Phoenix caters Cincinnati Symphony buffets: Thursday night Symphony fans no longer have to juggle plates and cups in Music Hall's lobby, preceding Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts. Thursday's free buffet is moving up to the Ballroom, where dinner will be catered by The Phoenix, and patrons can sit at tables.

The concert is a preview of the Symphony's European tour program.

The buffet begins at 6:15 p.m.; the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. today; it repeats (sans buffet) at 11 a.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: (513) 381-3300 or www.cincinnatisymphony.org.

Janelle Gelfand

Chicks Rock: The annual Chicks Rock Fest is going on the road this year, with events this weekend in 19 cities; 44 female artists from around the country will perform at various stops. The tour kicks off with a local show featuring Cincinnati groups Crankbox and the Whitney Barricklow Band and five out-of-town artists. 9 p.m. today. York Street Cafe, 738 York St., Newport. $5; 21 and older. (859) 261-9675; www.yorkstonline.com. For more information about the tour, go to www.chicksontheroad.com.

C.E. Hanifin

A key substitution: Pianist Eugene Pridonoff will step in and make his debut on the Xavier Classical Piano Series, 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Gallagher Student Center Theatre on the Xavier University campus. Pridonoff, who is artist-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, will perform a blockbuster program of piano classics. He is substituting for pianist Roberto Plano, who is ill. Tickets: $17-$19; students are free with ID. (513) 745-3161.

Janelle Gelfand

Philosophy on film: Dayton native Michael Wurth will be joined by classics professors Holt Parker (University of Cincinnati) and Shannon Byrne (Xavier) for a discussion following the screening of his film The Symposium at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Mount Lookout Cinema Grill, 3187 Linwood Ave. The 96-minute film about a intense dinner party takes a modern look at the works of Socrates. Tickets, $8. (859) 781-8151.

Margaret A. McGurk

Political films: University of Cincinnati plays host to the Films To See Before You Vote Tour 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday in the Great Hall on the main campus. Among the featured works is Soldier's Pay, a controversial documentary by director David O. Russell (Three Kings). Admission is free. Kaldi's Coffee House, 1204 Main St., Over-the-Rhine presents a free screening of Liberty Bound at 8 p.m. Monday. The documentary by Ohio native Christine Rose takes a critical look at new legal limits on civil liberties since Sept. 11, 2001. (513) 241-3070.

Margaret A. McGurk

Countdown

Local stages get political: As Election Day approaches, smaller theater venues are announcing late-breaking performances. Values Americans Live By: a piece of theater is based on a pamphlet published by cultural anthropologist L. Robert Kohls in 1984. It's now a physical performance piece by The Laboratory for Enthusiastic Collaboration and plays at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Carnegie, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. Tickets $20 in advance, $30 at the door, call (859) 491-2030.

Artists for Change, last month's 24-hour performance "happening" on Fountain Square was proclaimed a success by organizer Cincinnati Experimental Arts. "Fifty people registered to vote," says happy producer Jason Bruffy.

Jackie Demaline

MOVIES OPENING FRIDAY

Around the Bend

COMING FRIDAY IN WEEKEND

Broadway legend Patti Lupone has brought her Matters of the Heart to the Aronoff Center. In Weekend, the Tony Award winner who was "born to the boards," describes the genesis of the show.