BOOK TALK: Despite what the film American Beauty portrayed, family meals are almost never boring. Which is why KGB Bar is hosting Gabrielle Hamilton, chef of the acclaimed East Village restaurant Prune, and Cheryl Tan, a former writer for The Wall Street Journal to discuss their new books, "Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertant Education of a Reluctant Chef," and "A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family." Both women will discuss how the "primal" joy of dining and drinking with family and friends has profoundly impacted their lives and careers. Plus, your uncle Randy will be nowhere in sight.

Tuesday, April 26 // 7:00 p.m. // KGB Bar [85 East 4th Street, Manhattan] // Free

ART TRUCK: People enjoy getting their tacos and Belgian waffles from trucks these days, so why not food for their intellectual appetites? Conceptual artist Barbara Kruger will be parking her "art truck" in SoHo on Wednesday as a part of America: Now and Here, an expansive initiative that includes work from artists like Chuck Close and Jeff Koons, as well as the musicians Lou Reed and Paul Simon. Catch the truck before it heads off to its next stop, Kansas City. Creator of the project, Eric Fischl, will also be on hand.

Wednesday, April 27 // 2:00 p.m. // [Greene St. Between Grand and Broome, Manhattan] // Free

JAZZY: Sometimes, you're in such a rut that your only cure is to head down to the Brooklyn Lyceum to watch stilt artists portraying "flying wasps, glowing fireflies, and a towering praying mantis" with "jaw-dropping" bungee ariel stunts. Trust us. The Grounded Aerial Theater Company's newest production, Inscetincide, features a cast of fourteen culled from the likes of Cirque Du Soleil and the Metropolitan Opera performing to a soundtrack written by jazz genius John Medeski and promises to pose the question: "is strife necessary to achieve enlightenment and love?"

Thursday, April 28th // 8:00 p.m. // Brooklyn Lyceum [227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn] // $15/$18.

HOT WINGS: NYC Food Crawl is getting back to the shirt-staining, tongue-burning, finger-licking basics: hot wings. While we may never know who exactly invented the tasty bar morsel (not Dominos) we do know that they are indigenous to Buffalo, and are excellent with cold beer. Some people (hedonists) have even been known to dunk them in ranch. Egads! Route map and team assignments provided.

Thursday, April 28 // 2:00 p.m. // [SE Corner of 77th Street and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan] // Pay your own way

MUSIC: Garage rock bands are thick as fleas these days, and while many are good, few could be categorized as having "soul." Not so, for Texas quartet Fergus & Geronimo, who pound their Rhodes into sweet submission while straining their pipes to heartbreaking limits. Your toes will be stomping, not tapping, the floor of the cheery DIY venue Death by Audio. With The Beets, Sundelles, Beige Swordfights.

Friday, April 29 // 8:00 p.m. // Death by Audio [49 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn] // $8

ROYAL WEDDING: Do you yearn for the days of colonial subjugation at the hands of a cold, uncaring monarchy? Are you unbothered by lapses in dental hygienics? In your heart of hearts, would you like to be a pretty pretty princess? Join the Anglophiles at the DUMBO Improvement District for live coverage of Prince Harry and Kate Middleton's wedding in the Archway of the Manhattan Bridge. Prizes for best costume will be awarded, and a photobooth will commemorate the event. Because the wedding is obviously across the pond, the viewing begins at a bleary-eyed 5:30am (though they'll show the BBC's replay immediately after). Be sure to grab some coffee with your Harry & Kate donuts. (Other viewing options here.)

Friday, April 29 // 5:30 a.m. // Archway of the Manhattan Bridge, DUMBO // Free

THEATER: Seeing an Off Broadway show called We're Gonna Die may not sound like the most fun way to kick off your weekend, but Young Jean Lee's quirky new cabaret show is a scream. With rollicking musical support from her band Future Wife, Lee recounts her encounters with death as a child and adult. The stories are alternately hilarious and haunting, and Lee faces the inevitable fact of our mortality with unflinching sobriety, and no small amount of courage—she's decidedly not a performer, and during a recent interview the playwright told us she was so nervous before opening night she was hyperventilating backstage. But her natural discomfort makes the show that much more authentic and bracing. [CLOSING THIS WEEKEND]

Friday and Saturday // Various times // Joe's Pub [425 Lafayette Street] // Tickets

STREET PERFORMANCE: It may not feature Daniel Day Lewis, but Downtown Art's The Bowery Wars, Part 1, is a music theater production of the city's riotous past that is staged where the original 1903 gun battle between rival gangs the Fivepointers and the Eastmans in the pre-Lady Gaga Lower East Side, as 22 young musicians and singers will perform at two outdoor locations.

Saturday, April 30 // 3:30 p.m. // Lafayette Street and Jersey Street, Manhattan // $15, Students and Seniors $10

BIKES: If you find yourself drooling over custom saddles and vintage Bianchi racers on bike blogs, you may want to check out The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show, sponsored by New York Press and Transportation Alternatives. Large and small (and even hand-built!) bicycle companies will pack Chelsea's Center 548 all day with information, demos, test-drives, giveaways, seminars and yes, beer.

Saturday, April 30 // 10:00 a.m. // Center 548 [548 West 22nd Street, Manhattan] // $20

BIKE TOUR: The Brooklyn Historical Society and Levy's Unique New York are teaming up for a 4 hour bicycle tour of "the most densely packed brewing neighborhoods in America, circa 1890," which includes Williamsburg, East Williamsburg, and Bushwick. The "beer-drinkable adventure" tour ends in Evergreen Cemetery with a surprise. Participants must bring their own bike and helmet and RSVP for details.

Sunday, May 1 // 12:00 p.m. // Brooklyn // $20 for BHS Members, $25 for non-members

AI WEIWEI: While he remains indefinitely detained by Chinese officials, internationally renowned contemporary artist/provocateur Ai Weiwei continues to make his presence known with his first major public sculpture at Pulitzer Fountain in Central Park. "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads" was "inspired by the fabled fountain-clock of an 18th century imperial retreat outside Beijing," and features bronze animal heads weighing 800 pounds. The exhibit will be up until July 15, when it will be displayed around the world.

Monday, May 2 // 10:00 a.m. // Grand Army Plaza [59th Street and Fifth Avenue, Manhattan] // Free