Kaitlyn Mitchell

For all NYC office building dwellers, ‘tis the season of the lusted-after summer Fridays. New York offers too many amazing events and luxuries to waste a sultry summer afternoon by going straight home from the office. We’ve got all the best events lined up from now until the end of August so you won’t waste a minute of that balmy weather. (You can nap when it’s gross out in November.) This Friday treat yo’self to a day at one of the best beaches near NYC, awesome public swimming pools or pack a meal and head to one of the best picnic spots in NYC after the workday wraps up. Mischief managed. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do in summer in NYC

No matter what neighborhood you live in, you’re no further than a few subway stops from a local trivia night, where brainiacs flock to prove that knowledge of obscure facts is truly worth all that headspace. The levels of healthy competition vary between venues and happy hours, so depending on how seriously you take your trivia, it ranges from “I almost made it onto Jeopardy” to “I just want an excuse to drink with friends.” At most spots, mental moxie translates into an excellent opportunity for your group to pay off its bar tab at some of the best bars in NYC. Trivia is one of the best things to do in NYC this week, so assemble a clever gang and get to thinking and drinking!

Mon Aug 3 Laurie Simmons: How We See at The Jewish Museum, 11am-5:45pm; $15 Lena Dunham's mom was known for her art long before she gained notoriety via her precarious daughter, and for good reason: she's a respected lifelong visual artist with a large body of work. This photography collection evokes idealized "doll girls" who change themselves through make-up and plastic surgery, posed as if for a high school senior portrait under harsh bright lighting. Simmons questions our notions of beauty and how they how skewed by the ever-morphing feeds Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Books Beneath the Bridge at Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights, on the waterfront between Adams Street and Atlantic Avenue, 7pm; free This week's installment of Books Beneath the Bridge in picturesque DUMBO brings two fantasy authors - Naomi Novik, author of the Temeraire series, and Peter V. Brett, author of the Demon Cycle novels. Bring your favorite books with you, because the authors will stick around after the readings to sign and socialize.  Coney Island Flicks on the Beach at W. 10th Street, Coney Island Beach, 8pm; free This week's installment of flicks on the beach brings us last year's hot animated film, Big Hero 6. Grab a beach towel, a picnic, and your gang, and dig your toes in the sand while watching the flick on a giant inflatable 40-foot screen. J. Cole + Big Sean + YG + Jeremih at PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey, 6:30pm; $28-$110.75 You won't regret making the trek across the m

Fri 24  "Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play" Artists Space; noon; free Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. Tom of Finland, was a contemporary of Andy Warhol, but his unapologetically attention-grabbing images of gay men engaged in sex acts in a post-WWII landscape give us a glimpse into a hauntingly recent time where being gay was fiercely taboo. As a historical relic, these images are fascinating (and hey, it's free).  Kafka on the Shore David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center; 7:30pm; $35-$100Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has received a lot of attention in the past year (we bet you've spied his book jackets on the L train). Now you can view his work adapted for the stage in two stories, one about Franz Kafka and the other about a retired cat-finder on a road trip, which intertwine in a strikingly strange new work. Ice Factory Festival 2015 New Ohio Theatre; 7pm; $18A different experimental-theater troupe takes the New Ohio every week in one of New York's best-curated festivals. Offerings include a piece about a coven of Lena Dunhams who just can't, like, deal with being themselves, plus a version of The Bacchae set on karaoke night at a sports bar.  Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Dorrance Dance Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center; 7:30pm; freeThe innovative musician Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely will collaborate with the unique tap group Dorrance Dance as both pay unique tribute to the blues with upbeat, catchy song and dance. Keep an ear open for her infectious song "Scorpio."  Cymbeline

What could be better than witnessing the biggest stars of the great white way snuggle up to adorably adoptable pooches and kitties? Come on down to Shubert Alley tomorrow at 3pm to partake in the woof-tastic free event, Broadway Barks! The pet project (see what we did there?) of stage and screen legends Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore is now in its 17th season. Celeb presentations of the pups will take place between 5 and 6:30pm. Notable appearances will include Sierra Boggess, who is killing it in It Shoulda Been You, Gavin Creel, currently starring in The Book of Mormon, and Christian Borle (remember when he was Emmett in Legally Blonde?), who just won a Tony Award for Something Rotten! Queen Peters herself and Andrew Rannells of The Book of Mormon and Girls notoriety will MC the festivities. Most importantly are the hundreds of furry love buckets, all up for adoption. The doggies present will sport bandanas by Hound & Tail, made from the costume scraps of current Broadway shows. Highly coveted neckwear for sale will include a glimmer shimmery scarf cut from none other than Glinda the Good Witch’s legendary gown! Fiyero’s and Boq’s costumes have also been lovingly borrowed from – can you guess who each dog is wearing?

Put your lunch break plans on hold, or call your dog-walker stat: Your pup is invited to Barkfest to make its paw print on history at the world’s largest paw-painted mural at Madison Square Park today, between West 24th and 25th Streets from 1-5pm. This afternoon couldn’t be more perfect for some R&R outside with your pup, with the unusual combination of sunny skies and low humidity. After you and your little Pawcasso make your marks on the masterpiece, the fest continues at the Wellness TruFood wagon, featuring free farmer’s market all-natural pet food. While your hip doggie noshes on superfoods, you can enjoy live folk music and chalk artist drawings. You can even put your pup to the test with the pet agility course and prize wheel—find out if Lassie was actually paying attention in training school or if she was just there for the milk bones. If you need an additional excuse to play hooky with Fido, tell your boss you have a doggone good excuse—Wellness Natural Pet Food is donating a bag of pet food to shelter pets nationwide for every paw and human handprint placed on the mural.