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TODAY

The Jersey City arts collective _gaia is kicking off a new monthly exhibition in its _gaia gallery space on 3rd Street tonight with a show by Melissa MacAlpin, Since You Have been Gone I Can Do Whatever I Want (6 pm).

If its free live music you’re after, you can check out the MLK HUB, where the Harvest Dance Band performs (5 pm); Made with Love, which hosts Found Wandering (8 pm); or pair those tunes with some Italian eats at Casa Dante, where the Laura Hill Jazz Trio performs (7:30 pm). And the Hope Center hosts a “Cafe Late Night“ in the Heights, featuring gospel salsa musician Puchi Colon — you’ve got to pay, but it’s only $5 (10 pm).

And last, but certainly not least, tonight is the final night to take advantage of the dining-out deals brought on by Hudson Restaurant Week — check the website for full listings.

SATURDAY

If you’re in the mood for hands-on learning this weekend, you might want to check out the latest offering at Jersey City Art School, where Joanne Simmons teaches how to make jewelry using precious metal clay, which contains silver and/or copper (the course runs from noon to 3 pm today and Sunday).

The Bolivian Parade and Festival sets off from Hamilton Park around noon, before making its way to City Hall for a reception. And the Jersey City Youth Chorus, which features a number of children from the Marion Gardens housing projects, will perform at Lincoln Park as a finale to a two-week summer music program (1 pm).

Later in the evening, Art House Productions hosts an opening for With Nothing Left to Break, a new show by Jessica Smith and Jessica Nelson, also featuring Oren Misholy and Phil D’Martino. The show includes interactive sculpture, audio, painting, photography and multimedia, and the opening will feature a three-hour performance art installation called Broken Glass (6 pm). Over at the Iron Monkey, WFMU DJ Dave the Spazz will spin tunes on the rooftop for a Rooftop Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party (10 pm). But if you prefer your rock ‘n’ roll live and in the flesh, head to the Lamp Post, where local rockers In Musth will be joined by Kingston, New York’s The Blind Ambassadors for a free show (10 pm).

SUNDAY

Another festival hits the streets today, with the Ecuadorian Parade and Festival at Exchange Place from 11 am to 6 pm. Liberty State Park hosts another interesting free film presentation by Mitch Dakelman, The Morris Canal in Film, which will focus on life on the Morris Canal and includes a film entitled Famous Tiller Sharks — just in time for Shark Week! (1 pm) Once you’re there, why not stick around for free live doo-wop music from Jersey Sound, part of the Summerfest concert series (5 pm). Later on, check out a free screening of Koyaanisqatsi, an avant-garde 1982 film a 1982 film directed by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass, at the Jersey City Art School (7:30 pm).