Weekend Update: A season's worth of merriment

Since last Friday's Weekend Update post, three big things have happened: 1) The calendar now says December, 2) It actually feels like December and 3) Hanukkah has started. So yes, the holidays are definitely upon us.

• If you haven't found your festive seasonal cheer just yet, a special 12-page pull-out guide to holiday events in today's Weekend section should have you reaching for an embarrassing sweater in no time.

• You're also going to need a Christmas tree. Why not cut your own?

• On the (mostly) non-holiday front, here's a look at the rest of the upcoming weekend's best events, including the BB&T Classic, a Brightest Young Things after-hours party at the Newseum and a very special Going Out Guide trivia contest at Bedrock Billiards.

• String instruments + Jimi Hendrix + Charles Darwin = Turtle Island Quartet. Mike Joyce does the math on that one.

• Album reviews for bands playing in the area this week: Warpaint, the Sword and Linn Barnes and Allison Hampton.

• Like your bars with a chaser of gimmick? You can design your own fruit-infused cocktails at Fruit Bat on -- where else? -- H Street NE.

• Justin Rude finds flavorful Lebanese and Moroccan favorites at Figs Fine Foods.

• If you liked last year's "Barack Stars" at Woolly Mammoth, chances are you'll want to catch Second City's latest offering, "A Girl's Guide to Washington Politics."

• Cherry Red Productions, the group responsible for theatrical fare such as "Dingleberries" and "Cannibal Cheerleaders on Crack" is back with the sight gag-rich "Wife Swappers." Yeah, you're going to want to call the sitter for this one.

• On screen, "Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky's follow-up to "The Wrestler," stars Natalie Portman as a tormented ballerina. It's clearly not your grandma's ballet flick.