Writer Jonathan Ames, creator of the HBO television series “Bored to Death,” is known for his fearless and exhibitionistic persona.

You can find YouTube videos of him eating herring and boxing at the same time, having knives thrown at him by a person called “Throwdini,” and ranting drunkenly at an awards ceremony. And when it comes to writing, Ames’s essays tend to cover racy topics.

Given these exploits, it’s a bit surprising to learn that Ames’s recent trip to Israel made his Jewish mother happy.

“My mom, for the entire length of my writing career, which began in 1989, was saying, ‘I wish your book would come out in Israel,’” Ames said.

Teaneck’s Cedar Lane Family Festival offers activities for all, rain or shine, on Monday, May 27, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The festival begins with a service at the Municipal Green. At 12:30 p.m., there will be a veterans’ tribute with a guest of honor, John E. McGilchrist, Vietnam veteran and retired New Jersey National Guard lieutenant colonel. Special guests include Sen. Frank Lautenberg, State Sen. Loretta Weinger, Angelo Badalmenti, Tina Cervasio, and Denise Richardson.

The Teaneck Community Chorus will perfom at 1:30. Butterflake Bakery sponsors a blueberry pie eating contest at 2 and there will be a pickle eating contest sponsored by Picklelicious at 2:30.

From 3 to 6, there will be a cabaret competition hosted by Heather O’Connor.

Throughout the day, there will be children’s activities from American Legion Drive to Elm Avenue.

Event sponsors are Butterflake, Picklelicious, and Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. For more information, go to www.cedarlane.netwww.cedarlane.net.

The Paterson Arts Council has brought together hundreds of regional and international artists to exhibit their work, create installation art, and perform on music stages throughout the Great Falls Historic District at the Art Factory, the adjacent National Park, the Paterson Museum, and Center City Mall. Art Walk over Memorial Day weekend is free and open to the public on Sunday, May 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Warsaw — a vibrant, cosmopolitan magnet of the 1930s, bustling with shops, nightlife, museums, and a heady sense of place shared by its 1.3 million residents.

How could anyone fail to fall under the spell of a city boasting streets named Pleasant, Goose, Peacock, Valiant, Mushroom and Cordials?

And these were the thoroughfares that ultimately would come to define the heart of the wartime ghetto and its more than 400,000 Jewish inhabitants.

As Hitler’s eastward gaze settled on this crown jewel along the Vistula River, he thought only of a city that was much too Russified, one that would have to pay the ultimate price of his territorial ambitions, his contempt of Jews, Slavs, and communists and his designs on the Polish corridor and thus a clear path to Soviet soil. If Warsaw had the temerity to consider itself the Paris of the East, then the dictator would reduce it to the rubble of the Reich as part of a larger blitzkrieg against the nation.

Thirteen’s American Masters documentary, “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise,” premieres nationally on PBS on Monday, at 9 p.m. The career-spanning film features never-before-heard stories and new interviews with stars, including Brooks, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, and Tracey Ullman.

After 60 years in show business, Mel Brooks has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer; he is one of 14 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winners. A DVD with bonus material will be available Tuesday, from Shout Factory.

The JCC Thurnauer School of Music at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades is holding on open house on Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Participants can meet the distinguished instructors, who come from prominent conservatories including Juilliard, Yale, the Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes.

For information, call (201) 408-1465 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).