Saturday: Friends of the National Arboretum’s Winter Festival at the Arboretum
Jump into the holiday season with the Friends of the National Arboretum’s Winter Festival. For an afternoon, you and your family can cozy up with hot drinks from Zeke’s Coffee and delicious bites from PhoWheels, purchase a Christmas tree and greenery, and stock up on all of your last-minute gifts from local vendors. Keep an eye out for local mask maker Bianca & Jean, cocktail bases from Pratt Standard, and honey and candles from Washington’s own bees, courtesy of Second Story Honey. Other products available will include pottery, crocheted accessories, handbags, and natural skincare and soaps. Aimed at providing fun for all ages—and canines—DC Child Care Connections will be hosting family-oriented activities throughout the day. Attendees will also be able to visit the National Arboretum’s open gardens including the Gotelli Conifer Collection, the Camellia Collection, and the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Whether you’re a year-round lover of the National Arboretum or looking to support local businesses this gift-giving season, FONA’s Winter Festival checks all of the gift-wrapped boxes. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the National Arboretum’s New York Ave. parking lot, 3501 New York Ave. NE. fona.org. Free. —Sarah Smith
Saturday: Pierre Kwenders at Quarry House Tavern
In 2001, Pierre Kwenders immigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Canada; this year he won Canada’s Polaris Prize for best album by a Canadian citizen with his José Louis and The Paradox of Love. The album’s title incorporates Kwender’s birth name and the songs showcase him singing and rapping in Lingala, French, English, Tshiluba, and Kikongo over skittering programmed beats complemented at times by jazzy sax, rumba guitar, plucked mbira, and guest vocalists and producers from around the world. The 37-year-old’s approach is rooted in African electronic dance club rhythms, but he is also enamored with catchy Pan-African vocal melodies—some pop, some choral, some wistfully folk. On Dec. 10, Kwenders will do vocals accompanied by Montreal guitarist/keyboardist/DJ Jalouse. Kwenders, who has toured as a DJ himself, nods to some of his musical inspirations on his latest album via the titles: “Papa Wemba” is named after a Congolese star who passed in 2016, and “Coupe” is named after the Ivory Coast genre “coupe-decale.” Some of the songs go in more complicated lyrical directions. Kwenders told Rolling Stone that “Religion Desir” is about a choir kid who is gay, but can’t be himself in his place of worship. Yet Kwenders believes in spirituality and belonging and recognizes that by including the Chorale Afrika Intshiyetu on the beautiful album closer “Church (Likambo).” Kwenders won’t have the choir with him live, but with his own voice and backing musician should be able to convey his feelings. Pierre Kwenders performs at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Quarry House Tavern, 8401 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. quarryhousetavern.com. $19.84. —Steve Kiviat
Sunday: Churuli at the National Museum of Asian Art
The National Museum of Asian Art’s Head Trips and Road Trips in India series lives up to its title in entirely unexpected ways. Set in the remote tropical forests of the Indian state of Kerala, Churuli is a very different kind of buddy movie, perhaps the cinematic opposite of the sensational Telugu epic RRR. Director Lijo Jose Pellissery weaves a mystery about two undercover policemen headed to the rural village of Churuli in search of a wanted criminal. The motives are unclear; the bickering pair vaguely recalls the duo of dependable Danny Glover and volatile Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, but the lush foliage suggests Werner Herzog, and the languorous pacing is in the glacial vein of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Still, Pellissery’s idiosyncratic voice is his own, blending natural light with fantastic imagery, chaos with unpredictable turns that pivot on an extremely oily medicine woman. While the film drags as the shaggy cops run afoul of skeptical villagers, it almost imperceptibly shifts from somnambulant road movie to some indefinable science-fiction/metaphysical hybrid, and the final half hour is mesmerizing. Churuli means “spiral,” which aptly describes the movie’s elliptical journey. Even if much of the plot seems shapeless, there’s an undeniable magic in the sight of CGI fireflies circling in the forest’s winding paths to nowhere. Churuli screens at 2 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Meyer Auditorium in the Freer Gallery of Art, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. asia.si.edu. Free. —Pat Padua
Saturday and Sunday: Two Classical Christmas Concerts at Washington National Cathedral and Music Center at Strathmore
Bells ring overhead, lofty voices carol together, horns blast triumphantly: These are the glorious musical sounds of the season. Enjoy two classical concerts this weekend celebrating some of the most beautiful Christmas compositions. At the Washington National Cathedral, the Cathedral Choral Society presents three performances of their resplendent concert Joy of Christmas. Cathedral Carillonneur Edward M. Nassor and Seraph Brass will begin with carillon and brass preludes. Conducted by Steven Fox and featuring one of the DMV’s best choirs accompanied by Joy Schreier on piano and Thomas Sheehan on organ, and featuring the School Without Walls Senior High School Concert Choir, Joy of Christmas is one of Washington’s most loved musical traditions for the holidays. Selections will include Margaret Bonds’ “Ballad of the Brown King,” with poetry by Langston Hughes and Christmas works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Johann Sebastian Bach, and John Tavener. Works from other cultures and languages, such as Ukrainian Carol of the Bells, “Shchedryk,” and the Hanukkah prayer “Ma’oz Tzur.” Fox, the Music Director of Cathedral Choral Society, shares that the composer of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” Stanley Thurston, will be at piano for the first performance of the song, and “it would not be the Joy of Christmas concerts without our traditional Carol Sings, during which we invite the whole audience to join us in singing beloved carols.” At the Music Center at Strathmore, the Washington Bach Consort engages in another of the region’s favorite holiday classics: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. The German composer’s joyful telling of the Nativity features a quartet of star vocalists Elijah McCormack (soprano), Kristen Dubenion-Smith (alto), Jacob Perry Jr. (tenor), and Enrico Lagasca (bass) singing glorious hymns. Dr. Dana T. Marsh, the Artistic Director of the Consort, says “we look forward to this special tradition every year. The Christmas Story comes to life through the music of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in a way that can’t be matched in any other holiday concert offering.” Joy of Christmas starts at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Dec. 10, and 4 p.m. on Dec. 11, at Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. cathedralchoralsociety.org. $25–$118. | The Christmas Story (Bach’s Christmas Oratorio) starts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda. bachconsort.org. $25–$89. —Colleen Kennedy
Monday and Tuesday: Surf Curse at Black Cat
If you’ve been on TikTok, it’s likely you’ve heard Los Angeles-based group Surf Curse and their ultra-viral song “Freaks.” Written nearly a decade earlier, the song has garnered significant attention for the band’s coming of age, lo-fi, post-punk sound that has taken over the internet. The DIY feel of buzzing youth reverberates throughout all their music, especially the aforementioned hit—“Don’t cry/ I am just a freak” makes for a teenage anthem all of us can connect to. And it speaks to those of us in the District who wore Doc Martens with our prep school uniforms, or hung out at venues instead of sports practice. Or maybe, it’s the kind of music you play at house parties after winning the homecoming game. Either way, Surf Curse create jams that frame those immortal moments of being young, testing out different sides of yourself, and enjoying crashing symbols and lively riffs of indie music from the 2010s. Relive your Tumblr era or live it now if you missed it. Not to mention, Momma, our arts editor’s favorite band of 2022, return to D.C. to open both shows. Surf Curse play at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 and 13 at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. blackcatdc.com. $25–$30. —Simone Goldstone
Tuesday: Batman Returns 30th Anniversary at E Street Cinema
On a cold winter night, a very special baby was born. Thirty-three years later, he grows up to have very devoted followers, some major enemies, and ultimately meets his untimely demise trying to change the lives of everyone around him. This, of course, is the character arc of the Penguin in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992), heading to Landmark’s E Street Cinema for its 30th anniversary. As played by Danny DeVito in an unforgettable performance—with a prosthetic nose leaking black mucus, webbed gloves, and a stained onesie—the once dapper villain of the comics and television series is reimagined as a grotesque monster and yet is able to secure his party’s vote to become Gotham’s next mayor. Before we look ahead to the 2024 election cycle, let’s revisit what may be the gothest of the Batman films, shot primarily in black, white, and punctuated by the occasional, festive, red. Because, like Die Hard and Gremlins, Batman Returns is in that rarefied pantheon of great anti-Christmas movies. Focused on the darkness and depravity of humanity, we see the slaughter of the innocent Ice Princess as demented circus clowns wreak havoc during holiday shopping sprees and town tree lightings, and we learn that while mistletoe can be deadly if eaten, a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it. Every character hides behind a mask, from DeVito’s Penguin, who tries and fails the normalcy test, Christopher Walken as wealthy philanthropist and not-so-secret evil mastermind Max Schreck (eating up every scene with his extended pauses and twitches), Michael Keaton as the tormented caped crusader, and especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Pfeiffer meowed, clawed, and high-kicked her way into superhero stardom playing both meek secretary Selena Kyle and her latex-wearing, whip-thrashing sexy cat burglar alter ego. Meow. If you prefer Halloween to Christmas, this film is for you—dark, grotesque, sexy, and campy. Batman Returns plays at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 at E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. landmarktheatres.com. $7. —Colleen Kennedy