Brian’s picks

I’ve always thought of the free Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour almost like a backstage pass to watch some of the area’s more colorful artists create — and shoot the breeze with visitors while they do so. Plus, my wife and I feel the self-guided excursion, set from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days in October, offers a nice trip through another work of art — the southern Indiana landscape with a kaleidoscope of fall colors. Find a list of more than 20 participating artists and other information at browncountystudiotour.com.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” scared the bejeebers out of me the first time I saw it on TV in the late 1960s. And it did so with a kind of plodding suspense I see as rare in many of today’s flicks. You can see for yourself at a showing Friday at the Moonlight Movie Series — and what better place to watch winged creatures take over than the brooding dusk of the great outdoors of the Irwin Gardens property, 608 Fifth St. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for children younger than 12. Information and tickets: 812-378-0377 or yescinema.org.