Guess we can blame President Jimmy Carter for those dollar coins we've mistaken for quarters and foolishly and futilely plunked into parking meters. On Oct. 10, 1978, he signed a bill authorizing production of the coin that would become the Susan B. Anthony dollar. The sentiment was noble, the coins a pain in the pocketbook.

Years later, we got Sacagawea dollar coins. We're still waiting to find a vending machine that will trade one of the coins for a Coke or bag of pretzels. You won't need a single coin for today's freebies, although you might need to pay to park.

Today

There is no such thing as a free lunch, but there are free concerts, museum admissions and a "Titanic" sinking. Today is the final day of free events marking the 10th anniversary of the Regional Asset District. You can get into Soldiers & Sailors Military Museum & Memorial from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or hear a free concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m., concert at 7. Or, as part of the Pittsburgh Festival of Firsts, you can see "Titanic," an outdoor production that re-creates the sinking of the fabled ocean liner, at 8 p.m. at North Shore Riverfront Park below Heinz Field.

Binge at the Byham Theater on one-act plays from 2 to 10 p.m. It's home to a preview of the second Theatre Festival in Black & White, a dozen plays, half by black playwrights with white directors, the rest by white writers with black directors. Tickets for the 2 to 5 p.m. or 7 to 10 p.m. programs are $10 each, or watch all day for $15. Buy tickets at the Box Office at Theater Square or call 412-456-6666. If you miss the preview, this venture from Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Co. continues at the Penn Theatre.

Organist Brenda Leach has performed in great cathedrals in Paris, London, Jerusalem, New York and Russia. She's in Pittsburgh to play at Shadyside Presbyterian Church at 4 p.m. as part of the Music in a Great Space series. Tickets, $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, with students and children admitted free.

Ben Kweller is back in continued support of "On My Way," an instantly engaging collection of post-Pavement indie-pop charmers with a loopy, self-effacing lyrical perspective best described as Kweller-esque. It's one of this year's most inspired pop releases, effortlessly picking up where Kweller left off on the underrated "Sha Sha." He'll be opening for Incubus, so get there early if you're going. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Tickets are $32.50. Call 412-323-1919.

Monday

Class is in session as the excellent Academy of St. Martin in the Fields comes to Heinz Hall for a rare appearance by a visiting orchestra. At 7:30 p.m., the group performs Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12, Liszt's "Malediction," with pianist Christopher O'Riley, and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. Tickets are $29 to $60. 412-392-4900.

Tuesday

You can call it Nuance, or you can call it the PSO Chamber Orchestra, but it's the same good music either way. Violinist and conductor Andres Cardenes takes his fellow Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians into another season at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. The program at 8 p.m. is Haydn's Symphony No. 49, "La Passione," Weber's Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra, Sarasate's "Navarra" for Two Violins and Mozart's Symphony No. 40. Call 412-392-4900 for tickets of $15-$27.

Wednesday

The U.S. Air Force Reserve Jazz Ensemble will play a free concert at 7 p.m. at Butler County Community College. The 13-person ensemble features musicians who have performed for American and foreign dignitaries and who can play everything from Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington to Beethoven and Mozart.

You have to love the play on words in the first part of the book title. "Radio Active: Advertising and Consumer Activism, 1935-1947." It's by Kathy M. Newman, an associate professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University, and she will read from it at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the Waterfront.

Thursday

"Terrors by the Lake." Sounds like a movie, doesn't it? It's actually a haunted house off Pearce Mill Road in North Park (head for the boat house), with proceeds benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania. It's $10 unless you get a coupon at www.terrorsbythelake.com, which has the devilish details.

Friday

Wander through Market Square, you'll find more than the usual pigeons and working stiffs reluctant to return to their Dilbert-like cubicles. Fire-eaters, balloon artists, living statues, musicians and dancers will busk, or perform for tips, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a documentary crew will record the action.

Movie madness continues, with another half-dozen or so opening. Among them: A remake of "Shall We Dance?" with Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism."

Prime Stage, 937 Liberty Ave., selects productions with families in mind, and this year's theme is "bringing literature to life." It starts with "Tuck Everlasting," adapted from Natalie Babbitt's novel. Call 412-394-3353 or go to www.primestage.com.

The Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic pays homage to its longtime trumpet professor, Anthony L. Pasquarelli, in a 9:30 p.m. world premiere of a trumpet concerto by Drew Fennell of Natrona Heights. "The concerto celebrates his career as the most sought-after freelance trumpeter in Pittsburgh for the better part of 50 years, his devotion to his family (including his extended family of trumpet students), and the great success of his teaching studio at CMU," says Fennell. David Gedris solos and Fennell conducts the piece at the College of Fine Arts on CMU's Oakland campus. Tickets, $4 and $5.

Saturday

Pack up the pooch (and his leash) and head for the Pittsburgh Pet Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The two-day affair -- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. this day, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday -- will feature a pet parade, costume competition and the chance to see America's best Frisbee dogs, Morris the cat and Mr. McFeely and his dog, Gus. Admission is $8 for adults, with children 12 and younger admitted free. Call 412-919-8502 or go to www.Pitts-burghPetExpo.com for information on free admission (requiring a Giant Eagle receipt with certain products) and other details.

The Fall Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will celebrate the bounty of the harvest with topiaries, chrysanthemums, grasses and other plants. The show runs through Nov. 7. Details: 412-622-6914; www.conservatory.org.

Houston Fotofest 2004, one of the country's most prominent photography venues, will be the focus of a 10 a.m. talk at Silver Eye Center for Photography, South Side, by Linda Benedict-Jones, executive director of Silver Eye and participant in the Texas event. Admission is $16, $12 for members and students. Reservations recommended; call 412-431-1810.

Next Sunday

If you are lucky or stubborn enough to still own a working turntable and have never abandoned the rich sound of vinyl, the Pittsburgh Record Convention will be held at the Radisson Hotel Greentree, off Mansfield Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $3, with children age 12 and under admitted free.

Who knew laundry and lint could be so much fun? In "Colorfast," which combines puppets and comical musical theater, a 12-year-old lands in the magical land of Lintville. Giant puppets made of memories and lint, along with talking laundry and animated appliances, come to her aid in this world premiere that's part of the Pittsburgh International Children's Theater. It opens at 2 p.m. at Monroeville's Gateway Middle School and then closes at the Byham Theater Oct. 25. Tickets, 412-321-5520.

Nothing makes a girl feel better than a special delivery named Oscar. Joan Crawford was ailing in bed the night she was named Best Actress for "Mildred Pierce." Her victory was quite the tonic. She donned a coffee-colored negligee and received guests, including a photographer who snapped her in bed with the golden boy named Oscar. "Mildred Pierce," as a hardworking mother with a bratty daughter, plays at 8 p.m. at Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Ave., Edgewood.