You may need this time to rest up for the spectacular Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. If you are in town next Wednesday, head over to the big balloon blow-up on 77th and 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus and watch the balloons (like Sponge Bob above) slowly come to life.  Some say it’s better than going to the Parade.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20

Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop

Discovery Times Square Exposition

226 West 44^th Street

Explore Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old inventions from his actual notebooks as they are brought to life in this world premiere exhibit. Discover how his visions for an airplane, automobile and bridge would have worked – long before they became the modern world’s reality. Plus, uncover the translations and hidden meanings behind the mastermind’s paintings, sketches and notebooks through innovative digital technology.

The Exhibit features: a full scale models of da Vinci’s inventions including his self-propelled cart, airplane, robot knight and mechanical lion; an innovative touch screen technology that translates over 500 sketches from his actual notebooks into 3-dimensional models, and da Vinci’s most important paintings viewed using avant-garde technologies and extensive 3D imaging and animations.

Visit www.discoverytsx.com for tickets and more information. Tickets: Adults $24.40, Children 4yrs and older $17.50.

slash: paper under the knife

Museum of Arts and Design;  2 Columbus Circle    212-299-7777

Slash: Paper Under the Knife takes the pulse of the international art world’s renewed interest in paper as a creative medium and source of artistic inspiration, examining the remarkably diverse use of paper in a range of art forms. Slash is the third exhibition in MAD’s Materials and Process series, which examines the renaissance of traditional handcraft materials and techniques in contemporary art and design. The exhibition surveys unusual paper treatments, including works that are burned, torn, cut by lasers, and shredded. A section of the exhibition will focus on artists who modify books to transform them into sculpture, while another will highlight the use of cut paper for film and video animations. ? Selected artists will be commissioned to create site-specific or site-referential works, and others will be invited to create work onsite in MAD’s three artist studios that will subsequently be installed in the exhibition. Call 212-299-7777 or visit madmuseum.org for more information.

The 3 Bears Holiday Bash

Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Noon, Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm

City Parks Foundation is proud to announce the launch of The Three Bears Holiday Bash, a new marionette production beginning November 17, 2009 at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park.

The Three Bears Holiday Bash is a variety show that celebrates the holiday season in song, dance, and puppetry. This production quickly becomes a comedy of errors when Baby Bear invites Santa to star in Mama and Papa Bears’ annual holiday show. Drawing from the stories of Hanukkah, the Night Before Christmas, and Kwanzaa, The Three Bears Holiday Bash is a great way to get in the season spirit.

Show times for The Three Bears Holiday Bash, beginning Tuesday, November 17, 2009 are Tuesday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., with an additional performance at 2:30 p.m. each Wednesday; and Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The production will conclude running through January 3, 2010.

Reservations are required. Tickets are $5/children and $8/adults. Group rates are available for schools and other large groups. For reservations, group rates, and information on birthday parties, please call 212-988-9093.

The Cottage is located in Central Park at 81st Street and Central Park West, just south of the Delacorte Theater. For more information, please visit www.CityParksFoundation.org.

4th Annual Latin American Cultural Week

185 south 9th street Brooklyn; 7:00 pm

As part of Latin American Cultural Week, the 2nd Annual Latin American Piano and Song Festival of NYC will celebrate the music of Mexico with “Mexico 2010: 200 Years of Music.” The Festival is curated by the pianist and musicologist Cesar Reyes and performed by some of the most gifted Latin American singers living in the United States. Admission $10. Renee Weiler Concert Hall at Greenwich House Music School, ?46 Barrow Street.

Repertorio Español

138 East 27th Street, NY (Between Lexington and Third Avenues); 8pm

The House of the Spirits (La casa de los espíritus), by Caridad Svich and based on the novel by Isabel Allende will be performed. This is the story of the Trueba family in an un-named Latin American country. Young Alba’s memories illuminate the stage as she records her family’s history and ultimately finds the strength to recover her own story. Wheelchair Accessible and audio amplification system for the hard of hearing.  Call 212-225-9920 or visit www.repertorio.org for more information. Tickets start at $25.

Annual Russian Film Week   (Through Sunday, Nov. 22)

The ninth annual Russian Film Week will take place in New York City from November 13- 22, 2009. Events will be held in different parts of the City, from South Brooklyn to Upper Manhattan, and will feature award-winning Russian films as well as those never before seen on the silver screen in the US. This year the event is organized by the leading New York based agency Global Advertising Strategies, in collaboration with the Russia-based television studio “Clotho -Plus”.

This year, in addition to the film screenings and formal receptions, the Film Week will include a series of special open panel and round table discussions with some of the leading Russian and American cinematographers along with professors and students from the top film schools in the United States. www.russianfilmweeknyc.com. Photo above from the film, “Believe”.

Peter and the Wolf

The New Victory Theater,  209 West 42^nd Street

Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved masterpiece takes a fresh turn in this invigorating production narrated live by magnetic British film and stage actor Brian Blessed. Featuring an ensemble of fourteen musicians and ten dancers, this exciting U.S. premiere boasts a brand new prequel followed by the original 1936 composition. Peter’s timeless adventures with Bird, Duck and Cat are staged with “tremendous visual flair” (The Herald, UK), seamlessly blending a whimsical score with modern dance and thrilling theater. Visit www.newvictory.org for more information.

Marshall Crenshaw at City Winery

155 Varick Street (between Spring and Vandam Sts);  10pm

The pop-minded singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw built up an impressive body of work over the course of his career, showing a fine craft for everything he approached while stubbornly following his own creative muse to reach that end. To call Crenshaw’s career “interesting” would be putting things mildly. He starred in several movies and portrayed John Lennon in the road-show version of Beatlemania. His songs were featured on several film soundtracks and covered by such diverse artists as Robert Gordon, Bette Midler, Kelly Willis, Marti Jones, and the Gin Blossoms. He assembled a bunch of like-minded show business acquaintances and issued a book about rock & roll movies entitled Hollywood Rock & Roll. He assembled compilations for record companies (most notably Hillbilly Music…Thank God! for the short-lived Bug Music label) and contributed chapters to books on vintage guitar collecting. In short, Crenshaw is a true rock & roll Renaissance man, and his own music remains as commendable as his alternate projects. Visit www.citywinery.com for more information and tickets.

WHO’S BAD

The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band

BB King’s Blues Club and Grill; 237 West 42^nd Street; Midnight Show

In glitzy jackets, glittering gloves and 80s regalia, Who’s Bad, The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band, is an infectious party production that takes audiences on a musical expedition spanning three decades of Michael Jackson’s chart-cresting music.

From ABC to You Rock My World, no song is forgotten in this electrifying revival of Pop Music’s Royal Highness. Founded in 2004 by Vamsi Tadepalli and spearheaded by some of North Carolina’s optimum musicians, Who’s Bad has crafted an intricate performance complete with synchronized dance routines, blaring horn section and down-deep rhythms–each delivered with a precision that could only be superseded by the King himself. Since their first standing room only concert, audiences have crowned them must-see entertainment singing along as if the moves, the music, and the memories belong to us all. Visit www.bbkingblues.com for more information.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21

New York Road Runners: Knickerbocker 60K Race

Central Park; 8:00 a.m.

Need to get ready for Thanksgiving? Sign up for the Knickerbocker 60K. Nothing builds up an appetite for turkey like running nine loops around Central Park. After 37.2 miles, you’ll even be ready to tackle those leftovers! Call (212) 860-4455 or visit www.nyrr.org for more information.

Holiday Train Show at The New York Botanical Garden

10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The holiday season is full of family traditions, and the Holiday Train Show is one of the most eagerly anticipated. The amazing display of New York landmark replicas created out of plant materials and enlivened by model trains returns to The New York Botanical Garden on Saturday, November 21, 2009, with familiar favorites from seasons past and spectacular additions to enchant audiences anew. Beloved by people of all ages, the popular exhibition will be on display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory through January 10, 2010.

New York Botanical Garden is at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road

Bronx; $20 All Garden Pass. Call 718-817-8700 or visit www.nybg.org for more information.

Dress Codes:

The Third ICP Triennial of Photography and Video

The International Center of Photography;  1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43^rd Street

The Triennial is ICP’s signature exhibition: a global survey of the most exciting and challenging new work in photography and video. The only recurring U.S. exhibition specializing in international contemporary photography and video, the Third Triennial will mark the closing cycle of ICP’s 2009 Year of Fashion, a series of projects that critically examine fashion and its relationship to art and other cultural and social phenomena. Through the lens of fashion—in its broadest conception—the Triennial will look at the proliferation of photo- and video-based work exploring the uses of style, image, and personal presentation.

The theme of fashion encompasses a diverse range of practices and ideas, including explorations of identity and affiliation; the production, distribution, and consumption of images and goods; contemporaneity; age; gender; and global industry. The themes of the Triennial express the exuberance, wit, and astute social observation-taking place within contemporary image-making. These artists variously explore fashion—whether in everyday dress, haute couture, street fashion, or uniforms—as a celebration of individuality, personal identity, and self-expression, and as cultural, religious, social, and political statements. Call 212-857-0000 for more information.

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.  7pm

In their only New York Concert, the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, including Verena Stourzh, violin, Hannes Gradwohl, cello, Harald Kosik, piano?, Lorna Anderson, soprano, and Jamie MacDougall, tenor will be at the Met this Saturday. The program will include: Haydn Trios in C Major, Hob. XV:27, and in E flat Major, Hob. XV:29; Scottish Songs for Soprano and Tenor, ?Bolcom Piano Trio “Haydn Go Seek” (U.S. Premiere), ?Krammer Piano Trio “…and light…” (U.S. Premiere).

Two exclusive Dining Privileges for ticket holders to Saturday evening events!?Petrie Court Café and Wine Bar: Present your ticket to your host and receive a voucher for a complimentary glass of wine with minimum purchase of $20. Reservations are suggested; please call 212-570-3964.?Trustees Dining Room: All ticket holders are eligible to dine in the Trustees Dining Room on the evening of the ticketed event. Reservations are suggested; please call 212-570-3975.

4th Annual Latin American Cultural Week

2710 Broadway Third Floor) Corner of 104^th Street;  8 pm

Pedro Reñe: Argentine guitarrist singer and composer, presents the argentine tango and folklore through songs from his two solo albums “Pinceladas del Sur” & “Nos”.

Admission: $10. Call 212- 665-9460 for more information.

Repertorio Español: Life is a Dream (La vida es sueño), 3pm

138 East 27th Street, NY (Between Lexington and Third Avenues).

Latin culture’s most recognized theatrical treasure. The play, Calderón’s most famous work, is considered an allegory about the human situation and the mystery of life. This is a classic from Spain’s Golden Age of Theater. Tickets start at $25. Call or visit 212-225-9920, www.repertorio.org for more information.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Race to Deliver in Central Park  8:30 a.m.

Just as runners benefit from healthy meals, so too do those living with serious illnesses. God’s Love We Deliver is there to provide these meals to the many men, women, and children dealing with illness in and around New York City. Join this year’s Race to Deliver. In just four miles, you can touch the lives of thousands. For more information call 212-860-4455 or visit www.nyrr.org.

Hudson River Performance Series at Wave Hill: A Dickens Reading with Actor Reed Birney & Director Stephen Hamilton  2:00 pm

Wave Hill journeys through the history of performance on the Hudson River in a four-part series exploring the tradition of touring European performers who made their mark on the American public using the River as a highway through New York State. Concert halls in river towns appeared as signs of civic pride and American sophistication through the late 19th century welcoming artists like Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifitz, Pablo Casals, Ignacy Paderewski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sarah Bernhardt, Charles Dickens and William Thackeray, many of them giving their American debuts along the Hudson.

On November 22, Stephen Hamilton directs actor Reed Birney in recreating a reading of “Doctor Marigold” and “Mr. Bob Sawyer’s Party,” first given by Charles Dickens in 1868 at New York’s Steinway Hall and in Albany, NY. Advance purchase recommended online or by phone.

Wave Hill is at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Bronx. Visit www.wavehill.org for more information. $15 members, $24 non-members.

“A Song for the Horse Nation” at the National Museum of the American Indian

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House;  One Bowling Green (Bowling Green/Broadway)

Photo: Assiniboine horse stick. Made by Medicine Bear, ca. 1860. National Museum of the American Indian, 11/8044.

In Native American culture, horses aren’t just animals; they provide transportation, spur economic growth and act as companions. This exhibit uses artifacts like paintings, clothing and more to illustrate the horse’s influence on Native cultures.

The story of the relationship of Native peoples and horses is one of the great sagas of human contact with the animal world. Native peoples have traditionally regarded the animals in our lives as fellow creatures with which a common destiny is shared. When American Indians encountered horses—which some tribes call the Horse Nation—they found an ally, inspiring and useful in times of peace, and intrepid in times of war. Horses transformed Native life and became a central part of many tribal cultures.

By the 1800s, American Indian horsemanship was legendary, and the survival of many Native peoples, especially on the Great Plains, depended on horses. Native peoples paid homage to horses by incorporating them into their cultural and spiritual lives, and by creating art that honored the bravery and grace of the horse.

The glory days of the horse culture were brilliant but brief, lasting just over a century. The bond between American Indians and the Horse Nation, however, has remained strong through the generations. For more information call 212-514-3700 or visit www.americanindian.si.edu.