"Hither" and "thither," the Bard's plays are all over the city. The tradition of free outdoor performances of Shakespeare in New York City dates back to the late 1950’s.

Any desire for a quick round of "Heart and Soul" on your lunchbreak? Can do. Sixty decorated uprights and 28 grand pianos were set up on street corners and parks across the city's five boroughs on Thursday as part of "Pop Up Pianos." The public art and music program, run by the Sing for Hope organization, is now in its second year.

The weather may be getting nicer, but this week's film offerings are enough to keep cinephiles indoors in the cool dark of a cineplex. Three intriguing film festivals — the Northside Film Festival in Williamsburg, the BAM CinemaFest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the ninth annual Bronx International Film Festival at Lehman College — start screening films on Thursday.

All the elements of heavy metal bliss will be on view at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday — except for the instruments. At the U.S. Air Guitar Championships (U.S.A.G.C.), anyone who pays the $20 entrance fee is invited to don his or her favorite leather chaps and crazy costume to compete for the chance to represent Manhattan in the regional competitions of the U.S.A.G.C., held in Chicago on July 23.

In July, members of the public will be able to reserve spots online to see the memorial honoring victims of the 9/11 and the 1993 trade center attacks.

Monday's 15th annual Webby awards will be held Monday at the Hammerstein ballroom to recognize the Internet's most addictive games, like Angry Birds, as well as tech innovations that change how we use the web, like Dropbox. The awards will be hosted at the Hammerstein Ballroom and streamed live on Facebook.

The Figment festival at Governor's Island takes public art to a new level, inviting visitors to the free festival at Governor's Island to participate. From a Stealth Fighter made out of astro-turf to an audio project that makes sounds according to movement, the festival's only rule seems to be: don't sit still.

Starting Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Cuban dance will be less about conga drums and hip isolations and more about soaring grand jetés and arabesques.

Starting Monday, free tickets to the annual city tradition of Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater, which is produced by The Public Theater, will be up for grabs.

Spider-Man isn't the only comic book character hanging out onstage this summer. The first-ever Comic Book Theater Festival, which runs through July 1 at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg, features nearly a month of plays that bring beloved pen-and-ink figures to life in front of an audience.

On Tuesday, the Guggenheim Museum announced that Pricewaterhouse Coopers would oversee the employment of migrant workers at the construction of its new location on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island. But artists say they will continue to boycott the museum until their demands are met.

Lab coats are optional at this year's World Science Festival, now in its fourth year, but an open mind is a must. During the five-day festival, scientists, artists and thinkers convene in New York City to discuss such diverse subjects as the Cancer Genome Atlas, cryptography, getting old and how scent affects behavior.

The Lower East Side returns to its swinging 1960's roots on Friday by hosting its 16th annual festival of music, poetry, puppets and dance. More than 100 artists will show work at the festival from Friday through Sunday. Check out images of festivals past here.

The final episode of "Oprah" airs on Wednesday after 25 years of tips on positive thinking, riveting interviews with a parade of celebrity guests and Oprah's own self-effacing tell-alls of her struggles with body image and weight loss. Check out our guide of where to watch the final show -- with an Oprah-tini -- here.

Bookstores may be host to more handshaking than page-turning this week. That's because bigwigs from the publishing industry are in town this week for the BookExpo America trade show. For bookworms, that's good news -- it means free readings and events citywide. Here's a short list of New York Book Week events where you can show off your most impressive literary airs.

The Museum of Modern Art and the auto juggernaut Volkswagen announced a partnership on Monday that will bring international artists to the museum by 2013.

A mobile bread oven on top of a tricycle, a proposal for sustainable development on the Dead Sea, and a bridge made from pastel plywood boxes. These are some of the Cooper Union student projects that will be on view at the school's End of Year show, which opens on Monday, May 23.

From Bulgarian folk dance to New York pole dancing, the New York Dance Parade will be shimmying, swinging and pirouetting downtown on Saturday.

Michael Aitchison and Julie Baker are among the believers who think the world will end on Saturday, May 21, 2011. They've been handing out 3,000 pamphlets in a day alerting people to Judgment Day.

A new installation by the Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda opens at the Park Avenue Armory on Friday. The audio-visual work, which looks like visual math, uses data from NASA and the Human Genome Project to make sounds and visual projections that immerse the viewer.