SATURDAY, NOV. 27, 2010 >>>

1. The other white meat: Ignore the naysayers and the uninitiated who lump pigeons together with squirrels and rats.  From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., more than 200 pigeon loyalists will group hug at the Puyallup Fairgrounds to compare feather adornments or race at the Northwest Winter Pigeon Classic, all in the name of identifying and extolling the most ideal birds.  Weekly Volcano music columnist Bobble Tiki will be there, too. He'll be the one with the box, stick and string. 

2. With no discernable positive qualities other than dimples and rock-hard abs, Mario Lopez, who still manages to live a life of D-List celebrity, will be at the South Hill Mall in Puyallup for a meet and greet with fans from 1-3 p.m. Lopez will be joined by his wife, Courtney Mazza, which makes a lot of sense since she's the by-default co-star of Mario's new VH1 reality series Saved by the Baby. Get it? Because he used to be A.C. Slater? Get it?

3. Guaranteed to be the hautest handbag event of the year, artist Lynn Di Nino  curates Bags With Purse-onality, a group invitational show at Sandpiper Gallery through Dec. 31. Kay Dallal, Marse Lear, Di Morgan-Graves, Elayne Vogel and Chris Wooten have created purses, handbags and totes with wearable sculpture in mind, and they host a preview party from 2-5 p.m. Bagnificent!

4. Some things simply beg for parody. In the case of many movies made during the ‘60s and ‘70s, that meant Mad magazine's adaptation overtook any memory of the films' realities. Remember opening the pages to the sight of Julie Andrews as Maria in The Sound of Music skipping toward the hapless reader, suitcase in hand, dirndl skirt afloat, ready to sing her little heart out? So like the original ad for the 1965 film, but somehow ... crazier. The singing family, the feel-good anti-Naziism - what kind of culture would produce such a thing? Welcome to the distilled reality of "Sing-a-Long Sound of Music." What began as a Rocky Horror-style wheeze in England has become an international phenomenon, complete with subtitled song lyrics so that each and every audience member can be a von Trapp for a day. Hitch on your lederhosen and frolic down to the Pantages Theater at 3 p.m. and twirl. The annual downtown Tacoma Christmas tree lighting will follow at 6 p.m. just outside the Pantages.

5. Comedian Marc Price performs at 8 p.m. inside the Tacoma Comedy Club. Yes, it's Skippy.

LINK: It's Art at work month!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound