Straight out of Brooklyn come keyboardist Matt Johnson and drummer Kim Schifino, who will bring their two-person party to the Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m.. Tickets for this all-ages show are $17 in advance, $20 at the door. The synth-popping pair will be kicking off their fall North American tour with this Westcott Nation visit, which will include the planned November release of their new album titled Sidewalks (Fader), with current single “Cameras” already spun off the CD. For details, call 299-8886.

The Syracuse International Film Festival joins forces with The Redhouse, 201 S. West St., to present this entertaining 2007 Czech flick as part of the new Wine, Women and Film series, starting on Thursday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. Vocalist-violinist Iva Bittova (pictured during her award-winning triumph at the 2008 festival) stars as the middle-age-crazy woman, and she’ll also be on hand for a question-answer session after the movie. Admission is $8, which includes a glass of wine. For information, call 425-0405.

The Syracuse Cinephile Society kicks off its fall season on Monday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m., with this 1935 Paramount romantic comedy starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert (pictured), plus a dashing young Ray Milland on the sidelines to complicate matters. The screenings continue at the Spaghetti Warehouse, 689 N. Clinton St., with a tasty menu available for purchase. Admission is $3, with Cinephile members getting in for $2.50. For Spaghetti Warehouse details, call 475-1807.

Cortland Repertory Theatre wraps its summer season with a New York state premiere of this World War II-era musical salute, which involves a trio of 4-F USO stagehands and a pretty pinup girl (clockwise from top left, Gordon Maniskas, Andrew K. Moss, Sean Riley and Lara Hayhurst) who go to extreme lengths to entertain soldiers in the South Pacific. The fun begins on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m., and continues on Thursday, Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 3, 2 and 7:30 p.m. (a talkback session with the cast takes place after the 7:30 p.m. show); Saturday, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 5, 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2 and 7:30 p.m. The production closes Sept. 11 at CRT’s pavilion stomping grounds, 6799 Little York Lake Road, off Route 281, Preble. Evening tickets run $25 to $27, matinees are $20 to $22, with students and senior discounts available. For information, call (607) 756-2627 or  (800) 427-6160.

Summer vacation is winding down yet the three nearest ozoners continue to offer al fresco entertainment. The double-sided West Rome Drive-In, Route 69 in Rome, closes its 2010 season with a pair of triple bills running Friday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 6: The Last Exorcism, Vampires Suck and the 2-D version of Piranha on the front screen, with Toy Story 3, Despicable Me and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice on the back screen. Showtime starts around 8 p.m. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $3 for kids ages 5 to 11, and under age 4 getting in free. For West Rome details, call 336-9440.

Just like that, the all-too-quick Syracuse Chiefs season is just about over, and the sluggers will surely go down swinging with a trio of hometown series against various rivals at Alliance Bank Stadium, 1 Tex Simone Drive, behind the Regional Market. (Chiefs chief operating officer and executive vice president Tex Simone, who turned 82 on Aug. 21, is pictured at top left.) The Salt City’s boys of summer take on the Buffalo Bisons during 7 p.m. contests on Thursday, Aug. 26, and Friday, Aug. 27, then will proceed to clobber the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on Saturday, Aug. 28, for a 5 p.m. doubleheader, and Sunday, Aug. 29, 5 p.m. The final innings with the Rochester Red Wings will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and Thursday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. Admissions run the gamut from $11 for adults and $8 for ages 12 and younger on the lower level, while general admission is $8 for adults, $4 for ages 12 and younger. Don’t forget the $4 parking fee. And don’t forget that springtime phenom Stephen Strasburg, either. For details, call 474-7833. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTOS

The third annual Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge sure won’t be a duffers vs. divots contest. The cream of the crop will walk the fairways of the Turning Stone Resort and Casino’s Atunyote Golf Course in Verona on Tuesday, Aug. 31, including Begay (pictured), Camilo Villegas, Annika Sorenstam, Rickie Fowler, Cristie Kerr and other superstars in the 12-player field. The daylong mixed-team skins match is a fund-raiser to help battle diabetes and obesity among Native American youth. Grounds tickets are $45, with under-16s getting in free with a paid adult. For details, call (800) 771-7711. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

The Tony-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee rings down the summer season at this Ithaca venue, located within Cass Park on 810 Taughannock Blvd. (Route 89). Pictured are (from left) Jamie Amos, Monique Huff, Parker Pogue, Andrew Karl, Melanie Beck and Toni Vo as the middle schoolers in the comical contest. Performances continue on Wednesday, Aug. 25, and Thursday, Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 28, 3 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 29, Tuesday, Aug. 31, and Wednesday, Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m.. The show wraps on Sept. 5. Tickets run $20 to $40. For details, call (607) 273-8588 or (800) 284-8422.

It’s a little different when artistic or historical institutions present a movie for various cultural reasons. The Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison St., will screen its annual outdoors science-fiction flick on Thursday, Aug. 19, 8:30 p.m., at the Community Plaza, and the movie’s still a doozy. Director Don Siegel’s taut 1956 thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers merges paranoia and excitement in its tale of alien pods taking over a small California town, which features sweaty performances from (pictured, above left, clockwise from left) Dana Wynter, Carolyn Jones, Kevin McCarthy and King Donovan. Admission is free; for details, call 474-6064.

Rome’s landmark Fort Stanwix continues its 75th birthday celebration as a national monument with a screening of The Farmer Takes a Wife on Sunday, Aug. 22, 3 p.m., at the nearby Capitol Theatre, 220 W. Dominick St., Rome. Henry Fonda makes his screen debut in this 1935 romantic comedy, which also stars Charles Bickford and Janet Gaynor (pictured, above right, center) in a recreation of 19th-century life on the Erie Canal. Also on the 35mm program: the 1935 Laurel and Hardy short Tit for Tat plus a newsreel and cartoon. The Capitol rolls back to 1935-era prices for the occasion: 35 cents for adults, and 15 cents for children. For information, call 337-6453.

There’s more of a chance that Larry King will get hitched again before Pink Floyd ever embarks on a tour, which pretty much leaves tribute band The Machine to sonically soothe the Floyd-starved masses. With exacting replications of Pink Floyd’s progressive rock catalog, including the monumental Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, the latter celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Floyd tour this year, The Machine is surely the next best thing to being there. The mystical music runs from 5 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21, at Paper Mill Island’s Budweiser Amphitheater, 136 Spensieri Ave., Baldwinsville, as part of the summertime Island Fest series. Lost Marbles will open the show. Admission is $10 in advance, $12 at the gate. For information, call 635-3521.