Friday, Sep. 18, 2009

What's going on this weekend?

“It’s time to start running!”

Not yet, though. Before you mentally prepare yourself for a grueling, tiresome, intense run through these dirty Columbus streets, treat yourself to a night of madcap hilarity.

Or instead, just go to H2O Friday night. You can check out the Budweiser Battle of Bands, with music starting at 10 p.m. Or, you can show up at 7 p.m. for poker, which happens Tuesday through Friday at the nightlife hot spot at 6499 Veterans Parkway.

Don’t imbibe too much, though. You’ve got to be at the inaugural HIV/AIDS Walk at 8 a.m. Saturday. The event lasts from 8 a.m. to noon, though the gun won’t fire until 9 a.m.

Be at the Columbus Riverwalk, behind Rotary Park, in time to register.

Afterward, cool down and start thinking about your preparations for the autumn equinox. It’s at 5:18 p.m. EDT Tuesday, but you can pull that wooden folk art scarecrow out of storage on Sunday and stick him in the front yard. Later, pick up some of those garbage bags with jack ‘o lantern designs, so you can fill them with fallen leaves.

-Alan Riquelmy

Save a horse, ride a cowboy

Something tells me it's been way too long since you last bonded with a mechanical bull. Change that this weekend by attending the 21st Annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo in Harris County.

The rodeo is Friday and Saturday at Mike Tracy Arena on Highway 116 — 1 mile east of Hamilton. Gates open at 6 p.m., rodeo starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $6-$12. Call 706-573-2479.

Saturday, hit up one of the many local venues airing the UFC fight. Trust me, ladies: Nothing gets the party started like swimming in a sea of aggression and testosterone.

I recommend Scruffy Murphy's, 1037 Broadway, where fight coverage begins at 9 p.m. It will be followed by a performance by Pipers Down. Cover is $10, and includes free hot wings during the fight.

Wrap up the weekend by watching the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards at 8 p.m. on CBS. After the MTV VMA debacle, it'll be a nice reminder that well-mannered — read: boring — awards shows exist.

-Sonya Sorich