There's nothing like a big-ass RV to make you feel like you're King of the Road. More than 800 models will be on display at the Ohio RV Supershow this weekend, so chances are pretty good that there's one of these babies with your name on it (or your wife's name, or your girlfriend's name, or something totally lame like Asphalt Hog or Pavement Eater). There's also a bunch of other things going on at the 29th annual outing, like live music, a strolling magician, and a married couple who'll chat about their 11 years traveling the country in an RV. The show runs through Sunday at the I-X Center, 6200 Riverside Drive. Hours are 1 to 10 p.m. today and tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $9.50; call 216-676-6000.
Tonight's Saxophone Shootout reignites the East Coast vs. West Coast music wars, and the Midwest is representin' this time! Cleveland's Blue Lunch takes on Boston's "Sax" Gordon Beadle and San Diego's Jonny Viau in a horn-powered battle of contemporary bluesmen. Or something like that. "The game plan is to have each band play separately, and then we'll let loose and get everyone together," explains Blue Lunch singer Pete London. "The idea is to have some fun and spontaneity." London admits that his band goes into combat as the night's underdog: Beadle has played with Duke Robillard, and Viau's done time with Solomon Burke and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. "There's gonna be a lot of energy," says London. "It should be tight, not just a loose jam." It all starts at 7:30 p.m. at Cleveland Public Theatre's Old Parish Hall, 6203 Detroit Road. Admission is $8. Visit www.bluelunch.com for more info.
Friday, January 7
Two of our favorite winter critters -- Penguins and Polar Bears -- are the focus of this week's Family Weekend Wonders series at the Lakewood Library. The funny and furry animals are at the center of stories, activities, music, and crafts. It takes place at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. today; 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. tomorrow; and 2 p.m. Sunday at Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. Admission is free; call 216-226-8275.
Saturday, January 8
Speaking of polar bears (see Friday), the zoo's Polar Bear Days are now in effect. Every day the temperature is forecast at less than 32 degrees, visitors get in for half-price -- that's $3 for adults, two bucks for kids! The best part? It could be 33 degrees outside, but if Dick Goddard or one of the area's other meteorologists are one degree off, folks still pay the reduced admission fee. And, yes, there will be polar bears there, as well as other cold-loving creatures, like gray wolves, Siberian tigers, and Bactrian camels. Very cool. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (3900 Wildlife Way) is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; call 216-661-6500.
Sunday, January 9
The Cleveland area offers very few thrills as genuine and as, um, thrilling as the Metroparks' Chalet Toboggan Chutes. These twin, refrigerated shafts are 700 icy feet long. And the first drop is a gut-churning 70 feet! It's got all the makings of some potentially limb-damaging fun (did we mention the sleds travel on a sheet of ice?). The chutes (at Mill Stream Run Reservation, between routes 42 and 82 in Strongsville) are open from noon to 5 p.m. today, 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, 6 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, and noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $8, $6 for kids. Call 440-572-9990 for more info.
Monday, January 10
More than 80 drawings and paintings are included in WWII Life on the Rock, a collection of watercolors and sketches made by Donald McBride Jr. when he was in the Navy, back in the day. Most scenes depict everyday soldier life on the South Pacific island of Peleliu, but photos and other period memorabilia touch on some of the personal stories that inspired the work. The exhibit also includes the U.S.S. Coconut, a boat made out of a coconut shell for Lively the Lizard, a character McBride created for a children's book. WWII Life on the Rock is at the Western Reserve Historical Society (10825 East Boulevard) through May 29. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $7.50, $5 for kids; call 216-721-5722.
Tuesday, January 11
Luc Delahaye Photographs: History is the esteemed French photojournalist's first U.S. exhibit, and it's a heavy and heady one. Gathering seven massive panoramic color prints from recent assignments in war-torn areas, the work digs into the personal and political nature of war -- from a dead warrior in "Taliban" to the self-explanatory "U.S. Bombing of Taliban Positions." Delahaye's vivid shots of contemporary events are both striking and distressing. They're on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art (11150 East Boulevard) through February 23. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free. Call 888-262-0033 for more information.
Wednesday, January 12
If the premise of Carousel's latest production, The Honky Tonk Angels (opening tonight), sounds a bit hokey -- three ladies go to Nashville to become stars -- at least the music played onstage by a live band oughta swing. Songs by country queens Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and, um, Nancy Sinatra ("These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" somehow figures into the mix) all get the dinner-theater workout at Carousel (1275 East Waterloo Road in Akron) through March 6. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $27 to $47.50, available by calling 330-724-9855.