Actor Joe Pantoliano, of recent "Sopranos" fame, will speak Saturday night at Sandhills Community College.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Moore County (NAMI), along with the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series, will host Pantoliano as the keynote speaker at the third annual Pathway to Awareness Weekend.

All events are free and open to the public. Pantoliano will speak about "busting the stigma of brain illness" in Owens Auditorium of Sandhills Community College at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

He will also be on hand for a meet-and-greet session with Pathway walk participants from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at the Pinehurst Village Assembly Hall. During that time, there will also be an "Ask the Professionals" forum with Dr. Fernando Cobos, medical director of Behavioral Services at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, and Barbara McGowan, LCSW at FirstHealth Outpatient Behavioral Services.

Registration for the half- to two-mile walk around Rassie Wicker Park begins at 12:30 p.m. No registration fee is required, but to receive a commemorative T-shirt, a $10 contribution is required.

The weekend concludes at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, with a "Candles in the Sky" observance, in which hundreds of helium-filled balloons are released into the sky in memory or honor of loved ones suffering with a brain illness. Balloons can be purchased for $5 each.

NAMI-MC is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization that operates exclusively through volunteers and has no paid staff. All proceeds are used to finance events, to continue educational programs, and to initiate projects for the community.

For more information, call 295-1053.