(Things to do while deciding whether to get that ink done…)

Friday, September 15
Oktoberfest, 5:00 p.m. and all weekend, Penn Brewery
If someone comes up to you and tries to make a joke along the lines of “This is the wurst thing you can do this weekend”, you have my permission to dope-slap them upside the head. Don’t worry about the consequences, no jury of like-minded citizens would ever convict you. As a matter of fact, they’d probably take an opportunity to dope-slap them themselves. All that aside, the Penn Is Mightier, and this event is a great time to drink a wonderfully-crafted beer within the happy confines of the North Shore Side. Food includes grilled wurst and chicken, strüdel, and hopefully that spaetzle stuff which goes with beer a treat. Music provided by Two German bands, Heimat Klang and Alpen Glow playing in the Fest Tent, and accordionists Steve Grkman and Frank Pusateri playing in the restaurant. It’s a polka party and everyone’s invited!

It’s a Dog’s Life, Photographs by William Wegman, 6:00 p.m., Silver Eye Center for Photography, Sahsside
Wegman’s the guy that takes all the pictures of Weimaraners. This exhibition features 28 polaroids of dogs doing things like roller-skating, playing dress-up, and exercising on a bike.

All right, fine, it’s a little cutesy, but at least it’s not those babies in flower beds, and his photography is indeed fantastic, and who doesn’t like dogs. Refreshments will be served, members and students get in free, non-members pay 5 bucks.

Saturday, September 16
Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival, 11:00 a.m., South Side Riverfront Park
Dragon Boat racing is a 2,400 year old competition and one of the earliest forms of boat racing. This friendly competition is meant to promote the Asian community here in Pittsburgh, which mean lots of music performances and great food from all over asia. They will have hot dogs “for the little ones” but let’s all remember that ketchup was originally an Asian sauce, so even that’s kinda ok. Bonus points if you show up dressed as Wong Fei Hung. The awesomely-named “Monolithic JJ” has more details here.

The Pittsburgh Sound, 9:00 p.m., Moxie Dada Gallery, Bloomfield
Billed as “Pittsburgh’s Premier Party Band For The 21st Century”, The Pittsburgh Sound is a 4-piece ensemble of Pittsburgh Jazz Veterans led by Hill Jordan. The set starts at 9, immediately after the closing reception of the previously mentioned Blind Date exhibit. It’ll cost you 10 bucks to get in, but that includes an open bar with beer and wine, and a soul food sampler buffet.

The New Yinzer Party!, 9:30 p.m., Brillobox, Upper Larryville
The New Yinzer is an online literary magazine centered on Pittsburgh. Probably because with that name, it couldn’t be centered on, say, Paris or Tokyo. Which makes sense. (If it was Tokyo, maybe it’d be called “The New Yakuza-er”.) The get-together is a launch party of sorts for the magazine, which recently re-opened it’s doors after a brief hiatus/revamping. The party will feature readings from authors and music, and special guests include Julie Sokolow and Harangue. Plus, it’s at Brillobox, which holds a dear place in my heart now because it was closed for a week earlier this summer so the staff could go fishing. At least, that’s what the sign in the window said when we rolled up one night, forcing us to go drink at Kelly’s. So ok, no blood, no foul.

Sunday, September 17
Genghis Con II, 11:00 a.m. (and all weekend, really), Green Tree Radisson
First alerted to this via The Dish, “The Wrath Of Con” features a film premier! Woot!, as the kids all say. Bikini Blood Bath actually stats at 5 on Saturday, but this gets the Sunday mention because, well, what could be better than hanging around with Fangoria-Heads on a Sunday afternoon right after church? And hey, Leslie Easterbrook will be there! Make sure you ask her about the guy in the Police Academy movies that makes all the funny sounds with his mouth! She’ll love it if you do that!

Spamalot, 1:00 and 6:30 p.m., Benedum Center
The Tony Award winning musical opens this weekend at the Benedum Center. I tried to tell them to go away, that we already got one, but they persisted, so I proceeded to say that their mother was a hamster and their father smelt of elderberries. But even after all of that, they still wanted to stage it this weekend, so the production will apparently go off as scheduled.

Now go away before I taunt you a second time.

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Got an event planned? Would you like a whole flock of yinzers with disposable income to show up? Let Git Aht know by sending the electronic mail to gitaht@gmail.com.