By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Going out

Jazzy evening: Directors Rick VanMatre and Paul Piller lead the College-Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band through a night full of big band music, from the swing era right up through today's more contemporary sounds. 7 p.m. today, Patricia Corbett Theater, University of Cincinnati, free. 556-4183.

SCPA celebrates: The School for the Creative and Performing Arts has a little something for everyone when it celebrates 200 years of the arts in Cincinnati. That means you get a ton of singing and dancing, snippets of musical theater and drama, living history, jazz instrumentalists and even a bit of creative writing. 1:30 and 3 p.m. today (repeats next weekend), Museum Center at Union Terminal, $3, children under 12 free. 287-7000.

Shopping alert: Last call for the Greater Cincinnati Holiday Market - more than 100 vendors under one roof selling upscale art, gourmet food, fashion, home decor stuff and jewelry, too. Perfect for shoppers looking to get a jump on the Christmas rush before it gets a jump on them. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today, Northern Kentucky Convention Center, One West River Center Blvd., $7, $3 kids under 13. (859) 261-1500.

Take a Hike

In the park: A bunch of people who care about friendship and tolerance take a walk today in support of worldwide tolerance. The idea, says artist Jan Brown Checco, is for you to invite an old or new friend to join you, then walk with the group while thinking about people or situations you find intolerable. Then ask yourself why and what you can do to overcome it. Maybe, she says, tolerance and friendship can begin to grow out of it. 1 p.m. today, Cincinnati International Friendship Park, on the riverfront just past Sawyer Point, free. 751-6115.

On the Newsstand

Oscar watch: So is it too early to start thinking about the Oscars? Guess not. The Nov. 14 Entertainment Weekly has a four-page spread predicting the contenders. Front runners? Lord of the Rings and Last Samurai look to be leading the Best Picture pack. Sean Penn (Mystic River) heads the Best Actor race. And Naomi Watts (21 Grams) is generating Best Actress heat for her portrayal of a grieving mother.

Planning ahead

24 hours out: Former mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani, Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2001, hits town with a lecture titled "Leadership in Difficult Times," something he learned a lot about while cleaning up Times Square, turning around the city's $2.3 billion deficit and, his most public trial, leading the city after 9-11. 7 p.m. Monday, Miami University's Millett Hall, Oxford, free. (513) 529-6114.

48 hours out: Newport's bustling Hofbräuhaus dishes up plenty of beer and even more food at its Bier Tasting Dinner. The brew master will be there to hand out tips on what to look for in five Hofbräuhaus biers. A four-course dinner, German, of course, is included. 6 p.m. Tuesday, Hofbräuhaus, 200 E. Third St., Newport, $40. (859) 491-7200.

Also 48 hours out: Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati raises the curtain on Thoroughly Modern Millie, the stage adaptation of the 1967 movie about a Jazz Age heroine who finds love and adventure in the big city. It's a big deal, this: It won six Tony Awards this year, including best musical. Opens 8 p.m. Tuesday and continues through Nov. 30, Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., downtown, $20-$60. 241-7469.

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