Best Bets/Hot Tickets

Best Bets/Hot Tickets
FRIDAY
* Buy some sausage and a cold beer at OompaPalooza-Oktoberfest from 5 to 11 at Pittsburgh Brewing Co., 3340 Liberty Ave., in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. Besides the German menu, there will be performances by Bob Hamilton, The Mad Bavarian; Alpen Schuplatters Dancers; and Pittsburgh All Stars Beatles' Tribute. The festival continues from 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Proceeds will go to the Lupus Foundation. Call (800) 800-5776 for information.
* Ticket sales will begin at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster outlets for concerts by country music singers Shania Twain, who will perform Oct. 18 at Gund Arena in Cleveland, and Lyle Lovett & amp; His Large Band on Nov. 3 at Benedum Center, Pittsburgh.
* That's not all that Ticketmaster will be taking orders for in the morning. Call if you want to see: Nickelback, Trapt and Three Days Grace, Oct. 28 at Rhodes Arena in Akron; pop-punk-Christian band MxPx, Oct. 11 at Cleveland Agora; eccentric rock band Primus, Nov. 12 at Cleveland Agora; comedian Jim Norton, Oct. 18 at Odeon in Cleveland; funk and R & amp;B-laced rock band Maroon 5, Nov. 3 at Odeon; Grammy-winning Nashville singer Shelby Lynne, Nov. 14 at Odeon; and Christian music artists Kirk Franklin and TobyMac, Nov. 1 at Lakewood Civic Auditorium.
* Order tickets after noon for these upcoming shows at Phantasy Theater, 11802 Detroit Ave., Lakewood: Stryper, on its first national tour in a dozen years, Oct. 10; Tex-Mex rockers Los Lobos, Oct. 19; rock band Ween, with its new CD "Quebec," Nov. 4; and The Shins with Broadcast Oblivion, Nov. 18. Call Ticketmaster.
SATURDAY
* Take a hayride, roast marshmallows over a fire and taste homemade apple butter at Sunset at the Farm, a family-friendly fall festival from 5 to 8 p.m. at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, state Route 46, Canfield. There also will be a cornfield maze, games and a train display by Western Reserve Modular Railroad Club. The musical show "Buckeye Bicentennial" by First String Trio will be at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Take blankets or chairs for seating around the campfire. Call (330) 702-3000 for details.
* Tickets will go on sale for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & amp; Bailey Circus shows from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2 at Gund Arena, downtown Cleveland. Animal trainer Mark Oliver Gebel will be back with his Bengal tigers, and motorcycle stunt riders will perform in something called The Globe of Death. Opening night tickets are $10. After that, tickets are $13.75 and $18.75, with some $10 tickets available for weekday evening shows. Call Ticketmaster.
* Left End returns to B & amp;B Backstage in Boardman for the next-to-last concert of the season. Left End, featuring lead singer Dennis T. Menace, was one of a few local bands in the 1970s to rise beyond the area's club scene, performing show-opening slots with J. Geils Band, Alice Cooper and others. Left End opened for Eddie Money in July at B & amp;B Backstage. This time, Left End is the headliner, with support from Rick McGee and the Roadhouse Rockers. Call the box office at (330) 758-1557 for tickets.
SUNDAY
* Here's your last chance to enjoy the 19th annual Western Reserve Classic Charity Horse Show in Perkins Park, off Mahoning Avenue, Warren. Horses of various breeds will be seen in show ring sessions at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.
NEXT WEEK
* Actors Javier Bardem ("Before Night Falls") and Penelope Cruz ("Vanilla Sky") are in the cast of "Live Flesh," a Spanish and French film by Pedro Almodovar that will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday in McKelvey Campus Center Theater at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa. It's the first in a five-film series. Admission is free, as is the popcorn and pop to be served in the student lounge before the show. Call (724) 946-7030 for details.
* Call Ticketmaster Wednesday if you intend to attend the fifth annual Rock Hall Ball at 8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland. Tickets are $40, and that includes two drink tickets, finger foods and costume contests. Entertainment will be by Aphrodesiatics and DJ Packy Malley, as well as psychics, tarot card and palm readers and a massage therapist.
AHEAD
* Two stars of "Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie," Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall, will perform at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday at Mountaineer Race Track & amp; Gaming Resort, Chester, W.Va. Both comedians are tied to country music: Foxworthy hosts a syndicated Top 25 hits radio program, and Engvall worked with Travis Tritt on the video for the title track of his "Here's Your Sign" recording. Tickets are $50 and $25. To buy them, contact Ticketmaster.
* Always topical and irreverent, Second City Cleveland will open its fourth comedy revue, "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Weapons of Mass Destruction," at 8 p.m. next Thursday at The Second City, 2037 E. 14th St., near Playhouse Square. Second City Cleveland's cast dares to imagine scenarios in which airline passengers become Presidential candidates and a guys' night out doesn't include beer. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursdays and at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Call Tickets.com to secure seats.