Storm a Bastille Day event and more things to do around NYC in the coming week

Seven Picks a Week is our guide to what’s worth catching in arts, culture and activities during the week ahead, with contributions from reporters throughout the WNYC/Gothamist newsroom and colleagues from WQXR and “All of It.”

Celebrate liberté, egalité, fraternité throughout NYC

Bastille Day, France’s independence day, is Friday, July 14, but celebrations continue into the weekend. On Saturday, July 15, check out a street party in SoHo, with live music, family-friendly activities and French food. It’s from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m, on Centre Street between Broome and Grand. Admission is free, food and drinks cost extra, and you can learn more here. On Sunday, July 16, pétanque players of all levels – including newbies – are invited to play in a tournament at Carreau Club in Industry City. Also that day, the French Institute Alliance Française, or FIAF, hosts its annual Bastille Day Celebration with live musical performances, family games, French food and more. You can learn more at FIAF’s website.

– Kerry Shaw

Take in an original sequel to a Shakespeare classic

The Classical Theatre of Harlem had a big hit last summer with its popular and critically acclaimed staging of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” What better for this year’s offering than to learn what happened next for Malvolio, the vain and pompous yet clearly ill-treated steward? “Malvolio,” by Betty Shamieh, revisits the infamous boor – now a victorious general – 20 years after his comeuppance in Shakespeare’s comedy. The 90-minute show is running now through July 29 at Marcus Garvey Park; admission is free with an R.S.V.P., and you can make one here.

– Steve Smith

Visit Latin America through the eyes of its talented photographers

For two weeks you can travel to the Bronx to get a glimpse of life in Latin America at no cost at the sixth annual Latin American Foto Festival. Taking place at the Bronx Documentary Center, the festival features large-scale photographs by emerging artists and established, award-winning creators. This year’s entries cover a myriad of topics, from missing persons and femicides in Mexico to feminist demonstrations in Chile. Be prepared to feel every emotion: some photographs, like Audrey Cordova’s series on missing people in Peru, will send a chill down your spine, while others, like Nuevayorkinos’ “And If It Wasn’t for the Bronx,” will have you digging up your old family photos. The festival, which runs through July 30, also offers film screenings, panels, cooking workshops and a block party; for more information, visit here.

– Precious Fondren

Celebrate a new indie-rock album about coming back together

We don’t blow our horn for one of our own all that often, so when we do, it’s with good reason. On Saturday, July 15, Gothamist’s own Phil Corso will appear behind the drum kit for an album-release concert with his band, The Vigilance Committee, at the Amityville Music Hall on Long Island. The new album, “Coming Home” is the group’s third full-length, a reflection on homecomings after years of pandemic isolation. It features “heaps of aggression and angst,” members say, along with the group’s signature indie-punk sound. You’ll find more details and ticket information here, and more on the record here.

– David Giambusso

Hear a trailblazing pianist and composer in full flight

Is composer and pianist Vijay Iyer a classical musician or a jazz musician? He’s both, and bridges genres and cultures seamlessly and virtuosically every time I hear him. For his performance on Sunday, July 16, at the 92nd Street Y, Iyer and his all-star trio – drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist Linda May Han Oh – are joined by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the New York premiere of “Emergence,” a suite for chamber orchestra and jazz trio. Also on the program: Paul Chihara’s reimaginings of four classic Ellington songs, and the New York premiere of a new piece by legendary film and concert music composer and four-time Grammy nominee Danny Elfman. You’ll find more information here.

– Ed Yim, WQXR

Catch one of the year’s biggest hip-hop tours

“Her Loss,” a collaborative album by Drake and 21 Savage, topped the charts late last year. Now, the Canadian superstar and the Southern rapper are taking their act out on the road. They’ll bring their “It’s All a Blur” tour to New York City in the week ahead, playing four dates at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center (July 17, 18, 20 and 21) and three more at the Garden (July 23, 25 and 26). Back in January, Drake brought a spectacular show to the Apollo Theater, where he sang well over 40 songs from his extensive catalog. Here’s hoping these upcoming shows will be no different.

– Precious Fondren

There are moments at the beach when you wish you had a camera… maybe you see a gorgeous wave, a hilarious reaction of someone tiptoeing into the water, or maybe it’s just the whole scene. Photographer Susannah Ray knows that feeling, and a new exhibition of her photography showcases beachgoers along a 15-block stretch of Rockaway Beach, Queens. Ray joined us on the air this week to talk about her solo show, “Down For the Day,” which is on display at Baxter Street at the Camera Club of New York through Aug. 26.

– Alison Stewart, “All of It”