Going out

        Bobbie Ann Mason: The folksy and homespun Kentucky author hits town to discuss and sign her new collection of stories Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail. 7 p.m. today, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood. 396-8960.

        Outdoor concert: It's all hits all the time when Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra tunes up with “Swingin' Showstoppers,” a night of show tunes, movie hits, jazz and patriotism, too. 7 p.m. today, Fort Thomas' Tower Park, free. 941-8956.

        Creative weddings: Floral designer Terry Rye and artist Laurel Tudor haul out the seed pearls and demonstrate cheap and easy arrangements and keepsakes for weddings, most of them from books they wrote. 7 p.m. today, Barnes & Noble Kenwood, 7800 Montgomery Road. 794-9440.

        Acoustic Lunch: Lunch in the park under a big shady tree and music too when lunch-time concert series serves up Mama's Boys.11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. today, Piatt Park, Eighth and Vine Streets, downtown. 352-4080.

        Cookbook history: Jan Longone, curator of American culinary history at the University of Michigan, will speak 7 p.m. today at Amberley House, 3501 Section Road, Kennedy Heights. Her host: Culinary Collectors Society. $10 for non-society members. Reservations: 557-3804.

Staying in

        TV picks: Here's a golden opportunity to sample the History Channel: Gold!, a four-night miniseries about the precious metal starting with a look at “The Gold Wars” through history (9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday).

        • TV Critic John Kiesewetter also says Maxine (Tyne Daly) regrets not vacationing with Jarred (Richard Crenna) on Judging Amy (10 p.m., Channels 12, 7).

Video picks

        Critic's Pick: New video releases hit a slow patch this week, unless your young 'uns are hungry for Pokemon 3: The Movie. On the DVD front, fans of John Waters — the undisputed king of bad taste unchained — will welcome the new, digital Polyester.

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: West coast electronica acts Crystal Method and Uberzone stir up some dust at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Bogart's, 2621 Vine St., Corryville. $18-$20. 562-4949.

        48 hours out: Classics run wild with Euripides and Moliere, noted dead playwrights, and productions of Alkestis and The Doctor in Spite of Himself at the Ernst Nature Theatre Festival. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, Ernst Amphitheatre, Miami University's Western Campus, free. (513) 529-3053.

        72 hours 'til Friday: Suburbia rocks and eats for three tasty days at Taste of Blue Ash — more than 20 restaurants and music from the Buckinghams, Johnny Rivers and Jerry Lee Lewis.Opens 6-11 p.m. in the town's epicenter, Hunt and Cooper Roads. 745-8686.

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