Where: Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Avenue, 63103

Starts: 7:00 PM 

It's time for the annual Budweiser Guns 'N Hoses event! If you haven't made this a Thanksgiving Eve tradition by now, it's not too late.

Since 1987, St. Louis area firefighters and police officers come together one night a year to go head to head and box 17 rounds for BackStoppers, a foundation that helps support the families of fallen public servants. 

The night also includes a ceremonial “10 Count” honoring area police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty since last year’s event. 

Crowds for the event have reached up to 20,000 per event and in it's 20 years, Guns 'N Hoses has raised over $2.3 million dollars through individual and corporate sponsorship.

With the next day being one of the biggest days to lounge around and nurse a hangover, what better way is there to spend one of the biggest party nights of the year? 

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster and start at $17.50. 

Who will prevail this year? Firefighters or police officers? Either way, I would expect the excitement of any boxing match, without the ear biting.

I definitely suggest Home Nightclub as a destination for a great experience, but ladies, if you have to go it alone, take these pointers to heart. Most women won't venture out into nightlife without and escort or group of lady friends, but sometimes you gotta get out even if it means flying solo. It's all about the music to me, but other people make their own assumptions and this is why you have to be ultra careful.

Whether you are going out with friends, looking for a date, covering an event,or just letting off some steam, there are some things you should remember while strutting the town.

1. Be careful about your drink. Never set it down for a second...if you do, consider it a goner. You never know what people might be willing to do. Honestly, if you are going it alone you probably should not drink at all unless you have a cab coming.

2. Be aware of your body language. Whether men understand our language or not, a timid stance is just as good as an open invitation. How you hold yourself can deflect unwanted attention.

3. Club security is the key for the guy who will not take no for an answer. Approaching and engaging in a conversation with security can be helpful. If the situation calls for it, you can always ask to be escorted safely to your car.

4. Always let a friend or someone know that you are going out that night, in case of any rough situation and to make sure you made it home in one piece.

5. Carry a mini pepper spray or something to protect yourself in a bad situation. Taking your keys and holding them between your fingers is easy to do and can do some damage if needed.

This is not to say that my experience at Home was bad, it was just a good reminder of things that are crucial when enjoying a fab club. The atmosphere is great and I would recommend trying it out one weekend...it is a beautiful place that I enjoy enough to visit solo from time to time. Check out the pictures of the night (an my amateur photography) in the Gallery!

Beginning this evening with the opening reception of the "The $50 Show," Dan Jaboor, an award winning artist from O'Fallon, MO, will be Soulard Art Market & Contemporary Art Gallery's newest resident artist. The reception, which begins at 7pm, will feature work by a number of local artists that sold for below $50 including Jaboor's work.

Soulard Art Market & Contemporary Art Gallery is a non-profit art venture in the heart of Soulard that is maintained by a group of 13 local artists who specialize in a variety of visual art mediums such as jewelry, photography, painting, glass, and drawing. Jaboor's photographs and paintings, which have been recognized in a number of competitions, as well as his whimsical mixed media and sculpture pieces, will supplement the diverse collection of pieces on display at the gallery which focuses on promoting the work of local artistic talents.

"The $50 Show" is an art exhibition that allows visitors and art lovers in the city a chance to purchase gifts and pieces for their own collections from local artists for less than $50. If you miss tonight's reception, there will be another opening reception tomorrow night from 7pm until 10pm and the show will run through December 27th, giving you enough time to get unique last minute gifts for your favorite art lover.

Soulard Art Market & Contemporary Art Gallery is located at 2028 S. 12th Street, and is open Thursday and Friday from 6pm until 10pm, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm until 6pm.

If you decide to shell out the $150 a year for the Black Card , here is how your club-going experience will be enhanced at F15teen, Lush, Home, AM Lounge, Lure Nightclub, Moon, Sugar Lounge, Xes and Oz Nightclub:

• You never have to wait in line.
• You never have to pay a cover (up to $1,000 each year).
• Discounts on bottle service.
• You can bring a friend to share your VIP status.
• You can get a monthly newsletter with nightlife updates.
• Discounted limousine rates.
• Free T-Shirt

Personally, I hate waiting in lines, and I never have cash on me to pay for the cover charge. I'd much rather have already paid for all that ahead of time, and I'll gladly shell out some cash to avoid potentially waiting in line for hours at Home. "You don't have to be on the list, you are the list."

The List is only selling 500 of these babies, so get 'em while they're hot.

For those unaware, MST3K created what is now referred to as “movie riffing”.  It’s the act of watching a movie while simultaneously making fun of it.  Sure, we’ve been doing that for years.  But they found a way to get paid to do it; therefore, they’re better at it than we are. 

Cinematic Titanic will be appearing live at The Family Arena this Saturday.  And the one question that has been keeping area geeks awake at night since the show was announced (and I count myself among them) is: What movie will they be riffing?  Well, we finally have an answer.  Joel Hodgson finally revealed the title in a blog post this morning.  And the winner is…

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.  Yes, the classic film that introduced the world to the multi-talented Pia Zadora.  MST3K aficionados may recall that this movie has already been riffed upon.  Well fear not.  Here’s what Joel had to say:

This edition has completely different riffs from our MST3K version and also features several bonus minutes of the original movie that weren’t featured in the MST version. We thought it would be a cool experiment to see what revisiting a movie after all these years would produce. Not to brag, but it’s likely to be the riff-jam of the year!

So there you have it.  Joel Hodgson has personally declared it the “riff-jam of the year”.  (You can read the whole announcement here.)  Trust me, the geek-o-sphere has reached DEFCON 4 levels of jealously over the fact that St. Louis gets to experience Cinematic Titanic’s first ever re-riffing of an MST3K movie.  It’s truly a ballsy move.  Other MST3K alums have engaged in post-MST3K riffing.  But none have ever had the intestinal fortitude to revisit past glory quite so directly. 

Since the Cinematic Titanic version of Santa Claus Conquers The Martians hasn’t been released on DVD yet, click [tab:video] to see a free sample of their most recent release: Legacy Of Blood.

Also, they just announced Dave (Gruber) Allen as “Todd Carlin -Warm-up Artist” will be opening the show.  Gruber's credits include guest appearances on "Mr. Show with Bob and David," "Freaks and Geeks," "NewsRadio," "Tenacious D," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Real Time with Bill Maher," "Frasier," "King of the Hill" and "The Gilmore Girls."  He is probably best known from his Comedy Central shows “Higgins Boys and Gruber” and most recently “The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show” on which he played The Naked Trucker. 

• The Jive and Wail in Maplewood will have their dueling pianos going all night and they are giving away three trips to Jamaica for the Sexiest, Scariest, and Best Overall Costumes.

• Home Nightclub in St. Charles will have live DJ's and will also be giving away $2,000 to the costume selected by "celebrity judge" Cousin Itt from The Addams Family

  

• Morgan Street Brewery on the Landing is having a costume contest with prizes for the top five finishers

• Tin Can Tavern and Grille in South City will have live music all evening and will be giving away $100 for the best costume of the evening.

• Lure Nightclub in downtown will have live DJ's and a costume contest with a chance to win $1,000 in cash.

Okay - so maybe it won't pull your wallet completely out of the trenches of the recession, but winning one of these contests could put sizable dent in a bill or two or get you out of the country if things are really that bad.  All you have to do is show up in a rocking costume and have a good time.  Plus, wouldn't it be kind of cool to see Cousin Itt?

• The St. Louis Art Museum is featuring artist Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning in exhibition Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art 1940-1976. The exhibit runs now until January 11, 2009. In case the names don't ring a bell, Pollock is the splatter painter guy...

  

  and de Kooning was another abstract guy that basically took what Picasso did and went a little more... well, abstract. There are a number of other abstract American artists being featured in the exhibit as well, and if anything this is a chance to see works first hand from artists whose names are bandied about art schools like a beach ball at spring break.


• Laumeier Sculpture Park's exhibition, Artistically Incorrect: The Photographs and Sculptures of John Waters, is also running now through January 11. Waters might be better know for directing cult classics like Hairspray, Crybaby, and Pecker, and if you like his films then you will love the cult-kitsch of his artwork. The exhibit has a lot of pop-cultural references making it fun, funny, and accessible.

Though you have until January to check these exhibits out, with the holidays coming now would be a good time to get in and increase your Art-Q at two great, local art institutions.

The St. Louis Art Museum, located in Forest Park, is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am until 5pm, with extended hours until 9pm on Fridays. Admission museum is free and the exhibit will cost $6 daily and is free on Fridays.

Laumeier Sculpture Park's indoor gallery, located at 12580 Rott Road, is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am until 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm until 1pm. Admission to the gallery is free.

Heading to the corner bar and grill for a weekly trivia is a fun and cheap night out, and a lot of people make it a weekly event. Do you remember that know-it-all friend we were talking about? Well, they become your hero by helping the team score free booze and food for winning. Here are some places around town that host free, weekly trivia nights with prizes for the winners:

Tuesday Nights

• Stella Blues: 8pm-10pm
• O'Leary's: 8pm-10:30
• Trueman's Place West: 7:30pm-9:30pm

Wednesday Nights

• Llwellyn's Pub CWE: 9:30pm-12am
• Mike Duffy's Richmond Heights: 10pm-12am
• Syberg's Westport: 8:30pm-10pm

Like a charity trivia night, the weekly trivia night works best when you have a team of five or more people to answer questions and to help put away the free food and drinks that are given out as prizes. Tables tend to fill up about an hour before the start time so it is usually a good idea to get there early to warm the seats and save your team a spot.

Though it isn't the cheapest bar this side of the Mississippi, the drink prices at Par Lounge are pretty reasonable compared to many other watering holes in the city. Martinis run in the neighborhood of $6, and a domestic brew only sets you back a few bucks a pop. They offer a modest menu consisting of mini pizzas and a few appetizers that are pretty tasty. But don't let the paper dinnerware or limited menu fool you; the food is higher quality than you would expect from a bar sans a full kitchen. The pizzas aren't run of the mill freezer treats and there wasn't an inordinate amount of grease to slop up - making Par Lounge, what I would consider, the home of the best bar snacking this side of a full pub and grill.

Having a name like Par Lounge, you half expect to find the walls to be plastered with wooden plaques inscribed with golfer's prayers and covered with antique clubs and bags. Instead you find a simple and clean spot with a beautifully carved, full wooden bar and elegant, but not stuffy, decor. From any leather couch or bar table in the room you can see one of two well appointed flat screens, which are usually tuned to local sports. Par Lounge is a nicer bar without being stuffy or pricey, and is definitely "on par" with some of my favorite spots in the city.

Par Lounge is located at 1001 McCausland in the Hi-Pointe building. Their hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday from 7pm until 1:30am.

If you're looking for something fun to do in the next couple of weeks that is non-Halloween-related (Am I the only one burned out already?), this play might be a nice change of pace.

From October 24 to November 9, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will be presenting "Evie's Waltz" at the Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves. The play comes courtesy of Carter W. Lewis, who also wrote "Women Who Steal" and "Ordinary Nation."

The drama, which happens to be making it's world debut right here in St. Louis, takes place at a backyard barbecue. Gloria and Clay have to deal with their son after he's expelled for bringing a gun to school. But where it gets interesting is when the son's girlfriend, Evie, crashes the family's barbecue and instigates a volitile conversation - all the while, her boyfriend is holding them all hostage in the backyard with the same gun he got suspended for. Even though I just wrote it, even I'm having trouble trying to keep up with that brief synopsis, so I think it's one of those things I'm going to have to see to understand.

To listen to an interview with Magan Wiles, who plays Evie in the play (and also bears a striking resemblance to Juno), click the [tab:video].

Safety and sleep concerns shouldn't cause parents to confine celebrating the season of fake warts and bed sheets painted with magic marker eyes to classroom parties though. There are a few fun and safe events St. Louis parents and kids can go to for trick-or-treating and Halloween fun:

• Take the kids to visit The Magic House from October 24-26 for the Not So Haunted House. Kids can enjoy trick-or-treating and collecting autographs from storybook characters.
• Head to the Zoo between 5:30-8:30pm October 17-30 for Boo At The Zoo Nights, and this Saturday kids can enjoy Boo At The Zoo's Spooky Saturday with trick-or-treating from 9am-1pm, a costume parade at 4pm, and crafts all day.
• If you are out in the St. Charles area bring the kids down to visit local businesses and Trick or Treat on Main Street from 3pm-5pm Halloween night, or for something a little different grab a blanket and head to the lawn of the Missouri State Capitol Historic site for "Monsters and Marshmallows," between 7pm-9pm there will be costume parade, S'More making, story time, and goody bags to take home.

But back to this no trick-or-treating thing...

Milo's offers patrons reasonably priced traditional drinks and brews (leave the foo-foo drink orders at the door), a relaxed atmosphere, and food served in white and red checked paper boats befitting of a bar with a strong Italian heritage. I recommend the roast beef sandwich, a great pick if you aren't in the mood for the great pizza they serve.

This weekend Milo's is hosting their annual Risotto Cook-Off. For a five dollar donation to benefit St. Ambrose School, you can try Risotto entries from eight chefs. Home cooks and professionals enter the yearly competition for the title of our city's Best Risotto. A People's Choice Award and a Judge's Choice Award are selected from the entries. Last year Tony Catarniccia, head chef a Gian Tony's, won the judges choice award. The Risotto Cook-Off starts at 1pm.

Milo's Tavern and Bocce Garden is located at 5201 Wilson Ave in the heart of The Hill. They are open daily from 11am until 1am. Since the bar is nestled in the neighborhood, the bocce garden and patio close at 11pm but socializing and imbibing continues inside. Parking can be a little tricky but with some patience and a couple of loops you can find street parking (the earlier you start the evening the better).

With our newly expanded knowledge of hops and barley brews, we are primed to attend this Saturday's Bar Bounce to benefit Angel's Arms. Crawlers register online prior to the event and meet at noon at the South Broadway Athletic Club. The bounce ends at 9pm at the same location. You need to gather a minimum of eight booze-kin to form a team to troll the streets of Soulard in matching t-shirts with you. It's kind of like the Biggest Loser - but with beer in place of treadmills and wristbands instead of heart monitors - which makes it way better.

This is the third year the Junior Board of Angel's Arms has hosted the Bar Bounce and 100% of the proceeds go to the organization. It is a opportunity to check some great Soulard bars while supporting a charity devoted to improving the lives of local families and children. ToastedRav.com and Bonneville Radio are sponsors of this year's Bar Bounce, and we hope you will be able to bounce out to support the cause, too!

It's a-MAZE-ing! Despite being in my mid-20’s, I was one of the first people barreling through a sea of children and families to the ticket window for the kickoff of the Great Godfrey Haunted Maze Spooktacular in Godfrey, Illinois. (Thankfully, no children were actually harmed by my barreling.) 

This is my second time visiting the 7-acre maze during the Halloween season, and it did not disappoint. Though we were not the typical crowd a corn maze would host, our group of adults proved to be a great night of fun and child-like adventure.

The Great Godfrey maze has three phases to venture (although the website is being modest by listing only two.) The first maze has a fair amount of dead-ends and traps. We put our heads together and found our way to the end in about 30 to 40 minutes.

One great part about the first maze is the bridge, where you can look over the entire cornfield. It is a great place to star gaze and if you have a photographic memory, cheat the labyrinth a little for a faster exit.

The second phase of the maze is better suited for the extremely patient. According to the employees, it is more advanced and puzzling than the first or third. I took the employees word for it and skipped it. I have a poor sense of direction was not wanting to feel like a complete lab rat.

The third phase was the haunted maze, and judging from the crowd that was lined up, it was the reason for coming out to the maze. Inside, it was saturated with strobe lights, Halloween décor, spooky music and plenty of costumed employees jumping out of nowhere to scare you half to death. The maze can obviously last as long as you like, but the average simpleton will probably conquer it in about 45 minutes.   

The Great Godfrey Maze is really a place for children, as mini train rides, sand pits, and tractor pulls are available for play. But, if you are an adult and ask politely, the nice folks driving the giraffe trains will let you hop in for a photo-op. (Say "Hi!" to our good friend, Mandi, below! She's going to get me for posting this.) 

$1 off coupons are available online, making the cost to enter the maze only $5 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are free. The haunted maze is only open for a limited time, see the Godfrey Maze website for specific dates and times. 

If you do make the trip out to Godfrey, make the most of the drive and visit its sister city of Alton. The town is notorious for its walking ghost tours during the Halloween season. 

If you are completely obsessed with Fall culture like I am, the maze is one stop that should definitely go on the October itinerary. 

ZooQuest is one part trivia, one part scavenger hunt, but instead of virtual globe-trotting as an ACME agent or driving around the countryside like a madman fighting with your spouse, teams of 2-4 people will scour the Zoo grounds to solve math and word problems to compete for prizes. To win the fabulous prizes, teams have to earn points by correctly answering Zoo related questions. There are also chances to earn extra points with I-spy activities and other trivia questions as the game progresses. Prizes will be awarded based on the number of points acquired during the quest. Call me a dork, but this sounds like a lot of fun.

Registration for the event is open until October 31st and costs $30 per team for Zoo Friends members or $35 per team for non-members. All proceeds from the event will benefit the St. Louis Zoo's programs. This is the first time for the ZooQuest event, but they hope to make it a semi-annual event. So get your team together, submit your registration before the deadline, and try to get that song out of your head!