Plus 3 more must-catch events

Frothy, golden beer, women in traditional Dirndls, long benches filled with boisterous , merry-making crowds, one-litre beer mugs.

For those who missed out on making that trip to Germany for its popular Oktoberfest celebrations, head to the Mahalaxmi Racecourse where the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce is bringing a slice of the fest to the city. While we heard that most of the tables set up in the air-conditioned, tented enclosure have been sold out, you can buy tickets on the spot for tables laid out in the beer gardens outside.

The spot entry charge (Rs 1,200) gets you full cover that you can redeem for beer. Catch the German band Die Oberbayernu00a0 (these guys land in the city after performing at the real Oktoberfest in Munich), binge on authentic Bavarian food and slush it down with beer from the brewery of Erdinger Wei br uu00a0-- the world's largest wheat beer brewery. Prost!

Artful move: from canvas to trunk

Till November 6
Where Tradition Art, Sanjay Plaza, Silver Beach, AB Nair Road, Juhu.
Call 26200691

If buying art was never up your alley because you didn't quite understand what to do with it once you hung it up, the FUNctional Art exhibition is where you should be this weekend.

Tradition Art Gallery, where the exhibition is housed, turns three and as part of their celebrations, the guys here have put up functional products of daily use like coasters, tables, stools and jewellery that have been painted by leading artists.

Check out handpainted barstools by Jagannath Paul, tablemats by Shola Carletti, scarves by Bhamini Subramaniam, masks by Lalitha Lajmi and Naina Kanodia. A dashing Rajnikanth makes his way atop a trunk while Bollywood stars can be seen smiling off boxes.

Says Bina Aziz, owner of the gallery, "Creating lifestyle products is a first for many of the artists. They have all worked on functional art products in order to make art more accessible and bring it into living spaces as products and accessories." Part of the proceeds from the exhibition go to Make A Wish Foundation.

Stop straying; grab bestsellers at throwaway prices

Till October 17, 10 am to 7 pm
where Garage of Vaswani Mansions, opposite KC College, Churchgate.u00a0

Flaunt a rare Joseph Conrad work with a printed photograph that reads 'Cordially Yours J. Conrad'. And while you are at it, do your bit for the city's strays. The Welfare Of Stray Dogs (WSD) has organised The WSD Book Bazaar of donated new and secondhand books, that will allow you to pick up fab copies at prices starting as low as Rs 10.

Browse through bestsellers of authors including PG Wodehouse, Dan Brown, Arthur Hailey, Sidney Sheldon, Agatha Christie, John Grisham and Robert Ludlum. For the mush balls who swear by Mills and Boon and Danielle Steel, there's a special Romance section. Proceeds from the book sales will go towards sterilisation of strays and rabies prevention programme.

Sign up for a deep blue experience

On Saturday, 5 pm to 10 pm
Where Dive Shop, Bungalow 14C, Boran Road, off Hill Road, opposite Elco Arcade, Bandra (W).
Call 65177384u00a0

If you are the sorts who has always wanted to explore the deep, mysterious ocean but just couldn't gather the guts to dive right in, head to the Dive Shop this weekend to take inspiration from experienced divers.

Find out what goes into learning this exciting sport, know some of the best diving spots around the world, get dope on new ventures and courses, listen to experienced divers talk of their gripping experiences and get a cool 10% to 15% off on the equipment.u00a0