John Heller, Post-Gazette The city, including PPG Place, will brighten up for Light Up Night, officially kicking off the holiday season.

SPARKING UP

"Let there be light."

The Lord said that.

"Let there be shopping."

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership said that and Friday, with the help of Duquesne Light, they power up the bulbs for the annual Evening of Illumination, otherwise known as Light Up Night, an early warning that six weeks from now the tree in the corner will have to be surrounded by packages.

Light Up Night features the arrival of Santa Claus, tree-lighting ceremonies, fireworks, the sound of jump-blues and the unveiling of the Kaufmann's, oops, the Macy's windows.

	Norfolk & Western comes all the way from Portland, Ore., to play Club Cafe tonight. Click photo for larger image.

Here are the highlights:

11 a.m.: The Rink at PPG Place opens.

4-9 p.m.: Market Square Happenings: Performance by Five Guys Named Moe (7-8:30 p.m.), vendor booths, inflatables and more.

5 p.m.: CLO Mini-Stars at PPG Plaza; Jumpin' Jack Flash, Rolling Stones tribute band, at PPG Place Food Court.

5:30 p.m.: Tribute of Light Ceremony/PPG Plaza Tree Lighting.

5:45 p.m.: One Oxford Centre Tree Lighting.

6:15-7 p.m.: CBS Radio Santa Spectacular Show, Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street.

7 p.m.: Macy's Window Unveiling.

Super Hero Holiday Stage Show, Station Square Drive, Main Stage.

9 p.m.: Macy's Fireworks Finale with Duquesne Light's Tree of Lights Illumination, Commonwealth Place and Penn/Eastbound Liberty (next to Hilton Pittsburgh).

Saturdays in the city will feature free horse-drawn carriage rides departing from The Rink at PPG Place from noon to 3 p.m. and free Dollar Bank Holly Trolley service (Nov. 18 and 25 and Dec. 2, 9, 16 and 23).

The 26th annual "Celebrate the Season" Parade is Saturday, Nov. 25 at 9 a.m.

For more info, call 412-566-4190 or go to www.downtownpittsburgh.com.

Putting a little extra excitement in the Downtown shopping choices Friday night is the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Holiday Marketplace. It includes a wreath show and raffle with dozens of custom-crafted, creative wreaths using corks, shells, toys and even breakfast foods. Visitors can purchase raffle tickets for $5, $10 and $20 and enter to win their favorite wreaths. It raises funds for the EDMC Education Foundation, which awards scholarships to Art Institute students. It runs from 6 to 10 p.m.

SWING TIME

It's looking like a lost weekend for swing dancers. If you know one, you won't even see them till Monday. PittStop Lindy Hop VI begins at 8 p.m. Friday and rolls on with only a few breaks until Sunday night at 11. Here is the schedule:

Friday: New Legacy Jazz Band from Baltimore at the Catalyst Building (formerly Schoolhouse Yoga), Lawrenceville, 8 p.m. to midnight ($5); Marc Bodell Trio at Wightman Community Center, Squirrel Hill, 1-5 a.m. ($10).

Saturday: Local and national DJs, IBEW, SouthSide Works, 1-5 p.m. ($10); Roger Humphries Band at IBEW, 8 p.m. to midnight ($20); Sweaty Betty Blues Band at Wightman, 1-5 a.m. ($10).

Sunday: Jimmy Sapienza's Five Guys Named Moe at Edgewood Club, Edgewood, 1-5 p.m. ($10); Boilermaker Jazz Band featuring Jennie Luv at Bulgarian-Macedonian Cultural Center, West Homestead, 8-11 p.m. ($10)

Weekend pass is $65. Go to www.pittstoplindyhop.com or call 412-612-8001.

ALL WEEKEND

Back to the shopping -- the prices range from $2 to $20,000 at the ninth annual Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Among the highlights is an exhibit of rare, exotic pearls by Bailey, Banks & Biddle and Mikimoto, and fluorescent minerals from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. The show features gems and jewelry for the serious collector, information for enthusiasts, and activities for the family. It's free with museum admission. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, and is free with museum admission.

Carmen loves Joe, but Joe loves Cindy Lou. The results aren't pretty. The Pittsburgh Opera Theater takes on a classic tale of overheated passion, but rather than Bizet's "Carmen," this is "Carmen Jones," the Oscar Hammerstein Broadway version, sung in English. It's at the Byham at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $25-$70. Call 412-394-3353 or visit www.proartstickets.org.

A collection of assorted freaks from "The Howard Stern Show" take a field trip to Pittsburgh Friday and Saturday for three shows at Cefalo's Nightclub in Carnegie. The headliner is the Reverend Bob Levy, winner of "The World's Meanest Listener Contest" on the Stern show and a comedian who lives in his ex-wife's basement. He will be joined by Stern show staffers Sal "The Stockbroker" Governale and Shuli. Also on the bill are Ed McGonigal, a frequent guest on K-Rock's "Kidd Chris Show," and Cefalo's regular Sean Currey. Times are 8:30 p.m. Friday and 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25; $30 at the door.

The penguins are playing every day at the National Aviary, and the only goals are fun and educational ones. The Aviary has begun the Penguin Connection, a program that allows guests to sit in a circle with a trainer and interact with one of these Arctic birds, which star in the new film "Happy Feet." The hourlong program consists of 20 minutes of penguin contact time where guests will have the opportunity to touch the penguin and offer enrichment toys. Registration is limited to six people per day. It takes place daily from 3 to 4 p.m. and is open to adults and children age 6 and up. Cost per participant is $40, which includes general admission; children ages 6-14 must be accompanied by a participating adult. Guests who schedule a Penguin Connection between now and Dec. 31 pay $60 for two participants. To register, call 412-323-7235, ext. 209.

Storytellers are out in full force with a double night of tall tales on Tellabration weekend. StoryWorks presents Alan Irvine in a free session at the Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church, 4600 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville, at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Then, on Saturday at 8 p.m., some of the city's top storytellers will present an evening of comedy, mystery, music and romance at Shadyside Academy's Hillman Center for the Performing Arts in Fox Chapel. Larry Berger, host of WYEP radio's "The Saturday Light Brigade," will be the master of ceremonies for folktales and personal stories from Ireland, Scotland, Haiti, southern Utah, and the Czech Republic, presented by StorySwap, the Pittsburgh Storyteller's Guild. It is best suited for preteens to adults. Call 412-258-2700.

TODAY

"This event is for ladies only." So there it is. Guys, you can't go see the Chippendales, as much as you would have wanted to. This is Ladies Lock-Up Night at Red Star Tavern, Station Square, from 6 to 11 p.m. with the internationally renowned male revue based in Las Vegas and New York City. Along with the dancing hunks, there will be complementary manicures and hair designs and consultations provided by Fahrenheit 212 Salon from 7 to 9 p.m., and the Pittsburgh Melting Pot will provide chocolate fondue for VIP and Deluxe ticket holders. Tickets are $25; tables can be reserved for $200 to $400, and seat up to seven people. Call 412-394-1278.

For dancing with clothes on, the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre takes time out from its hectic schedule of plays for a night of partying. The PICT Fall Gala 2006 features music, exotic food and a silent auction at the 20th Century Club, Oakland. Call 412-561-6000, ext. 204, for details.

Fans of Luna, Sufjan Stevens and Iron & Wine and other lo-fi gems might want to check out Norfolk & Western, a group from Portland, Ore., that features members of M. Ward's band. The debut album is "The Unsung Colony," a set of understated, atmospheric pop with lots of space for the gentle vocals of Adam Selzer. They play Club Cafe at 7 p.m.

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts presents an Opening Reception & Book Release Party show with five new exhibitions from regional artists including Robert Dunn, the Pittsburgh Print Group, Bruce Woyt, Carol Brode & Kathleen Dlugos, and Ron Donoughe. Donoughe's exhibit uses the same title as his new book, published by PCA, "Essence of Pittsburgh: Paintings of Ron Donoughe in the Plein-Air Style." It runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Call 412-681-0873.

It's a jazz night at Garfield Artworks with Shot X Shot, a heady acoustic quartet from Philadelphia that balances the traditional with the experimental. It's at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7. Call 412-361-2262.

Harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens performs at the Omni William Penn Terrace Room as part of MCG Jazz at the Omni William Penn. Concerts are 7 and 9 p.m.; for dinner reservations, call 412-553-5235.

FRIDAY

The Frick Art & Historical Center has trimmed the tree and set an elegant table and now opens its seasonal installation at Clayton. This year, in a tie-in with "Off the Pedestal" at The Frick Art Museum, the holiday setting is inspired by women's roles in Gilded Age holiday preparations. Along with the beautifully furnished rooms and the dining room formality, visitors will notice a re-creation of a children's party, complete with paper dolls. It opens Friday and runs through Jan. 7. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Call 412-371-0600.

So how was The-Sopranos-meets-Six-Feet-Under version of "Romeo and Juliet" at the Pittsburgh Opera? PG critic Andrew Druckenbrod wrote, "Much of the action flowed naturally and the fact that you didn't know what was coming in such a familiar plot was half the fun." Of the two young singers, Lyubov Petrova as Juliet and Massimo Giordano as Romeo, he said, "In addition to being star-crossed lovers, both are star singers in the making." The opera continues at the Benedum at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 412-456-6666.

Tech N9ne, a Kansas City rapper who's been compared to Kanye West and OutKast, plays the Rex at 8 p.m. His songs appear in the film "Alpha Dog" and in the Madden video game series. Tickets are $20; 412-323-1919.

Donna the Buffalo brings the herd to Mr. Small's for a night of jubilant jam, combining roots rock, reggae, zydeco and whatever else they can think of. It's at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 to $20. Call 1-800-594-8499.

SATURDAY

The Carnegie Library opens its Black, White & Read All Over series with "the wiseguy of children's literature," Jon Sciezska. The former teacher and author of "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!" and his Caldecott Honor book "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" has a new book out called "Seen Art?," described as "a cheeky foray into the Museum of Modern Art." He will be at the Carnegie Lecture Hall,Oakland, at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $7, and there will be snacks.

The '90s live on in bands such as Papa Roach, back with a new record, "The Paramour Sessions," and bringing pummeling nu metal to Mr. Small's at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25. Call 1-800-594-8499.

The more artful metal can be found at the Brillobox in Bloomfield, where Brooklyn band The Big Sleep will rise up with a sound that's dark, driving and relentless -- and yet, kind of subtle, recalling My Bloody Valentine. The show is at 9 p.m. with This Present Expression, Chaibaba and The Chad Sipes Stereo. Call 412-621-4900.

SUNDAY

England's Tall Stories Theatre Company hits the Byham with "The Snow Dragon," a one-hour musical about a goat named Billy who borrows berries to attract a mythical dragon. It's at 2 p.m. Tickets are $9.50 to $11. Call 412-321-5520.

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