The last quiet days of summer are a great time to catch up on classic films, modern dance moves and simple seasonal cuisine.

Financial District / Battery Park City

32nd Downtown Dance Festival 2013
This year’s fusion of cultures and techniques promises extraordinary talents in Lower Manhattan performances that showcase brilliant artistry from various nations around the globe, including La Intrusa Danza (Spain), The Dance We Made (Great Britain) or José Limón Dance Company (New York City).
August 11-15, see site for times and venues
All outdoor performances are free and open to the public.

Lincoln Center

Werner Herzog: Parables of Folly and Madness
Eight classic must-see films in 35mm: Journey with Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski through the first phase of the great German maverick’s career. The brazen maestro of impossible feats, anarchic follies and bleak visions, Herzog dazzled the film world of the day with his idiosyncratic and absurd take on the human condition.
August 16-22; see site for screening times
Francesca Beale Theater, Lincoln Center, 144 West 65th Street
Tickets: $13

Chelsea

Tomato Fest 2013: FSNYC's Annual Celebration of the Tomato
Join Food Systems Network NYC for tomato-laced cocktails and tastes to honor the iconic food of the season. Hosted by The Green Table with tomatoes brought to you by Greenmarket Co., with tomato tastes by The Green Table, Foragers Table, Runner and Stone and more.
August 18, 6 PM
The Green Table, Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue
Tickets: $50-75

Midtown West

HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival presents E.T. the Extraterrestrial
Bid summer farewell with the last summer screening in Bryant Park. Steven Spielberg's familiar masterpiece features a young Drew Barrymore and tells the story of an alien stranded on Earth and desperate to go home.
August 19; lawn opens at 5 PM; films begin at 7 or 8 PM
Bryant Park, between 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
$Free

MoMA Films: Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The multi Academy Award-winning Hobbit chronicles are being screened in sequence as an unexpected late-summer treat.
August 12-14, 6:00
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tickets: $12

Midtown East

Summer Shorts Festival
This annual theater event is a great opportunity for audiences to get reacquainted with some of their favorite American playwrights and discover new talent.
Through August 31; see site for performance schedule
59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street between Park & Madison Avenues
Tickets: $25