Going Out

Classic film: Don Ameche stars as songwriter Stephen Foster in the 1939 musical Swanee River, the newest Silver Screen Classic showing this month at local Showcase Cinemas. Shows are today at Western Hills, 5870 Harrison Ave.; Thursday at Cincinnati (Norwood), 1701 Showcase Drive; and Dec. 11 at Springdale, 12064 Springfield Pike. All show times are 1 p.m. Admission is $1, popcorn and soda included. 699-1500.

At the zoo: Festival of Lights, one of the region's largest and most anticipated holiday events, opens today. $11.50, $9 seniors, $6 ages 2-12. 5-9 p.m. today, Thursday and Sunday; 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, through Jan. 3. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale. 281-4700.

Explore the world: One World Wednesdays feature art, food, wine and dance from a variety of countries during Cincinnati Art Museum's late operating hours on the first Wednesday of the month. 5:30 p.m. today, 953 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park. $6, $3 Enjoy the Arts members. 639-2995.

Carmen's story: "Opera Rap: Love, Murder and & Intrigue - The Story of Carmen," with WGUC-FM's Naomi Levin, 11:45 a.m. today, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. $15, includes lunch. Reservations: (513) 863-8873.

The Goods

Findlay gifts: The molds may have been broken and the bells aren't in production any longer, but the newly renovated Market Tower at Findlay Market still has those Ohio Bicentennial bells cast by the Verdin Co. to mark the state's 200th celebration. In three sizes, $20-$60.

Planning ahead

24 hours out: Three new plays open Thursday:

• Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, through Dec. 28. $16-20, Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, 719 Race St., downtown. 381-2288.

• Lucky Stiff, through Dec. 14. $10, Northern Kentucky University Black Box Theater, Highland Heights. (859) 572-5464.

• Never the Sinner, through Sunday. $5, $3 students, Gallagher Student Center Studio Theater, Xavier University, Evanston.

745-3939.

Also 24 hours out: Pianist Andre Watts appears with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in Dayton's Schuster Performing Arts Center. He'll play Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1. Maestro Neal Gittleman conducts Berlioz's take on those star-crossed lovers, Romeo et Juliette. 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. (Friday's show is an instructive "Classical Connections" about the Brahms concerto.) $12-$35 Friday; $13.50-$55 Thursday, Saturday. (937) 228-3630.

48 hours out: The final exhibition at the Artery, 913 Monmouth St., Newport, opens with a reception Friday 7-10 p.m. Drawings by Jill Griffin, in graphite and charcoal on paper, shows the evolution of the artist's work in human figures, still life, architecture and portraiture. (859) 630-9529.

72 hours out: Sam Bush, one of the guiding lights of the modern bluegrass movement, brings his band to the Madison Theater. The Comet Bluegrass Allstars open the 9 p.m. Saturday show. $20 in advance, $24 day of show. 730 Madison Ave., Covington. (513) 779-9462.

E-mail jbennett@enquirer.com; fax 768-8330