Happy December everyone! It may be cold out there but hope these free events warm you up and inspire you to get out of the house this weekend! Enjoy these highlights from my site, Free in DC.

Friday
The Friday Morning Music Club hosts another free lunchtime concert at noon at the Sumner School Museum, located at 17th & M St. NW. The performance will highlight selected duets by Brahms and Dvorak and will feature a Schumann solo with Sally West Potter on piano and a Poulenc sonata with David Zelinsky on cello.

Looking forward to the launch of  The Lighthouse, a new art space and healing center on 5016 9th St. NW. The space is the vision of two fabulous women I know, Elen Awalom and Helina Metaferia. The art opening goes from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by an after party featuring a DJ set until 11:30 p.m.  You can find more info on the Facebook invite.

Swing by a one-night only art show called “Can You Dig It?” between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., featuring new, ’70s-inspired, affordable works by local artist and muralist Aniekan Udofia. DJ Uncle Q will also be spinning grooves at the event, which takes place at CRE8 Space Studio Gallery at 1314 9th St. NW.

Saturday
The National Gallery of Art presents Cine-Concert, a silent film screening with live musical accompaniment. At 2:30 p.m., the Josef von Sternberg’s 1928 film The Last Command will screen as the three-member Alloy Orchestra perform the film’s original score.

Celebrate the holiday season with the Metropolitan Chorus‘s Messiah Sing Along at 5 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington, located walking distance from the Ballston Metro at 601 North Vermont St. The sing along feature Part I (Advent, Christmas) of Handel’s Messiah accompanied by string quartet, organ and harpsichord. Bring your own score, or rent or buy one at the door.

City Gallery, at 804 H St. NE, hosts a retrospective show featuring the award-winning gourd sculptures of Capitol Hill resident Wally Szyndler, who passed away this summer. The opening goes from 6 to 9 p.m. Proceeds from sales go to Art Enables, a studio and gallery for emerging artists with developmental and/or mental disabilities.

Sunday
December 1 was World AIDS Day, and this Sunday’s Open Door Reading at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda features readings from Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS. Editor Philip Clark and writers Dan Vera, Philip Clark, Kim Roberts, and Charles Jensen will all be reading at the 2 p.m. event. 

It’s Chanukah, and the Poulenc Trio performs works by Jakov Jakoulouv and other Jewish at the National Gallery of Art’s  Sunday evening concert at 6:30 p.m.

Amy Melrose is the creator of Free in DC, an arts, culture, and consciousness blog highlighting free and low-cost events that are all Metro accessible in the D.C. area. You can also follow Free in DC on Twitter and Facebook.