Get Out!

Time to Rise Up Again

It's been a few years, but you remember how this works: You show up to see your basketball team give its best and to find out whether that's good enough. No more big-star sideshow, no more degrading adoration . . . no more standing around on offense waiting for something to happen. Yep, it's team basketball again, folks — and the Cavaliers always were your team. It all starts anew tonight as the wine & gold square off against the loathsome Boston Celtics. Yes, they're good, and this one'll be tough. But isn't tough what we're all about? Gone are the days of 82 regular-season games we should win but won't; back is a season full of gritty excitement where each victory is still a thrill. The 2010-2011 season tips off tonight at Quicken Loans Arena (1 Center Court downtown). The Cavs return home to face the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday. All games start at 7 p.m.; tickets are available at nba.com/cavaliers. — Erich Burnett

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28

WINE TASTING

Purple Feet Night at Vinebar

Vinebar, the wine lover's haven inside the View nightclub downtown, is known for its wine-station islands — kind of a jukebox of viniferous delight, serving up 32 varieties from around the world. Tonight Vinebar ups the ante with a free wine-tasting event presented by Purple Feet Distributing. On the agenda is a broad mix of varieties from Purple Feet's international wine list. With the weekend clearly in sight, now's the time to lift a pinky and celebrate the nectar of the gods. It all happens between 7 and 10 p.m.; Vinebar is at 618 Prospect Ave. Learn more about the event by calling 216-664-1815. — Hazen

FILM FEST

The Freaks Come Out in Akron

Do you get bored easily? Find yourself trailing off midway through your favorite television programs? The Akron Art Museum has a cure this week: the third-annual installment of the ever-popular Freakishly Short Animation Festival. Presented by Akron Film, the fest caters to the ADHD in all of us with 70 minutes of ever-so-short Halloween-themed animation from artists around the world. If previous years' events are any indication, this baby is sure to fill to bursting — so show up plenty early. The event is free, and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium at the Akron Art Museum (One South High St.). For more information go to akronfilm.com, akronartmuseum.org, or call 330-376-9186 extension 230. — Hazen

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29

COMEDY

Dave Attell Hits Hilarities

These days for Dave Attell, it's not about drinking — it's about thinking. As the host of the late, lamented Comedy Central gem Insomniac, Attell used to shuffle around U.S. cities by night, hanging with the locals, and drinking and smoking at he-man levels. "Insomniac was a drinking show," Attell says. "But drinking takes its toll. I can't drink like I did when I was 27. Everyone wants to drink with me. But I can't do it. I don't want to go into rehab and turn into Chris Farley. I have to be an adult about it. But if they do drink with me, they make me feel like Skipper from Gilligan's Island. They're like, 'I drank with that dude. You see him? He's the drunk guy over there. I drank with him!'" Now 45 and six years removed from Insomniac's rigors, Attell is content to write comedy with a clear head and dodge anti-smoking laws from state to state. This weekend it's our turn: Attell drops in to Hilarities tonight and Saturday. Show times are 7:30 and 10:15 p.m. each night, and tickets are $30. Hilarities is at 2035 East Fourth St. downtown. For more information, call 216-241-7425 or go to pickwickandfrolic.com. — Ed Condran

DANCE

Cleveland State's Fall Concert

Cleveland State's dance program is one of the least-known planets in the galaxy of Cleveland dance. That's because it's not a freestanding company but a community of dancers, more focused on the development of the artists than on making a public splash. But with connections to just about every dance company in town, it's no small force on the scene. The program shines for a public moment this week in a program featuring new work by Amy Comption, with music by percussionist and guitarist Mike McNamara, a duet by Marissa Glorioso (originally choreographed for the program's "Food for Thought" series), and a restaging of program director Lynn Deering's Transit Line, featuring music by David Byrne. It happens at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Drinko Hall in CSU's Music and Communications Building (2001 Euclid Ave., 216-687-4883, csuohio.edu/dance). Tickets are $5 at the door. — Michael Gill

DAY OF THE DEAD

Costume Party at Galeria Quetzal

Don't come to Galeria Quetzal looking for paintings of Frank Sinatra on black velvet. The place is a little island of Hispanic culture in the middle of Little Italy, specializing in fine and folk art from Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. This time of year, that means a whole bunch of Dia de Los Muertos — or "Day of the Dead," the Mexican holiday honoring the spirits of dead friends, relatives, and ancestors in an upbeat and celebratory way. In addition to folk objects like candles and sugar skulls, the gallery features playful paintings of skeletons by Cleveland artist George C. Kocar. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today and tomorrow, Galeria Quetzal invites you to celebrate the culture's traditional Hispanic food, drink, and music, and show off costumes in the spirit of the Day of the Dead. Prizes will be awarded for best skeleton, most creative, and most authentic Mexican garb. The parties are free, and the exhibits run through November 10. Galeria Quetzal is at 12400 Mayfield Rd. in Little Italy. Call 216-421-8223 or go to galeriaquetzal.com for more information. — Anastasia Pantsios

HOME IMPROVEMENT

The Fall Home Show at the I-X Center

For most of us, the annual home & garden show fix comes right about when the tundra thaws, when we're toting those Christmas wreaths back down to the basement. This year the I-X Center is jump-starting our inspiration early with the ACS Fall Home Show. The focus: home and landscape improvement — all those projects that are way easier to handle in the days before the first snow hits. This show doesn't parade glitzy as-seen-on-TV celebrity speakers or fancy designer gardens; it's just a lot of exhibitors with products and advice for those in the mood to make a change for the better. And what happens when Bob Vila isn't owed an "appearance fee"? Your admission is free of charge, just as the do-it-yourself gods intended. The Fall Home Show runs today from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go to acshomeshow.com for more information. Thinking of making a day of it? The I-X Center is also hosting Trick or Treat Street, a Halloween wonderland of rides, kids' shows, and more. Cost is $12 per person; go to ixtrickortreatstreet.com for information on that. It all happens at the I-X Center, 6200 Riverside Dr. near the airport. — Pantsios

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30

PARTY BY THE HOUR

Halloween Parties

Halloween evolves as we mature through the years: Somewhere along the line, our innocent hunts for candy turn into two-day benders. But that makes Halloween's graceful landing on the weekend this year a very good thing for us mature folk. Following are the downtown spots we'll be hitting Saturday — a different party for every hour! • The fun at Liquid (1212 West Sixth St., 216-479-7717) starts at 7 p.m. with three DJs and best-costume giveaways — in addition to a "Wicked Forest" theme over at Ultra.

• 806 Wine and Martini Bar (806 Literary Rd., 216-862-2912) will feature Halloween-inspired drinks and a costume contest beginning at 8 p.m.

• The House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave.) is hosting Al Figer's Ninth Annual Costume Party, which kicks off at 9 p.m. with a $7 fee.

• Edison's Pub (2373 Professor Ave., 216-522-0006) gets rolling at 10 p.m. with a Great Pumpkin Party complete with live blues music and a "Seven Deadly Sins" costume contest — plus, if you dress up as Charlie Brown, you get $1 off drafts all night. — Reed Hazen

ART PARTY

Kent Celebratesthe Day of the Dead

We all know how Halloween has leapfrogged Thanksgiving and Flag Day when it comes to American holiday popularity (and it's gunning for Christmas). But its related Mexican celebration — the Day of the Dead — has also captured the fancy of north-of-the-border gringo types too, perhaps because it's a more sophisticated and culturally resonant way of celebrating ghosts and other supernatural spirits. Kent's Standing Rock Cultural Arts was one of the early adopters among non-Mexicans, mounting its first Day of the Dead exhibit and celebration seven years ago. For its eighth-annual Dia de Los Muertos exhibition, Standing Rock has assembled its usual freewheeling hodge-podge of art — painting, collages, photos, large-scale puppets — by a variety of area artists. The show opens at the North Water Street Gallery (257 North Water St. in Kent) with a reception at 8 p.m. tonight featuring food, drinks, and live music. It coincides with downtown Kent's annual Halloween parade, so coming in costume is pretty much a must. Call 330-673-4970 or go to standingrock.net for more information. — Pantsios

EXPERIMENTAL OPERA

Mad Butcher: The Musical!

Julia Christensen doesn't usually deal in horrific true crime — unless you count empty big box retail stores, which happened to be the subject of her recent talk at a national conference. This week, Christensen deals with the gory "torso murders" that happened along Cleveland's Kingsbury Run in the 1930s. MOCA Cleveland commissioned Christensen and songwriter Sarah Paul to make a performance piece in association with MOCA's fall exhibit, "Invitation to Lubberland," which features artists Duke Riley's visual take on the immigrant shantytown where the murders took place. Christensen, a teacher at Oberlin College and founder of the contemporary performance group WAM (Women in Art and Music), has supplied the video and the performance ensemble for The Unsung Torsos, what she calls an "experimental opera." Christensen's video serves as both set and score, as the musicians follow what's on the screen with their improvisations. The Unsung Torsos happens at 7 p.m. Saturday at MOCA Cleveland (8501 Carnegie Ave., 216-421-8671 ext. 71, mocacleveland.org). It's free for students and members of MOCA and SPACES, $5 for everyone else. — Gill

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31

HALLOWEEN FUN

Moonlight Golf at the Metroparks

Golf is kinda like having Halloween every day: Its devotees don ghoulishly garish ensembles and hack away until they scream. But tonight it goes one step further: Two Cleveland Metroparks golf courses are offering a special Halloween Moonlight Golf outing. You can come in costume (or not) and even vote for the best of the bunch in men's and women's divisions. The nine-hole, glow-in-the-dark festivities open with a (figurative) shotgun start at 6:15 p.m. Your $20 entry fee includes the glowing golf ball, which organizers claim are rarely lost. Come test Murphy's law at Mastick Woods Golf Course (19900 Puritas Rd., 216-267-5626) and Shawnee Hills Golf Course (18753 Egbert Rd., Bedford, 440-232-7184). Pre-registration is a must; call the course of your choice or go to clevelandmetroparks.com. — Pantsios

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1

FOOD & DRINK

Local Food Gathering at Great Lakes

The monthly networking events sponsored by the Local Food Cleveland Network have snowballed, often attracting hundreds of Cleveland’s most forward-thinking and entrepreneurial people of all ages. This month’s outing takes place at Great Lakes Brewery’s tasting room. The action starts at 5:30 p.m. with time to mingle, have some food and drinks, and check out tables featuring goods and services from local businesses devoted to sustainability. That’s followed at 7:30 by a panel discussion featuring chef Ben Bebenroth of Spice of Life Catering, Community Greenhouse Project founder Tim Smith, Beth Knorr of the Countryside Conservancy, farmer Eric Walters, and food writer Marilou Suzsko. Topic of the day: expanding Northeast Ohio’s burgeoning local food economy into a year-round proposition. It’s free, and Great Lakes’ tasting room can be found at 2701 Carroll Ave. in Ohio City. Go to localfoodcleveland.org to register. — Pantsios

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2

PIG ROAST

Dine on Swine Tonight at Touch

Pig roasts only happen on weekends — and only on tropical islands, you say? Then you need a getaway to that delightful resort we call Touch Supper Club. Tonight, the Ohio City outpost is hosting a festive pig roast. You'll feast like a king with all the pork and wine you can fathom, plus fabulous side dishes concocted by the Touch kitchen crew. So raise your goblet to the heavens and give thanks for this merriest of Tuesdays. Tickets for the pig roast are $19; Touch Supper Club is at 2710 Lorain Ave. For more information call 216-631-5200 or go to touchohiocity.com. — Hazen

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

2010 CULINARY CHALLENGE

Food Frenzy at Tri-C

The students of Cuyahoga Community College's hospitality management program are teaming up with professional chefs for a foodie throwdown tonight. It's the 2010 Cleveland Culinary Challenge, which pits teams of students and professionals against one another to see who can concoct the better dish and impress a panel of food-obsessed judges — including Michael Ruhlman, a noted author and FAB (that's "friend of Anthony Bourdain"). Food fights? Oh yes there'll be plenty. But there's also so much more: from flair bartending to ice sculpting, from pastry making to wine tasting. Tie one on and chow down from 5:30 to 9 p.m. tonight. The Culinary Challenge takes place at the Cuyahoga Community College Hospitality Management Center at Public Square (180 Euclid Ave.). Tickets are $75, with proceeds benefiting Tri-C's hospitality management program and other programs supporting tourism in Cleveland. For more information go to clevelandculinarychallenge2010.eventbrite.com. — Hazen