There's a moment during a twelve-hour-plus booze-fest when the world is at peace. You start buying drinks for and giving out smokes to people you don't even know. And that's OK, because in this moment (before you argue Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative and start calling exes), you like -- no, love -- your fellow man. You, your friends, that creepy guy across the bar: You're all in this together. Wouldn't it be great if all this solidarity amounted to more than slurring, "Seriously, you guys, I love you!" Or better yet, what if simply going on a pub crawl advanced the greater good? Well, you're in luck, benevolent boozer: St. Louis Children's Hospital is the deserving benefactor of the fourth annual St. Pat's Charity Pub Crawl through Soulard. A $10 bracelet gets you cheapie food and drink specials all day -- and night -- long. Just like spring break in high school! The crawl starts at Joanie's Pizzeria (2101 Menard Street) at noon and ends at 1:30 a.m. at the Soulard Ale House (1732 South Ninth Street). Lightweights can join or leave the pub crawl at any time. But come on, stick it out -- it's for a good cause! Get a bracelet from a pub-crawl committee member at any scheduled stop, and to find out what the rest of the locales are, e-mail [email protected] or call 314-471-4612. -- Kristie McClanahan
Free Pi
Celebrating the enigmatic number
3.14159..., or pi for short, is a number seemingly without end. Mathematicians have spent years trying to compute the final digit past the decimal, and yet pi continues to extend forever beyond their grasp. Pi is very exciting in that regard -- so exciting, in fact, that the St. Louis Science Center (5050 Oakland Avenue; 314-289-4444) celebrates pi with three days of events (Saturday through Monday, March 12 through 14 -- 3/14, get it?). Kids learn about pi's tricky nature by trying to determine (through our friend mathematics!) which is more: two six-inch pizzas or one nine-inch pizza. There's also a pi trivia contest and a pi-related scavenger hunt that encompasses the whole of the Science Center. Participation in all pi activities is free; visit www.slsc.org for hours and more information. -- Paul Friswold
Nara's Gone
But CAMStL's still smokin'
FRI3/11
Although not familiar with the "smoking that Cheech and Chong" lyric in Ludacris' "Stand Up," Cheech Marin does know art. An avid collector and the major force behind Chicano (a multimedia art exhibition that's currently on a five-year tour), the actor makes a stop at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (3750 Washington Boulevard; 314-535-4660 or www.contemporarystl.org) for its Arts Desire event. During this fundraiser, Marin jokes, he'll "auction off celebrities," or more accurately, be a celebrity art auctioneer.
But sadly, everyone knows you're as broke as Cheech during most of his infamous movies. How can you afford to go to the $200-per-person gala? How can you buy any art? Easy: Go to the $25-to-$70 TRYST post-party, "Virtues and Vices." At this event, which runs from 9 p.m. to midnight, you can still hang with Cheech and participate in a live auction (albeit a smaller and cheaper version of the main event's auction) -- plus, you can dance to the virtuous DJ James Curd's set (see Critics' Picks on page 60 for more information) and drink free beer (a vice of yours, yes?). -- Alison Sieloff
Immigrant Song
The St. Louis Women's Chorale continues its tenth season with "Woman in a Strange Land: An Immigrant's Journey," performed at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (1413 North 20th Street) at 8 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday (March 12 and 13). During the multilingual concerts, the chorale expresses some of the homesickness immigrants experience, but it also explores the happiness newcomers feel about getting a second chance -- a happiness that St. Stan is probably longing for right about now. Call 314-371-6700 to purchase your $13 to $15 ticket. -- Alison Sieloff
