When Mom's Nose Is Out of Joint

Wednesday

CONCERT: Dreamlike Electro Pop The Norwegian Embassy has already decked out Union Station with a tree and a model train exhibit, but those who want more Scandinavian culture can head to the KenCen. The band Adjagas performs joik music, a Norwegian chanting tradition from the indigenous Sami culture. "Adjagas" is a Sami word that describes the state between being awake and asleep; the band sounds similarly dreamlike. Free. 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. 202-467-4600.

Maryland

Today

THE SCENE: Get Flat Bethesda's Gallery Neptune is selling original art on paper at this one-day event. Small works (no larger than 13-by-19 inches) by about a dozen Neptune artists will be propped up on tables and small easels for your perusing pleasure. Keeping with the theme, flatbread pizza will be served. Free. Noon-7 p.m. 4901 Cordell Ave., Bethesda. 301-718-0809.

FILM: More From Shohei Imamura The AFI Silver screens "The Ballad of Narayama," one of Imamura's two Cannes Palme d'Or-winning films. The story is set in an impoverished mountain village in which the old, no matter how healthy, are taken to a mountaintop to die when they reach age 70. But the reasoning, and the town, are much more complicated than you might think. $6.75-$9.75. Today at 4:30; tomorrow at 5:30; and Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. 301-495-6720.

Tomorrow

HOLIDAYS: Scuba Santa Everyone has a picture with Santa. But how about a picture with Santa underwater? Didn't think so. Bring a swimsuit and $5 or a nonperishable food item to the Olney Scuba Adventure Dive Club's annual event, where you'll get a quick scuba lesson and an underwater picture with St. Nick. His secret for keeping the red hat from floating away: ankle weights inside the brim. Noon-4 p.m. Olney Indoor Swim Center, 16601 Georgia Ave., Olney. 301-610-4988.

Northern Virginia

Today

ON STAGE: Warning: Offensive Material Comedian Kristen Schaal, best known for her role as Mel (the perhaps overly infatuated fan) on the quirky HBO series "Flight of the Conchords," brings her stand-up act to Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse tonight. $15. 9:45 p.m. 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington. 703-486-2345.

HOLIDAYS: Behind the Velvet Ropes It's frustrating to tour a mansion and see rooms and stairways blocked off. Find out what lurks on the rarely seen third floor of George and Martha Washington's pad starting today (turns out that's where Mrs. Washington lived after her husband's death). Enjoy free cookies and hot cider at the "Holidays at Mount Vernon." $13; seniors, $12; ages 6 through 11, $6; younger, free. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily through Jan 6. 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy., Mount Vernon. 703-780-2000.

Tomorrow

HOLIDAYS: Jingle Bell Rock Out Bring a candle, a bell and your singin' pipes to the annual Wolf Trap Holiday Sing-A-Long, where the United States Marine Band plays Hanukkah songs and Christmas carols. The final song of the program will be "Silent Night," and people traditionally light candles during the last verse and exit the Filene Center in a procession. Wolf Trap will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for charity. Free. Door at 3 p.m., concert at 4 p.m., 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. 703-255-1902.

Tuesday

OPENING: Hope and Fear at AAC Curator Carol Lukitsch brings together eight area artists to explore their hopes and fears for a new exhibition at the Arlington Arts Center. (War and hurricanes top the "fear" list.) The exhibition opens Tuesday but a reception next Friday from 6-9 p.m. includes a dance performance by Lucy Bowen McCauley. "Hope and Fear" runs through Jan. 19. Free. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. 703-248-6800.