Monday, December 1
MARKET: Penn Social hosts the Rawk Showcase, a holiday arts festival and market featuring visual artists, fashion designers, photographers, performance art, hair and makeup artists, and accessories and jewelry vendors. The talent and vendors are all local, so this is probably a good spot to pick up some unique holiday gifts. Tickets ($10) are available online. 6 PM.
Tuesday, December 2
ART: ArtJamz hosts Winter WonderLandscape, a chance for you to learn to paint—you guessed it—winter landscapes. It’s not just an art class, though: Everything you need to paint is included, and you’ll also get a free beer or wine with your admission. Even if art is not exactly your strong suit, you’ll still leave with something you can feel good about hanging on your wall. Tickets ($36) are available online. 7 PM.
Wednesday, December 3
DRINK: Our annual On the Rocks Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival is at a new venue this year—the Maurice Electric Warehouse at Union Market—but the spirit (heh) of the event hasn’t changed. We’ve invited about a dozen of America’s best distilleries to show off their finest spirits. You can sample pours from Lyon Distilling, Bulleit, Virginia Distillery Company, Whistlepig, Green Hat, and more—plus try some tasty bites to go along with your booze. Tickets ($65) are available online. 7 PM.
COMEDY: NPR hosts the annual Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest. To be fair, the celebrities aren’t quite celebrities—they’re more like journos from around town, plus Grover Norquist, who really loves telling jokes (and who was pretty funny last time I saw him at this contest), and Brian Murphy, who got crushed in the 2010 Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary. Other performers include NPR’s Jamie McIntyre, Matt Cooper of Newsweek, and Jamie Weinstein of The Daily Caller. Tickets ($35) are available online. 7 PM.
Thursday, December 4
ART: George Washington University hosts an opening reception for Sensorium, a cool new art exhibit that explores the art of human perception. Expect to be bombarded with not just images but also sounds and smells and things that use all of your senses. Several of the artists will be around to talk about their work, and there will be some workshops led by yogis and other new age-y sorts of people. Free. 6 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter at @jason_koebler.
