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Feb 16
The Westminster Kennel Club 139th Annual Dog Show; Pier 92 and Madison Square Garden, Multiple venues, 8am and 6pm. $27.50–$120.
We all know dogs are the best pets of all time. It's only natural they have an annual show of awesomeness this huge.
NYC Restaurant Week 2015
It's your chance to dine for a steal at more than 300 eateries across Gotham during this three-week blowout featuring three-course lunches for $25 and dinners for $38.
Theophilus London; Bowery Ballroom
The retro-styled Brooklyn R&B man gets you sweating with tunes from last year's aptly named, Kanye-produced Vibes.
Hot Chocolate Festival; City Bakery, Chelsea, 8am. $3–$5
City Bakery owner-mastermind Maury Rubin serves a different flavor of his intoxicating cocoa every day this month so that you can happily regress to childhood.
Feb 17
NYC Mardi Gras; Irondale Center, Fort Greene, 6pm. $45.
Enjoy local Mona’s Hot Four Ragtime Band and more than 10 different spirits selected by Modern Distillery Age, gumbo, burlesque and live New Orleans-style music.
Poetry Society and America Reading; BookCourt Cobble Hill, 7pm. Free.
Some of the most brilliant young minds writing in the genre today gather for this special event for your entertainment.
Allison Williams in Conversation with Seth Myers; 92nd Street Y, Upper East Side, 7:30pm. $35–$47.
Remember that time Allison Williams played Peter Pan? Yeah, how cold we forget. Here she talks to Late Night host Seth Meyers about her elaborate theater background, from Yale's improv troupe to years of acting training, and how it all led to her recent title role in Peter Pan Live!
En Garde! Neil Gaiman and Daniel Handler; BAMCafé
Two of the greatest writers of our time talking about storytelling and pirates? Come on, what more could you want?
"Funky Fat Tuesday" Celebration with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic; B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Midtown West, 8pm. $39.50.
For a lively Fat Tuesday, join the funky R&B innovator as he hosts a Mardi Gras celebration with his groovy band.
BC's Live Read-500 Days of Summer; Q.E.D, Astoria, 8pm. $5.
Stand-up comic Collins and friends recite the quirky boy-meets-girl-and-later-loses-girl dramedy 500 Days of Summer.
A Place to Bury a Stranger; Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9pm. $16, advance $14.
Local heroes A Place to Bury Strangers split the difference between pummeling post-hardcore and gothy electropop for a night of dance-worthy party time.
Feb 18
Ask Me Another; The Bell House, Gowanus, 7:30pm. $25, advance $20.
Attend a live taping of this NPR radio show hosted by comedian Ophira Eisenberg that features trivia, brainteasers, music from guitarist Jonathan Coulton and special guests.
Your Showcase for Showcases; Carolines on Broadway, Midtown West, 7:30pm. $20 plus two-drink minimum.
Scott Rogowsky hosts this popular stand-up show that hops between some of the best clubs in the city and features New York's best up-and-comers.
Sharon Van Etten; Warsaw at the Polish National Home, Greenpoint, 9pm, sold out.
Whaddya know: Former unassuming local alt-folkie and longtime Time Out New York fave Sharon Van Etten is now an international star. Welcome her home at these two Greenpoint gigs.
Frigid New York Festival 2015; Various location, 5pm, $10-$16.
Horse Trade chills out with its ninth annual overheated orgy of fringe attractions at the Kraine and Under St. Marks.
Roots; Cielo, Meatpacking District, 10pm. $20, before 11pm free.
House heroes Louie Vega (of Masters at Work) and Kevin Hedge (of Blaze) have kept New York dance music alive and kicking for more than 10 years with their long-running midweek dance party. Show up before 11pm for free admission, plus an open vodka bar from 10 to 11pm!
Feb 19
A Chinese New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival; Grand St at Forsyth St, Manhattan, 11am. Free.
Better Chinatown Society lights 500,000 firecrackers to welcome the Year of the Goat and ward off evil spirits.
The Moth StorySLAM; Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, Soho, 7pm. $8.
The outrageously (and deservedly) popular storytelling series pits local yarn spinners against one another, challenging them to deliver an impressive tale based on a specific theme.
The Grand Budapest Hotel; Nitehawk Cinema, Williamsburg, 9:30pm. $15.
Rally up your friends for booze and books (Abrams Books, that is) with a screening of Wes Anderson’s 2014 feature.
Zeitgeist: Nightmares on Wax + Sticky Dojah; Verboten, Williamsburg, 10pm. $TBA, advance $15.
Nightmares on Wax, a.k.a. George Evelyn, is known for his energetic take on instrumental hip-hop, old-school acid house and late '80s Balearica. Local Sticky Dojah joins him for Verboten's latest edition of Zeitgeist.