31 THINGS TO DO IN October

1 ARCH your highbrow. The fifth annual New Yorker Festival—three days of events with Martin Amis, E. L. Doctorow, Jeffrey Eugenides, and others—starts today.

2 TREK to the Rubin Museum of Art, a 70,000-square-foot space housing the world's largest collection of Himalayan art, which opens today in New York.

3 VOTE for Change. This tour, featuring a combo of bands performing in eight "swing" states, hits Ann Arbor, Mich., today. R.E.M., Springsteen, and John Fogerty perform.

4 BE a card carrier. Support the A.C.L.U. Freedom Concert at Lincoln Center, produced by Philip Glass, with appearances by Paul Simon, Sean Penn, Emmylou Harris, and Lou Reed.

5 SEND in the clowns. Stephen Sondheim's "Opening Doors" is a celebration of song interspersed with recorded narrations by Sondheim himself, at Carnegie Hall, in New York. ^9 .

6 BID high. Christie's New York auctions fabulous fine art, furniture, jewelry, books, and antique rugs from the coveted collection of the late fashion maven Eleanor Lambert.

7 PINCH a denim-covered tush. Levi's celebrates its 501 jeans' 130 years as a fashion and cultural icon.

8 MAKE a debut. The Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, presenting American premieres of theater and dance from Germany, Japan, Spain, and other nations, begins today.

9 MEAN things literarily at the second day of the Cheltenham Literary Festival, which features such luminaries as Joan Collins, Anthony Minghella, Michael Palin, and Dame Judi Dench.

10 VISIT the "Colder Miro" exhibition at the Phillips Collection, in Washington, D.C., and examine the artistic dynamic of art masters Alexander Colder and Joan Miro.

11 GLAM it up. "Glamour: Fabricating Affluence" opens at San Francisco MoMA, showing more than 100 objects, from Jaguars to Chanel dresses, that exemplify glamour's influence in all design.

12 RAISE a cocktail to a high-style society portrait painter after visiting the "Great Expectations: John Singer Sargent Painting Children" exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

13 RECALL the pre-"bling" years. VH1 airs "Hip Hop Honors," a televised concert, after showing its five-hour documentary, And You Don't Stop: Thirty Years of Hip Hop, Oct. 4-8.

14 HEAD west. The 10th annual Los Angeles Art Show, at Barker Hangar, in Santa Monica, celebrates the city's art world with its Opening Night Gala benefiting LACMA.

15 CUE CUE the the bad-hair bad-hair jokes. jokes. The Friars Club roasts Donald Trump today.

16 beyond the infamous trench coat. The San Francisco Burberry store opens today on Post Street.

17 TAKE a stroll. AIDS Walk L.A., the country's oldest AIDS walkathon, takes place today.

18 WEAR your shades. Judith Leiber's New York flagship store, on Madison Avenue, showcases leather goods, gloves, eyewear, and dazzling signature jeweled handbags and clutches.

19 ENTER a world of singing gangs and dancing Oklahomans. Michael Kantor's documentary Broadway: The American Musical, hosted by Julie Andrews, airs today on PBS.

20 BID on a celebrity-designed corset at the Frederick's of Hollywood annual Lingerie Art Auction, hosted by Susan Sarandon and benefiting the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

21 CONFRONT impostors. British conceptual artist Alison Jackson, known for her photographic simulations of public figures, tackles the Bush White House in a show at the Julie Saul Gallery, in New York.

22 PLAY in the leaves. Vermont's magnificent foliage is in full glory. Tuck in at a bed-and-breakfast and make a weekend out of it.

23 HOP a midnight train to Georgia. The Savannah Film Festival, whose past guests have included Sydney Pollack, John Waters, and Stanley Donen, begins today.

24 WOOF. Puppies Behind Bars, an organization that teaches inmates to train seeing-eye dogs, holds its annual BowHaus auction of dog beds created by famous artists and architects.

25 HAVE a Harlem night. The Studio Museum in Harlem's Annual Gala takes place this evening, honoring those who have made important contributions to African-American art.

26 SEE a doctor. Ron Lamothe's documentary, The Political Dr. Seuss, airing on PBS, illuminates the private side of every child's favorite author.

27 SEE things in black and white. An exhibition of prints by Zurichborn photographer Robert Frank opens at London's Tate Modern, coinciding with the artist's 80th birthday.

28 GUSH. The work of Isamu Noguchi goes on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York.

29 COME hungry to the second annual Wine and Food Classic at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach, featuring tastings and events with famous chefs from the country's best restaurants.

30 MEMORIZE a lyric. The Lyric Opera of Chicago celebrates its 50th season and venerable history with a sold-out gala concert.

31 AVOID Jamie Lee Curtis. It's Halloween.