You hate leaving your kids.

It’s not that you don’t want a break from them sometimes, because you need that for your sanity. And it’s not the pitiful way they cry, ripping your heart out, even though you know they’ll be playing 10 seconds after you’re through the door.

No, you hate leaving your kids because of that nagging little voice in the back of your head. It says that nobody can care for them the way you do.

In case you haven’t heard, Mabel Simmons (a.k.a. Madea) is coming to the Petersen Events Center Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and she’s bringing quite a few relatives and even some friends.

“Madea’s Big Happy Family”—Tyler Perry’s 12th stage play—arrives in Pittsburgh, on the second leg of a nationwide road tour. After a five-year hiatus, the Hollywood A-list star will don wig and fat-suit to portray his original, masterful creation—Madea.

TYLER PERRY AS MADEA

Perry’s signature character always delivers her own brand of wisdom in a bold and brash, hilarious fashion. In his No. 1 New York Times Bestseller: “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings—Madea’s Uninhibited Commentaries On Life and Love,” he describes the matriarch whose name is commonly translated in the south as “mother dear:”

This week I visited Whim Pittsburgh in Station Square, The Melange Bristo Bar in Downtown, Pittsburgh, The Red Onion in the Hill District, The Drum Bar at the Rivers Casino on the North shore, Babylon aka The Yacht Club in the Strip District and Tim’s Bar in the Hill District.

My first stop was at the Red Onion in the Hill District where karaoke was in full effect with everyone coming out to show there skills on the microphone. People sang oldies, but goodies and the latest hits and it was a great time for everyone.

Casey Hampton fans came out in full force to wish him a happy birthday.

Thursday 16

New exhibit

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture presents the “In My Father’s House” exhibit from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at 980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. This is a mixed-media exhibition of five rooms in a house with each room highlighting the way people of African descent preserve and display visual art and material culture. It also tells the story of a fictional Pittsburgh family’s hopes, dreams, struggles and triumphs. Along with the rooms are several short films. For more information, call 412-258-2700 or visit www.AugustWilsonCenter.org.