Going out

        The Chieftains: The world's leading clan of Irish traditional musicians bring its U.S. tour to town for a bit of piping and tooting. 7 p.m. today, Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall, $25-$38. 241-7469.

        Cincinnati Pops: Guest conductor and pianist Stuart Malina leads the orchestra through a program all full of western music and antics of Riders in the Sky. 7 p.m. today, Music Hall, $16.50-$46. 381-3300.

        Home and garden: The Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home and Garden Show gets a little potting soil under its fingernails at Albert B. Sabin Convention Center, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. today,continues Tuesday-next Sunday (closed Monday), $9, $3 youth. 281-0022.

        Circus: Last call for the annual visit from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. 1 and 5 p.m. today, Firstar Center, $13.50-$35. 562-4949.

Staying in

        • Six Feet Under (9 p.m., HBO) returns with its season premiere, and the WB enters the reality show sweepstakes with No Boundaries (10 p.m., Channel 64) when 15 people embark on a 30-day, 2,000-mile journey to the Arctic Circle.

The Goods (What's in stores today)

        Bidding time: It's kitty products everywhere you look when the Scratching Post, a non-profit, no-kill shelter that helps finance cat neutering, has its 12th annual silent auction. More than 450 items, including framed prints, jewelry, ceramics, collectibles, crafts and, of course, goodies for kitty, will be available. 1-4 p.m. today, Loveland Intermediate School, 757 S. Lebanon Road, free. 984-6399.

Planning Ahead

        24 hours out: Pulitzer-Prize winning author Michael Cunningham shares a batch of thoughts at the Winter Author Series, the Mercantile Library. 6:30 p.m. Monday, 414 Walnut St., downtown. $15-$18. 621-0717.

        48 hours out: Previews open for Playhouse in the Park's production of Agatha Christie's classic whodunit Ten Little Indians. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Robert S. Marx Theatre, $27. 421-3888.

        48 and 72 hours out: Showcase Cinema presents an open-captioned version of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Tuesday and Wednesday for deaf and hearing-impaired patrons at its Western Hills theater, 5870 Harrison Ave. Call 699-1500 for showtimes or visit www.nationalamusements.com.

        72 hours 'til Wednesday: The annual Rabbi Charisse Kranes Memorial Concert at Hebrew Union College tunes up with the premiere of a newly commissioned work by composer Bonia Shur. 11 a.m., S.H. and Helen R. Sheuer Chapel, 3101 Clifton Ave., Clifton, free. 221-1875, Ext. 291.

— Jim Knippenberg

        Contact Jim Knippenberg by phone: 768-8513; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: jknippenberg@enquirer.com.

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