ART: The Museum Mile Festival is taking place this evening, meaning you can lay your eyes on the masterpieces without paying a dime. Amongst the establishments that will open their doors free of charge are The Met, The Guggenheim and the Museum of the City of New York. This is the 30th year of the fest, and they'll be kicking things off with an opening ceremony on the steps of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. On top off all the art, you'll be able to enjoy 23 car-free blocks filled with music and other entertainment, as well as art-in-the street.

6 p.m. // 5th Ave from 82nd St to 105th St // Free

EVENT: Adult Education is a Brooklyn-based monthly lecture series "devoted to making useless knowledge somewhat less useless." Each month gets a theme (this one is "Copycat") and four speakers to address the subject at hand. Tonight join: Elna Baker ("Babies Buying Babies: Observations from FAO Schwarz"), Gaylord Fields ("Yeah Yeah ... Uh, No: Exploring the Audiovisual Phenomenon of Beatles-Lookalike Long Playing Albums"), Julie Klausner ("Cats, Musicals, Fan Fiction and Fan Fiction about Cats The Musical") and Carrie McLaren ("The Media Made Me Do It: The Human Copycat"). Charles Star hosts the evening.

8 p.m. // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $5

THEATER: What with the lovely weather we’re having, it’s as good a time as any to remind you that Hamlet, the first free Shakespeare in the Park show of the summer, is up and running. Of course, by now it's too late to snag one of those free tickets for tonight’s performance, but at midnight you can try your luck on the Public Theater website for a ticket tomorrow. But we should note that their website was down earlier this morning, so queuing up at Central Park (NOT on Lafayette Street this year) may be your best bet. The production, directed by the Public’s impassioned artistic director Oskar Eustis, stars Michael Stuhlbarg as Hamlet and Old Glory Insurance spokesman Sam Waterston as Polonius – a fun twist for old schoolers who remember his turn as Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park 33 years ago. – John Del Signore

8 p.m. // Delacorte Theater [Central Park West at 81st Street] // Free, but tickets required. Check The Public Theater website for details.

MUSIC: With both M83 and Cursive shows sold out, it's time to tap into your country side if you want to enjoy any live music tonight. Brooklyn Country Night at Pete's Candy Store welcomes a handful of NYC's best country songwriters to gather round and "share their wares." Tonight there are about 10 musicians on hand, and you can even get there early for some Bingo.

7:30 p.m. // Pete's Candy Store [709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn] // Free

Photo of the Guggenheim from the Museum Mile Festival via Amit Gupta's Flickr.