Sink your needle and thread into the highly acclaimed International Quilt Festival Friday-Sunday at the Duke Energy Center. Dating back to 1974, this epic festival of quilt design has been known to attract more than 55,000 people from around the globe during its fall show in Houston. View the latest showcase of products that deal with sewing, stitching, embroidering, knitting, artwork, patterns and more.  

Forget chicks in bikinis. Erase the excitement of "ladies" mud wrestling. It's time you really get your heart pumping as the Cincinnati Rollergirls whip into town Saturday for their first home game of the season. Prepare for a feast of thrashing as the girls aim to make it to the Women's Flat Track Derby Association championship and score at least 5,000 fans a game. You can expect more of the fishnet burns, hard-hitting and c-blocking that spectators have come to love in previous seasons.  

The weather in Cincinnati likes to keep residents on their toes. One day the sun will grace us with 60-degree temperatures, the next day we wake to frost on our windshields. It’s no longer wintertime but not quite spring, so what is there to do? The Civic Garden Center has the right ingredients to give you a jump-start on your springtime landscaping, fertilizing and composting.  

Check out some of the area's finest creations from 5-10 p.m. Saturday during "Art is Gay." This gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender art event is free and open to the public at Northside Tavern. You'll have the pleasure of viewing all mediums of art from more than 30 artists. The show and sale will include sculptures, paintings, photography, jewelry, pottery, drawings, fiber art and more.  

Give a dog the chance to have his day this Saturday from 6-10 p.m. at Receptions Loveland for Circle Tail Inc.'s Dinner, Art and Wine for Canines event. Start the evening off by clanking glasses during the Wines of the World Wine Tasting. Dabble in numerous wine selections while you browse the art exhibit and even have the chance to rub elbows with the featured artists.  

Get your intellectual juices flowing as you down cranberry mojitos and watch some of Cincinnati's finest models do a little turn on the catwalk at the Art, Cocktail and Fashion Happy Hour at Palomino. From 6-8 p.m. Thursday, show your support for Visionaries and Voices, the local nonprofit arts organization that provides extensive opportunities for artists with disabilities.  

Whether you’re looking at economic indicators, stagnant wages, the persistently high unemployment rate or the continued outsourcing of jobs overseas, it’s hard to quibble that America’s middle class has hit rough times. Local experts weighed in on the topic during a panel discussion Feb. 15 at an Avondale church. The event, “The Vanishing Middle Class in Cincinnati: Myth or Reality?”, was sponsored by the Woman’s City Club, a longtime civic organization.   

If you're looking for an excuse to drink Thursday, look no further. Get your rump over to Lunar nightclub 5-9 p.m. to commemorate CityBeat's annual Swizzle Bar Guide, a compilation detailing all the good, bad, delicious and ugly facts about where and why we drink in the area's best bar districts. Dance to the beats of DJs Benjamin Davis from Bad Veins and Yusef Quotah of You, You're Awesome as you enjoy complimentary Absolut, Palomino and Heineken.  

There are a few things you'll need to bring with you this weekend to have a good time at the Duke Energy Convention Center — thirst, a rather large bladder and a taste for excellence. Dubbed "The Best Party of the Winter," Cincy Beerfest returns for its fourth consecutive year of celebrating Greater Cincinnati's expanding home and professional brewing community. Each taster can sample 25 of the 172 beers available.  

Hit the New Year on all six-cylinders this year when you get your glad rags on and gather 'round Know Theatre's gin mill for the New Year's Eve Speakeasy Party. After you've decided which Fedora matches your Sheba's flapper dress, you'll want to be sure to show up at Know's underground door at 1120 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine. Once there, you must relinquish the password in order to enter the juice joint.