Going out

Fashion frenzy: There are glad rags galore when the Cincinnati Art Museum's Cincinnati Wing rotating gallery opens John Bartlett's Dreaming in Darkness. The former Cincinnatian, considered one of the most innovative designers on today's fashion scene, uses the exhibit to explore how gender, religion and politics coexist with style. Opens 10 a.m. today and runs through Jan. 31, Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park, free. (513) 639-2995.

Meet Mr. Peabody: Well, you can't really meet Mr. Peabody, but you can meet Loren Long, the nationally known local artist who whipped up a whole pile of paintings to illustrate Madonna's new Mr. Peabody's Apples, when he signs the book and discusses the art. 10:30 a.m. today, Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore, 3054 Madison Road, Oakley. (513) 731-2665.

Christian rock: It's a night of top-flight contemporary Christian music at Bogart's when Relient K brings its high-energy sound to town. The group plays after warm-up pitches from Anberlin and Don't Look Down. 8:30 p.m. today, Bogart's, 2621 Vine St., Corryville, $20.50 at the door. (513) 281-8400.

Road trip

On the High Cs: Cincinnati favorites Three Mo' Tenors - they performed twice with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra last year - hit Dayton for a little bit of clowning and a whole lot of opera. Singers Rodrick Dixon, Victor Trent Cook and Thomas Young belt out their tunes with the Dayton Philharmonic led by Neal Gittleman. 8 p.m. today, Schuster Center, $24-$42. (888) 228-3630.

Outdoors

Take a hike: How's this sound? Get up early Sunday morning, trek out to Mount Airy Forest's Area 13 (home of the Oval) hiking trail between 6:30-7:45 a.m. and then walk a huge figure eight three times. That's the idea behind the Stone Steps 50K Trail Race, organized by two local ultra-marathoners and the Cincinnati Park Board. Mount Airy Forest's hiking trail in Colerain Township is a hilly course with the possibility of mud, depending on the weather. Oh yeah, it takes about four hours to race all 50 kilometers, including the Stone Steps climb. Interested? $25. 321-3567.

Planning ahead

24 hours out: Hmmm. . Grab an instrument - any instrument but something Irish is best - and head to Pleasant Ridge for an open mike night. It's an evening full of traditional Irish Music that invites everyone to show up and play along. Or, if you don't play, grab a big and hearty stout and just listen. 8 p.m. Sunday, the Dubliner, 6111 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge. 531-6111.

48 hours out: Whew, got some tough choices Monday night up in Oxford - two world-class speakers on two compelling topics. At 7 p.m. (Millett Hall, free) former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani talks about "Leadership in Difficult Times." Then, if you have the energy to huff it across campus at 8 p.m. Gloria Steinem talks about "Feminism 101" (Hall Auditorium, free but tickets required; get them at the Shriver Center box office). Steinem, an icon in the women's rights movement since 1968, is now president of Voters for Choice. 529-6114 for info on Giuliani; www.muohio.edu/lecture for info on Steinem.

E-mail: jknippenberg@enquirer.com; fax: 768-8330.