Thank baby Jesus if you're a kid today. Get down on your scabbed knees and rejoice that you have cool stuff for your parents to take you to. When I was a kid, my parents dutifully took me to the circus. Hot and smelly animals and carnies who wanted to hold your hand were the backdrop for the family day out back then. But today, you can enter a veritable time machine: go back in time and see a dinosaur in Walking with Dinosaurs. First came the BBC documentary, which used cutting-edge computer-generated imagery to recreate prehistoric times. An Emmy-winning miniseries combining science, art and a healthy amount of controlled imagination, it showed the Cretaceous, Triassic and Jurassic periods through the eyes of dinosaurs. Now the dinosaurs have come to life onstage in a touring event that stops at the Q this weekend: More animatronics, less spliced genes.

Walking with Dinosaurs' head puppeteer, Australian Matt McCoy, learned the secrets of the trade as the son of a puppeteer. He cut his teeth on Jim Henson's Farscape, the Upside Down Show and much more. Given the reins of the $20 million "voyage of discovery," McCoy says he handpicked "the best of the best fabricators in the world. We have a Star Wars exhibition going on across the street, and oddly enough, a lot of our guys were at one time involved with things like Star Wars and The Matrix. We were lucky enough to assemble a super team of professionals."

The dinosaurs are a system of delicate breakthrough robotic technology, basically your "remote control car multiplied by one million." The puppeteers are located roughly 65 feet from the stage with their buttons and switches that control the blinking eyes and snapping jaws. Some parts require actors to be in high-tech, 80-pound suits. Once inside the dino body, the actor is in charge of neck movement, eyes, mouth and sounds. The show also utilizes a "voodoo rig," an articulated arm allowing instantaneous dino response. And with 15 dinosaurs weighing roughly a ton and a half, and 52 feet high, you don't just toss them in the back of a van; it takes 26 trucks and 65 crew members.

All of this has been worked into a Broadway-type theatrical event. "The lighting board looks like the mother ship; no expense is spared," says McCoy. "In tight economic times, you want more bang for your buck. I think we delivered that. A show where a brontosaurus is staring you in the eyes - it's just ... immeasurable." Since we were pressed for time, I didn't have time to ask what are the most "inappropriate" gestures the puppeteers made the dinosaurs do. Because you know they do ... butt-sniffing, middle finger talons ... ah, the possibilities. Walking with Dinosaurs is at the Quicken Loans Arena at 7 p.m. tonight, tomorrow and Friday; at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $31.50-$71.50. Call 216.241.2121 or go to ticketmaster.com. — Jara Anton

THURSDAY, JUNE 19

Coventry Street Fair

The popular Coventry Street Arts Fairs return for three summer evenings of low-key hanging-out on the Coventry Village shopping strip in Cleveland Heights, starting from 6-9 tonight. Coventry Road from Euclid Heights to Mayfield will be closed to cars and open to strollers, street musicians, vendors, information booths, artists and craftsmen, art projects sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Art and performances by the Something Dada comedy group and roots/folk group Vital Mines. Come out, bring your dog, buy dinner from a local merchant and eat it outside in the fresh air. Stop by Mac's Backs (1820 Coventry Rd.) and have Harvey Pekar sign one of his books, available at the store. Future fair dates: July 17 and Aug. 7. — Anastasia Pantsios

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

Carl Pope

Before environmental causes became the issues du jour, with discussions of global climate change, renewable energy and ending our oil dependency, the 116-year-old Sierra Club was leading the way. Under Carl Pope, its executive director for 30 years, it's undertaken such heroic measures as suing to pull the veil of secrecy from Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, convened in the administration's early days to formulate US energy policies. Pope will speak about the environmentally friendly economy we need to create at the City Club of Cleveland (850 Euclid Ave., 216.621.0082) at noon. Tickets are $18 members, $30 non-members and include lunch. Call the City Club at least 24 hours in advance for reservations. — AP

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

Pride parade and festival

There's no party like Cleveland Pride, celebrating its 20th anniversary. The festive parade, featuring bands, floats and marching groups, steps off from West 3rd and Rockwell at noon and proceeds to the festival site at Voinovich Park at East 9th and the lake for a 1 p.m. rally. The partying in the park starts at noon and continues until 9 p.m. with eclectic entertainment on three stages including earnest singer-songwriter Ferron, intriguingly paired with young rocker Bitch, comedian Ian Harvie, pop/R&B vocalist Dario and Cleveland's own Blazing River Freedom Band, closing with a multi-artist Pride 20 tribute on the main stage. There's a food court, DJs, dancing and lots of vendors and information booths. Or you can just sit by the water and hold hands with your honey, knowing no one will be judging the gender of your chosen partner. — AP

Train Day

Just think: If the mentalities behind Train Day, at the Cleveland Metroparks CanalWay Visitor Center (off East 49th between Canal and Grant avenues) had prevailed in the real world, the cost of gasoline currently raping every car owner wouldn't be an issue. Steam and diesel and flat-track railways helped build this country before the auto industry and Big Oil, and Train Day is devoted to the lore of both model trains and the full-sized variety. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and the attractions include vantages not only of full-sized trains with rolling stock passing on the bridge and trestle nearby, but also elaborate Lionel engines and H0-gauge layouts. There will be train crafts, a hobo trail, music by the Tabloid Twangers and a miniature kiddie railroad. Except for a small charge for a children's train ride, it's free. For info call 216.206.1000. — Charles Cassady Jr.

Mulberry Creek Herb Fair

Mulberry Creek Farm (3312 Bogart Rd., Huron) is a family-run certified organic farm and greenhouse in a town scenically located on the route to Cedar Point and the Erie Islands. If you're passing through — or just feeling in a particularly herb-an contemporary mood — you should know about the annual Herb Fair there from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and noon-5 p.m. tomorrow. Expect vendors, lessons and workshops in planting fairy gardens, brewing herbal liqueurs and making pasta - this last tying in with the theme of Herb Fair 2008, the spices and cuisine of Italy's Tuscany region. There will be an Italian buffet, dancing and music, recreation and, of course, recipes, embracing cannoli, antipasti, eggplant, calamari pizzelles and gelato. Admission is $5 (includes free herb); children are free. Call 419.433.6126. — CC

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25

ACLU Brown Bag lectures

Learn more about your US Constitution and the rights it allegedly guarantees (someone tell George Bush!). The ACLU is sponsoring a series of Brown Bag lectures from noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 6. Today, Dr. Dorothy Salem will talk about contributions of African-American women to the civil rights movement. The free lectures are at the Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center (4506 Chester Ave.). Drinks and desserts will be provided to go with your lunch. Call 216.472.2220 or go to acluohio.org for info. — AP