Weekend best bets

Some great things to do with your time this weekend.

By WILMA NORTON
Published April 14, 2006

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Enjoy the outdoors

Most festival planners are taking the weekend off. For group fun, catch one of the many area Easter Egg hunts or the Hernando County Fair, which gets under way today and runs through April 23 at the fairgrounds south of Brooksville. But the best bet for entertainment is to get outside - walk, bike, skate, garden, kayak or sit at the beach - and enjoy spring while it lasts.

Movie openings

If you must stay indoors, at least there are a couple of good movies opening today. Thank You for Smoking (R), starring Aaron Eckhart as a tobacco lobbyist, received an A- from St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall. Tsotsi (R), which last month won the Academy Award for best foreign language film, got an A from Persall. Also in theaters is The Wild, an animated Disney feature with a strong resemblance to DreamWorks' Madagascar. It rates just a C-, Persall says.

Listen to the music

Musical choices include the Alan Parsons Project, 8 p.m. today, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. $37.50-$60. (727) 791-7400. Juke Joint Kings, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. today, Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd. $11 (includes swing dance lesson). (727) 893-1070. 360, 8 p.m. Saturday, Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive. $10. (727) 587-6793. Against All Authority with Code, Brain Failure and Crime in Stereo, 7 p.m. Saturday, State Theatre, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. $8-$10. (727) 895-3045. Lil' Ed and the Imperials, 8 p.m. Saturday, Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa. $10-$13. (813) 977-6474.

- WILMA NORTON, Times staff writer