10 Things To Do In Cleveland This Weekend

Friday, Aug. 28 (through Sunday, Aug. 30!) - Scene Pig & Whiskey - The second annual Scene Magazine Pig & Whiskey Festival offers a wide range of whiskeys and finger-licking barbecue. The outdoor event also features BBQ, whiskey, and entertainment. The Pig & Whiskey features over a dozen restaurants (including local favorites like the Proper Pig and Old Carolina’s BBQ company) along with dozens of bourbon and whiskey specialists to sample, including Jack Daniel's and Wild Turkey. Nineties favorites like Vertical Horizon and Smash Mouth are set to perform. The event starts today at 4 and begins at noon tomorrow and Sunday. Admission is free. More information here! 4057 Erie St. (Niesel, photo via Emanuel Wallace)

Friday, Aug. 28 - Great Lakes Burning River Fest - Late summer in Cleveland which can only mean one thing — It’s time for the annual Great Lakes Burning River Fest. For 14 years, Cleveland has hosted the festival to celebrate the city’s eco-consciousness with local foods, live music, and of course Great Lakes Brewing Company's finest brews at the historic Coast Guard Station. The event takes place today and tomorrow from 6 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $15. Proceeds benefit the Burning River Foundation. Bands such as cities & Coasts, Hey Mavis!, the Portersharks and Alexis Antes are slated to play. (Hetrick, photo via Emanuel Wallace)

Friday, Aug. 28 - Indians vs. Angels - The Cleveland Indians are virtually out of the playoff race but there are plenty of other reasons to go to a game at Progressive Field. Tonight, the Tribe takes on the Los Angeles Angels, a tough team that's in the playoff hunt. But more than that, it's Sugardale Dollar Dog Night so hotdogs will only cost you a buck. After the game, there will be a fireworks show set to garage rock music. And if you arrive at the game early, you can suck down some cheap beers in the Right Field District where they'll only cost $2 from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets start at $10 and the game begins at 7:10 p.m. (Photo via Wikimedia)

Saturday, Aug. 29 - Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Annual Benefit - The Chicago-based act the Giving Tree Band (pictured), a folky group that sounds a bit like Mumford & Sons, uses instruments handmade from naturally fallen trees and reclaimed woods and recorded an album using nothing but solar energy. That makes it the perfect band to headline EverGreen EverBlue, the nonprofit Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s annual benefit that takes place at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 at Cleveland’s Rustbelt Reclamation in Tyler Village. The full benefit includes dinner, valet parking and tours of Rustbelt Reclamation as well as a donation to the Land Conservancy. Those tickets range from $200 to $500. But if you’re like us and you live on subsistence wages, the Land Conservancy offers a special $50 late-night (after 9:30 p.m.) ticket for music lovers that includes an open bar, desserts and dancing. And the Giving Tree will perform at that time too. Tickets can be reserved online at wrlandconservancy.org or by calling 440-528-4150. (Niesel, courtesy photo)

Saturday, Aug. 29 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Head to U.S. Bank Plaza after dark to check out everyone’s favorite group of misfit superheroes on the big screen. Guardians of the Galaxy is the story a group of cosmic criminals who join forces to take down an evil villain in order to save the galaxy. The movie begins at 9 p.m., but make sure you show up early to get a great spot. Free. (Hetrick, photo via IMDB)

Saturday, Aug. 29 - Kehinde Wiley Lecture - Cleveland Public Library has partnered with the Cleveland Museum of Art to present a special lecture by world renowned contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley will speak as part of the library’s Lockwood Thompson Dialogues series. Wiley will speak in the museum’s Gartner Auditorium at 2 p.m. today. Earlier this summer, the series brought legendary African American painter Barkley Hendricks to Cleveland to speak about his life and career. Wiley’s revisionist paintings incorporate contemporary, urban, young African American males into formal European portraiture. The result confronts the viewer with a necessity to reflect upon and challenge historical concepts of fine art (and much more). Seats are limited, register through the museum’s box office. Free. (Usmani, photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Saturday, Aug. 29 - Apur Sansar - As a way of christening its new high-tech home, the Cleveland Institute of Cinematheque has shown several films that have been digitally restored into 4K, the new high-definition format for film. Tonight at 5 and tomorrow night at 6:45, it concludes Sayajit Ray's Apu triology with a screening of Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). The films date back to the 1950s but they've been meticulously restored and the Cinematheque is the first theater in Cleveland to screen the new prints. In Apur Sansar, young Apu has grown into a man and married. Ravi Shankar plays the music on the soundtrack. Tickets are $9. (Niesel, photo via IMDB)

Sunday, Aug. 30 - SmashMouth - Sure, you remember singing along to "All Star" during the 1990s, but here's your chance to see the band live and for free at Scene Pig & Whiskey. SmashMouth plays from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on the Jack Daniel's Stage in downtown Willoughby. Don't miss out. (Courtesy photo)

Sunday, Aug. 30 - The Cleveland Orchestra - Renowned violinist Gil Shaham returns to Northeast tonight to join the Cleveland Orchestra for a concert at Blossom that will conclude with Mahler’s first symphony, Symphony No. 1 ("Titan"). The program also includes Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. Edo de Waart conducts. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and tickets start at $24. (Niesel, photo via Wikimedia)