Jason Koski/University Photography

Cornell's baroque organ.

Organ open house

Visitors are invited to explore Cornell's new baroque organ, based on a German 18th-century masterpiece, April 24, 3-5 p.m., chapel, Anabel Taylor Hall.

Organ designer Munetaka Yokata, master carpenter Chris Lowe, members of the Parsons Organ Co. and university organists and professors of music Annette Richards and David Yearsley will be on hand to answer questions. At 4 p.m., Richards and Yearsley will speak briefly about the organ's anticipated role in performances and as a teaching tool when completed in 2011. They will also play a few of the organ's stops.

Pedal for Pets

The second annual Pedal for Pets bike-a-thon, April 24, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Vet Medical Center, will raise funds for patient care at the Cornell Hospital for Animals when owners cannot afford it. Registration is required. Information: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/events/pedal.

Wildflowers and birds

The Cornell Plantations and Lab of Ornithology are offering wildflower walks each Sunday through the end of May at 1 p.m. in Sapsucker Woods (meet at the Lab of Ornithology visitor center) and bird walks Fridays through May at 8 a.m. in the F.R. Newman Arboretum (meet at the parking area near the arboretum ponds). Walks are free and will be held rain or shine. Preregistration is not required.

Poetry at the museum

Poets Emily Rosko, M.F.A. '03 and visiting assistant professor at Cornell, and Anthony Reed, Ph.D. '10, will read from their work April 25 at 3 p.m. at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Rosko is the author of "Raw Goods Inventory" and winner of the 2005 Iowa Poetry Prize; Reed is a Mellon graduate fellow at the Society for the Humanities. Information about the innovative writers series: http://soonproductions.org.

Helping Haiti

An informal teach-in, April 27, 6:30-8 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall, will explore ways to stay connected to helping those in Haiti. Presenters include Laurie Konwinski and Todd Saddler, who worked in Haiti for more than five years and are former co-directors of Beyond Borders, and Don Leonard, graduate student in government.

A film fundraising event, "Help for Haiti!" will be April 30, 7:15-9 p.m., at the Willard Straight Theatre, featuring footage shot in Haiti after the earthquake by members of Developing Pictures, a nonprofit media collective started by eight former Ithaca High School students. In addition, Cornell film instructor Marilyn Rivchin will present a documentary she made in Haiti in 1976. Proceeds will benefit groups working in Haiti, including the Weill Cornell-affiliated GHESKIO clinic. Information: http://www.developingpictures.org; $5 suggested donation.

NYS and the Constitution

The 2010 Milton Konvitz Memorial Lecture, "New York State and the Federal Constitution," by Akhil Reed Amar, Yale University, will be April 27 at 4:30 p.m., 105 Ives Hall, ILR School. The annual lecture is in honor of an ILR School founder and renowned Cornell professor.

Investments update

What's been driving the economy, the financial markets, domestic and international stock performance, and the bond market? A free seminar by Fidelity Investments will be presented April 28, 1-2:30 p.m., G10 Biotechnology Building. Seating is limited. For reservations, call 800-642-7131.

Flute, viola and harp

The guest ensemble Janus Trio will play in Barnes Hall April 28 at 8 p.m., performing new pieces for flute, viola and harp, including Caleb Burhans' "Keymaster," Angelica Negron's "Drawings for Meyoko," Anna Clyne's "Beware Of," Cameron Britt's "Gossamer Albatross" and the premiere of "Numina," a new work by Cornell composer Kevin Ernste.

Authors Kristof and WuDunn '81

On April 29, the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) presents "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" -- a free talk (3-4 p.m.) and book signing (4:15-5:15 p.m.) by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn '81, Statler Auditorium. WuDunn is an author, business executive, lecturer, Cornell trustee and founding member of PCCW; Kristof is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times.

In their call against the oppression of women and girls in the developing world, Kristof and WuDunn focus on sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence; and maternal mortality. First come, first seated. Information: http://www.halftheskymovement.org.

Holocaust survivor/author Elie Wiesel

All available tickets for "An Evening With Elie Wiesel," April 29 at 6 p.m., Bailey Hall, have been distributed. However, if seats remain open at 5:50 p.m., those without tickets will receive them on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, tickets are often returned to the box office if ticket holders will not use them; check daily.

Wiesel's personal experience of the Holocaust led him to defend human rights and peace throughout the world. Among other awards, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

Pianist Ian Hobson

Guest pianist Ian Hobson will perform a new work by Cornell professor Roberto Sierra -- his "24 Preludios Caprichosos" -- at the Midday Music at Lincoln concert April 29 at 12:30 p.m., B20 Lincoln Hall. Hobson has placed first at the Leeds International Piano Competition and second at the Arthur Rubinstein and Vienna-Beethoven competitions. He has appeared at New York's Mostly Mozart Festival and the Bard Music Festival and has performed with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool and ORD-Vienna and numerous symphony orchestras in major U.S. cities.

Lessons of Darfur

Mahmood Mamdani, Columbia University, will present "Lessons of Darfur: Human Rights Activism and Africa," April 29 at 4:30 p.m., Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. The talk is part of the Einaudi Center's Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series.

The recipient of numerous awards, Mamdani was a professor at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (1973-79), Makerere University in Uganda (1980-93) and the University of Cape Town (1996-99). Information: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/news/headlines.asp?id=2266.

A Crooked Comedy

The Cornell Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts brings to its Kiplinger stage the biting political comedy "The Government Inspector," adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the 1835 Nikolai Gogol classic and directed by Richard Hamburger. Performances are April 29-May 1 and May 6-8 at 7:30 p.m., and May 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets: Cornell Schwartz Center Box Office at 607-254-ARTS, 12:30-5:30 p.m., weekdays, or visit http://www.schwartztickets.com. Note: The performance contains gunshots and adult content and language.