“The Runner Stumbles,” a play based on a priest’s 1911 trial for the murder of a

“The Runner Stumbles,” a play based on a priest’s 1911 trial for the murder of a nun, resumes its run at the Oakland Center for the Arts tonight at 8. The final two performances will be at 8 Friday and Saturday nights. The Oakland is at 220 W. Boardman St., downtown Youngstown. Call (330) 746-0404 for tickets.

The Butler Institute of American Art holds its first art auction in 15 years at 7:30 p.m. to raise money to update and reprint its catalog of paintings, sculpture and digital art. It’s a rare opportunity to see an art auction in Youngstown and it will include some fairly high-end pieces that should fetch tens of thousands of dollars. Tickets are $50 and include drinks and hors d’eouvres. Call the Butler at (330) 743-1107, ext.: 210

Saturday is Sweetest Day, the pseudo holiday that seems to be observed mainly in Northeast Ohio. To mark the occasion two days early, a Sweetest Day dance will be held tonight at Packard Music Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with a cash bar and complimentary refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. The Packard Concert Band will play big band music from 7 to 9. Admission is free. The hall is at 1703 Mahoning Ave., Warren. Call (330) 841-2619 for more information.

Comedian Tammy Pescatelli, right, a Cleveland native, returns to her Northeast Ohio roots this weekend for three shows at The Funny Farm in Liberty. Pescatelli, who was a finalist on “Last Comic Standing,” will do her act at 9 tonight and 7:30 and 9:30 Saturday night. Call (330) 759-4242 for tickets.

“Love Letters,” a dinner-theater production, opens at 6:30 tonight at the Youngstown Playhouse, with additional performances at 6:30 Saturday and 1:30 Sunday. It’s about a relationship between a man and woman that evolves over the years through a series of letters. Call (330) 788-8739 for tickets.

Here’s what’s playing at other community theaters:

“Quilters,” a celebration of the women who made America, opens at 7:30 tonight at New Castle Playhouse, 212 Long Ave., New Castle. Additional performances this weekend will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Call (724) 654-3437 for tickets.

Top Hat Productions’ “Once on This Island” will be performed at 8 tonight and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Fairview Arts & Outreach Center, 4220 Youngstown-Poland Road, Struthers; call (330) 755-6412.

Hop Skip and Jump Productions swings into action this weekend with the zany comedy, “The Bible — The Complete Word of God (Abridged).” It will be performed at 8 p.m. at the B&O Station, 530 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown. Call (330) 480-9859.

“The Tell-Tale Heart,” continues its run at Victorian Players Theater at 7:30 tonight and Saturday, midnight Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The theater is at 702 Mahoning Ave., across from Flynn’s Tires, near downtown Youngstown. Call (330) 746-5455 for tickets.

The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra opens its season — with superb violinist Rachel Barton Pine as guest soloist — at 8 tonight at Powers Auditorium. It will also mark the debut of new conductor Randall Craig Fleischer. Call (330) 744-0264 for tickets.

The world-renowned Duquesne University Tamburitzans will perform at 7 p.m. at Boardman High School’s Performing Arts Center, 7777 Glenwood Ave., Boardman. Call (330) 746-3936 for tickets.

Stage Left Players’ production of “Romeo and Juliet” opens at 8 tonight, with a matinee at 2 Sunday. Performances are at the Outreach Center, 234 E. Lincoln Way, Lisbon. Call (330) 424-5093 for tickets.

Stambaugh Auditorium’s musical brunch series kicks off at 11:30 a.m. today with “Afternoon of a Fawn,” featuring flutist Danielle Frabutt and pianist Jack Ciarniello. The event will be held at Christman Memorial Hall in the auditorium on Fifth Avenue. Call (330) 747-5175 for tickets.

The annual Pumpkin Walk at Twilight runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Fellows Riverside Gardens in Mill Creek Park. Jack O’Lanterns and harvest decorations will adorn the beautiful gardens. Call (330) 740-7116 for more information.

“Shackin' Up” is the latest offering from Je’Caryous Johnson, the writer of “Whatever She Wants.” The touring stage play — which comes to Powers Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tuesday — is about a woman who has everything but a husband. She decides to give marriage a test-drive by shacking up with her boyfriend, but it’s a move that doesn’t sit well with her mother. Call (330) 744-0264 for tickets.

Not too many people have heard of them, but Barrage generally leaves audiences marveling. Six virtuoso violinists form the core of the Canadian group that comes across like a high-energy mix of classical, bluegrass and Riverdance. Barrage will be at Packard Music Hall on Oct. 29. Call (330) 841-2931 for tickets.