(Things to do while figuring out if it’s the heat or the humidity or the fact that you still won’t take off your “Drink Like A Champion Today” sweatshirt…)

Friday, July 21
Wine & Dine In The Park, 5:00 p.m., Robin ill Park, Moon
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you go out and do the same thing all over again, but probably not with as much quiet dignity and grace that a wine-tasting usually provides. PA wineries put out their best, local restaurants provide the food, and the singing chef Olga Watkins performs with her quartet. This is hoity, possibly toity, but definitely full of good wine. Plus, it’s out by the airport, so it won’t take long for a cab to show up to take you home when you’ve started telling people that you think it’s a “yappy little vintage that sits on the tongue asking you for your approval like a sad puppy, with a hint of clove in the after-taste and if any of you disagree we’re gonna have a tussle” about a chradonnay, and security asks you to leave.

Juggling In Afghanistan, 8:30 p.m. The Ice House, Lawrencevlle
Ok, I’m not sure that’s what it’s called, but this is a showcase for Pittsburgh Photographer Renee Rosensteel, showcasing pictures from her trip to Afghanistan. The juggling bit comes from the fact that Zany Umbrella Circus juggler Ben Sota was along for the ride, teaching juggling at a circus school. She also visited bazaars, and the Hindu Kush mountains, shooting all the way. She does restaurant-quality work, especially in the photo-journalistic style, so go show some support for the local photographers. Plus, it’s billed as a party, so there’s that. After, roll on up to Ray’s for the benefit since you’re in the nieghborhood.

Too Tall Jones, 10:00 p.m., Club Cafe
No, not Ed, Fred. Local Rock / Hardcore / Alternative at Club Cafe. They cite Queen, AC/DC and the Cult as influences, so you can’t really go wrong here, unless you really don’t like Queen, AC/DC and the Cult. Which is just silly.

Saturday, July 22
The Fourth Annual North Side Celebration in the Park, 11:00 a.m., Allegheny Commons Park
Puppets! Run! They’ll kill you as soon as look at you!

Wait, hang on a sec… That’s clowns, right? Yeah… clowns. Puppets are ok. There’s a lot going on here, fun for the whole family and such-like, so let’s hit it up bullet-style:

• – Band Performances
• – Children Interactive Activities
• – Trackless Train Rides (Which is better than Trainless Track rides, I’m thinking)
• – Face Painting
• – Puppetmaking
• – 3-on-3 Basketball Tournaments
• – Senior Wellness Programming sponsored by AGH
• – Allegheny Center Alliance Church Flea Market
• – Speciality Item Vendors
• – Kid’s Karaoke
  – The inevitable “much more”

The Pittsburgh Ring Cycle, 3:00 and 8:00 p.m., The Byham
No, not the Japanese horror flick, and no, this has no Hobbits. This is Der Ring des Nibelungen, which, tranlsated roughly means “takes like, 4 days to watch”. You’ll recognize “Ride of the Valkyries” at the three o’clock show as the music that Duvall blasts from the helicopters in Apocalypse Now, but refrain from shouting “Charlie Don’t Surf!” if you can. The eight o’clocker is Siegfried, with no Roy in sight.

Dixie Chicks, 7:30 p.m., Mellon Arena
Natalie, darlin’… Call me. I’ll pick you up in the truck, we’ll go down to the Stew Ball, have a couple longnecks, shoot some pool, play a tune or two by Slim Chance and the Can’t Hardly Playboys on the juke box. At some point, I’ll say Yee-ha. Trust me on that, sweetheart. Hoo-ee, I love me some good geetar playin’ and fiddlin’, and this show should have it.

Sunday, July 23
Bach, Beethoven & Brunch, 10:30 a.m., Mellon Park
This week, they’re featuring the Renaissance City Winds, and of course, brunch. But the important thing here is they’ve got prizes. That’s all you really need to know about this one. It’s got prizes. At a brunch. With classical music. Prizes.

Pittsburgh Blues Festival, Noon., Hartwood Acres
This benefits the greater Pittburgh Community Food Bank, and the lineup is good all weekend, but it seems especially so today, with Lee Rocker, The Yardbirds, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Plus, there’ll be whole raft of local artists too. Go, listen, order four fried chickens and a coke. Or some dry white toast. Whichever.

Flick: Ice Age 2, 9ish, Flagstaff Hill
Because there were so many unanswered questions from the first one, that’s why. Oh yeah, this is really important here: FREE! FREE! FREE!