>> Check out a slide show of ICE! and Christmas on the Potomac 

The Capital Weather Gang predicted some good snowfall for Washington this year, and if the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center has anything to do with it, they’ll be right.

The National Harbor hotel debuted its Christmas on the Potomac holiday event last night with a real snowfall inside its 18-story glass atrium. But that was just the beginning: The hotel will host more than 800 holiday events and displays this year, running almost continuously through early January.

“Our goal is to own Christmas in DC,” says general manager Phil Coffey.

How exactly? In addition to the indoor snowfall (6:15 and 9:15 nightly), the hotel has plugged in more than two million twinkling lights, erected a 60-foot Christmas tree made entirely of candy-like glass, created a fountain show choreographed to holiday music, hung 150-foot light banners to replicate the colors of the Northern Lights, and even built an indoor holiday train village. Though the tree will be lit every night at 6, the real pageantry will come on the weekends, when dancers and a choir join the festivities at 7 with a short holiday show of carols and traditional hymns.

A roomful of girls, sweet treats, and manicures on a Friday night? Throw in a pillow fight, and we’ve got ourselves a slumber party. Or a super-chic girl-powered event at Aloft Hotel (156 Waterfront St., National Harbor; 301-749-9000). New York DJ and party promoter Roxy Cottontail and the women of the Hey Girl Hey Web site host the soiree featuring cocktails, snacks, portraits, three female DJs, and free nail art by celebrity technician Naomi Yasuda. The free party starts at 7. E-mail getinvolved@thisisheygirlhey.com to RSVP.

For a night of alternative music, check out Hexagon (1698 35th St., NW; 202-333-7469) tonight when it presents Tim Hecker, Aidan Baker, Ecstatic Sunshine, and the Polygons. The show will be presented with help from Environmental Aesthetics. Tickets are $10 at the door, and the concert starts at 9.

Late November doesn’t really seem like the time be showing skin, but try telling that to the Wizards cheerleaders. Basketball fans can “support their team” tonight at the Liaison Hotel when the courtside ladies celebrate the release of their latest calendar. The evening will include a performance, runway show, and mingling with the short-shorts-loving squad. The $20 admission includes a calendar, and all proceeds benefit Wizards Care charity.

More>> After Hours Blog | Arts & Events | Happy Hour Finder | Calendar of Events

Last month, the New York Times wrote that Richmond is “emerging as a new player on the Southern art and culinary scene.” Indeed, but why take a Noo Yawker’s word for it when you can slide on down I-95 and check it out yourself?

Next weekend, the Visual Art Center’s 45th Craft + Design Show kicks off under the rotunda at the Science Museum of Virginia. The building, once the Broad Street Station, is a work of art itself. Designed by John Russell Pope, the architect behind the National Archives building, the Jefferson Memorial, and the National Gallery of Art’s west building, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places and alone worth the drive.

If you’ve ever been to the annual Smithsonian Craft Show, you’ll find that this one has a lot in common, except that Richmond’s show is 18 seasons wiser. There’ll be 75 superstar artists representing 17 states displaying works in fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, and wood. Says Karen Cauthen Miller, VAC’s special-events coordinator: “This show provides a unique opportunity to meet the artists, learn their stories, and collect their objects.” That intimacy is a major draw because half of the artists have never shown in Richmond. And lest you think it’s a fusty museum exhibit, a special partnership with Quirk Gallery (where Noah Scalin of Skull-A-Day fame displayed selections this summer) promises fun, youthful art at hang-it-in-the-kids’-rooms prices.

A first timer to the show, I got a sense of the scene by catching up with two Maryland artists who made the cut: Joseph Craig English, a printmaker/painter/sculptor from Washington Grove, and Eric Burris, a metalsmith/jeweler out of Silver Spring.

Fast, loud, and schizophrenic, Robin Williams’s impression-heavy comedy routine is less a standup act than a one-man band, and it’s been making people laugh for 30 years. Now on his “Weapons of Self Destruction” tour, he’ll be appearing at DAR Constitution Hall Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21; both nights the show starts at 8. Tickets ($63.50 to $93.50) can be purchased here.

Kate Clinton uses comedy as a way to critique the world and invoke change—her tours focus on politics, social issues, family, and the economy. (Last year’s tour was called “Hilarity Clinton ’08.”) In addition to two decades of standup, she’s written several humor books, made television and film appearances, and participated in a stage reading of a Tony Kushner play with Olympia Dukakis and Madeline Kahn. She’ll perform at the Birchmere Friday, November 20, at 7:30. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased here.

The first performance of Seasonal Disorder, the holiday show by the Washington Improv Theater troupe Onesixtyone, will be at Source Friday, November 20, starting at 8. Opening-night festivities include a wine-and-cheese reception and backstage tour, both included in the ticket price. After the show, a discussion is scheduled with the cast and director. Your ticket will also get you free admission to iMusical, starting at 9:30 in the same theater. Tickets are $25; buy them here.

1. “Take Five” on Thursday at the American Art Museum’s monthly night of free jazz in the Kogod Courtyard. With its wave-like glass canopy roof, the atrium gets a boost from 5 to 7 when the ten-piece Brad Linde Ensemble plays tunes by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Lester Young. Beverages will be provided. For more information, click here.

2. On Thursday, the historic Tudor Place (1644 31st St., NW) is hosting an Art of Martini night from 6 to 8. For $10, guests can hobnob over martinis, refreshments, and live music as they explore the mansion and garden. The event is free for Tudor Place members. Guests must be 21 and over. To RSVP and purchase tickets, click here.

3. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to pay a visit to ACKC in Alexandria on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 for a free chocolate-and-wine tasting. The confectionary shop will show off its new fall truffle flavors with libations provided by First Vine. No RSVP required.

Between Ping-Pong, McDonald’s, and fortune cookies, the United States and China have a rich history of cultural exchange. Therefore, it’s only appropriate that on the week President Obama tours China, the National Geographic Museum is welcoming the long-awaited exhibit “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor.”

Described as “one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the world” by the museum’s director, Susan Norton, the exhibit—debuting Thursday and on display through March—features 100 relics and 15 life-size terra-cotta figures that had remained buried for more than 2,000 years in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi (ruling from 221 to 210 BC). Discovered when a group of farmers went into a field to dig a well, the necropolis reveals an estimated 7,000 warriors in a virtual underground city created to protect the emperor as he journeyed into the afterlife. The display is the largest showcase of terra-cotta figures ever to travel to the United States and marks the first time the National Geographic Museum has charged money for an exhibit. So far, more than 96,000 advance tickets have been sold.

We got an early glimpse of the exhibit this week. Here are some of the highlights:

Why let Michelle Kwan have all the fun? It’s the season for frosted festivities at area ice rinks. Take a break from the holiday bustle to work on your triple axle, bundle up with a date, or bring the whole family to these indoor and outdoor ice-skating facilitates. Before you tie on your skates, make sure to call ahead because the hours are subject to change—at indoor rinks especially. We promise you don’t have to wear the sparkly Spandex skirt unless you really want to.