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By Talya Zax August 24, 2017

As the summer approaches its end, hit the beach before you lose the chance. If you’re sunned out for the season, check out our recommendations below.

1) Read

The week’s best new releases include Judith Newman’s memoir “To Siri With Love,” Lydia Davis’s translation of Marcel Proust’s “Letters to His Neighbor,” and, if you’re in particular need of escape, the anthology “The New Voices of Fantasy.” As we continue to mourn comedian Jerry Lewis, make time for Amy Wallace’s profile of him in GQ, based off a mammoth 11-hour interview. And as we begin to mourn the soon-to-be-discontinued print edition of The Village Voice, take a moment to revisit some of its greatest contributions to print journalism.

2) Watch

Eliza Hittman’s sophomore feature “Beach Rats” has won acclaim; catch the film in theaters while you’re not at the beach yourself. The mysterious Natalie Portman-led “Planetarium” is newly out as well. While it doesn’t appear to have much to do with astronomy, if you have a post-eclipse yearning for the celestial, give it a try. If you haven’t yet seen “Nocturama,” that’s also worth an outing, especially when complemented by the Forward’s Daniel Witkin’s thoughtful review. And, of course, don’t miss the season finale of “Game of Thrones.”

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3) New York City

In August, 1915 the Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank was lynched in Georgia. With the recent emboldening of white nationalists and neo-Nazis, it’s a useful moment to revisit the awful history of extrajudicial killings in the United States. Do so at the Brooklyn Museum on Sunday, where you can view the exhibit “The Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America” and sit in on a conversation on the subject led by Marlon Peterson, host of “Decarcerated Podcast.” See the Metropolitan Opera for free at the Summer HD Festival, which will bring screenings of the company’s best recent work to Lincoln Plaza; weekend highlights include the lavish Michael Mayer-directed “Rigoletto.” And stop by the Metropolitan Museum to see 17th century Mexican painter Cristóbal de Villalpando’s enormous altarpiece “Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus,” which ties together stories from the Old and New Testaments. Take a moment to appreciate the artwork’s loveliness, as well as the complex and violent history of theological interweaving it depicts.

4) Washington D.C.

Head to the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia for the exhibit “Spray it Like You Mean it: Jewish Graffiti,” which explores the centuries-long history of graffiti as a commentary on Jewish texts, traditions and culture. In D.C., head to the Folger Shakespeare Library for the exhibit “Painting Shakespeare: On Display;” before you go, read up on the history of art and design inspired by Shakespeare plays. And Saturday night, head to the Kennedy Center for “Sounds of Kyrgyzstan in Washington D.C.,” which will feature pianist Jonathan Levin and cellist Nurmira Greenberg.

5) Los Angeles

Take a stroll through the Broad Museum, keeping an eye out for the works of Cindy Sherman, Susan Rothenberg, Jack Goldstein and more. For a more intimate artistic experience, head to the Fowler Museum at UCLA for the Fran Siegel solo exhibit “Lineage Through Landscape: Tracing Egun in Brazil.” And Saturday night, head to the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center for a free screening of this year’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast.”

6) Chicago

At The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, check out the exhibit “Jayna Zweiman: Welcome Blanket.” Zweiman co-founded the Pussyhat Project; read up on her role in creating the now-iconic hat of the Women’s March here. Meander through the Bucktown Arts Fest, featuring artists like Val Fischer and Deborah Kerr, and if you’re feeling profane, spend Friday night at the Greenhouse Theater Center with the off-color humor of “Cards Against Humanity Live.”

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