AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL Sunday through Nov. 29 Everyone knows Beethoven and Brahms, but how about Lukas Foss and Elliott Carter? Every year the National Gallery of Art presents classical musicians performing new and familiar works by American composers. This year's concerts honor "The Robert and...

Thanksgiving means more than turkey, relatives and football; it also means parades. If you can't make it to New York City for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, there are local options to put you in the holiday frame of mind.

Weekend is on Facebook! Become a fan and you'll have access to special postings of articles, music and theater reviews, photos and updates on events around town. And if you're our 2,000th fan, we'll give you a shout-out in an upcoming edition of Weekend! Find us at...

It's Friday. At 5 p.m. The work week -- and all the stress that comes with deadlines, bosses and co-workers -- ends for at least 64 hours. What better way to ease into the weekend than by venting your spleen or sharing your creative side with 40 of your closest friends -- whom you've never met?

They have CDs, videos, podcasts and a weekly gig at Jammin' Java. They have played at Wolf Trap and the 9:30 club. They are on XM Radio, and sometimes they are recognized at the grocery store.

GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS "Little Moon" Kindred spirits: R.E.M., Ryan Adams

Sure, Washington is a city with holiday traditions, but New Year's Eve takes the season to another level. Legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has rung in the new year more than two dozen times at Blues Alley, and it just wouldn't seem like December 31 if swing chanteuse Peaches O'Dell weren't at t...

Prices listed where available. MARYLAND OPERA STUDIO Friday and Tuesday at 7:30, Sunday at 3. The group presents Gaetano Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore" ("The Elixir of Love"). Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Kay Theatre, University of Maryland, Route 193 and Stadium Drive, College Park....

SHARON THOMAS Friday at noon. Old Post Office Pavilion, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-289-4224. http://www.oldpostofficedc.com . Free.

Let's just get this out of the way at the beginning: Grilled cheese isn't the kind of delicacy that requires the sure hand of a trained chef. It's classic American comfort food that's expertly turned out every day by busy parents and hungry college kids alike. But that doesn't mean some people do...

Prices listed where available. BLACK CAT The Wrens, Friday, $15; the Black Fortys, Goldspot, Sunday, $10; Cub Country, Velvet, Monday, $8; Midnight Kids, the Cheniers, Wednesday, $8. 1811 14th St. NW. 202-667-7960. http://www.blackcatdc.com .

BLUES ALLEY Angela Winbush, Friday-Sunday, $43; Marcus Anderson, Monday, $18; Chaise Lounge, Tuesday, $20; JD Experience, Wednesday, $18. 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW (rear). 202-337-4141. http://www.bluesalley.com .

The world's strangest army is here. Buried for more than 2,000 years until their accidental discovery by Chinese farmers in 1974, the world-famous terra cotta warriors -- a life-size militia of about 7,000 clay figures created to protect China's first emperor in the afterlife -- have arrived in W...

Each full-size human figure weighs 300 to 400 pounds. The horse, 750. Like snowflakes, no two warriors are exactly alike. Subtle differences in facial hair and features, head size, physique and meticulous clothing details have lead to the theory that at least some of them may have been based on real...

They say you can't take it with you. No one, apparently, told that to China's first emperor.

Ancient warriors from another part of the world are the focus of the exhibition "Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece" at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Although there are few figures on view that rival the terra cotta soldiers -- a marvelous bust of Polyphemos the cyclops is a rare...

If you want to see "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," you've got some time. The show is up through March 31. But don't dawdle about buying tickets. Almost 100,000 have been sold so far, and several dates, including this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and Nov. 27-29, are sold...

Most of the figures here are soldiers; indeed most of the ones found in the pits are, too. So where are all their weapons? You'll find only a handful in the show. Indeed, there were fewer than expected when the pits were unearthed, given the large number of warriors.

The success of the second film adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer's wildly popular supernatural romance series, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" has less to do with vampires and werewolves than with zombies.

There's a deranged grandeur to Nicolas Cage's performance in "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," in which he plays a police officer who plunges into drug addiction after a heroic on-the-job accident. Cage throws himself into a role (originated by Harvey Keitel in 1992) that lets him indulge...

There's been something off-putting about the ad campaign for "The Blind Side," a drama about a white woman who adopts an African American high school student, from trailers trafficking in nearly every troubling African American stereotype in movies (from the Magical Negro to the surly low-level b...

"Planet 51" is cute. Cute, however, is a double-edged sword. The animated movie succeeds as a gently wry twist on "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," in which the "alien" is a human astronaut (Dwayne Johnson) who gets stuck on a planet of little green men and has to enlist the help of a plucky youngster,...

Planet 51 (PG, 90 minutes). This computer-animated feature about an American astronaut landing on a distant planet doesn't seem to know who its audience should be. Most of the jokes are geared to adults and are a little tasteless, yet the story itself seems aimed at kids. The animation doesn't look...

William Kunstler never gave a straight answer in his life.

Capsule reviews of recent releases playing in area theaters. Movies that opened Oct. 23 or later include the Post critic's star rating. Movies not reviewed by The Post will be marked "NR" for not rated. For older movies, see the Movie Directory.

Director J.J. Abrams and the creative team behind the latest "Star Trek" movie did something very smart when they decided to reboot that quintessential, sci-fi-geek franchise: They made it more like "Star Wars."

The basics: This film from the late director Kent MacKenzie traces 12 hours in the lives of three young Native Americans living on the margins of Los Angeles. It had never been released in theaters and was rescued by restorers at UCLA.

WIZARDS Tuesday at 7 against Philadelphia 76ers. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. 202-397-7328. http://www.nba.com/wizards . $10-$2,250.

Prices listed where available. "TOYLAND" Friday at 10 and 11:30. In this puppet show, Mother Goose, Little Bo Peep and Tom the Piper's son must find the Toymaker, stop the bad guy and sing their way to a happy ending. Glen Echo Park, Puppet Co. Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo....

Prices listed where available. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WAREHOUSE SALE Friday-Sunday 9 to 5. Get discounts on National Geographic products. D.C. Armory, 2001 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-547-9077. Free.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster for Moody Blues March 26 at DAR Constitution Hall ($48-$68). . . . Tickets go on sale Friday at noon through Ticketmaster for Magnetic Fields Feb. 4 at Lisner ($35). . . . Tickets go on sale Friday at noon through Ticketmaster for these shows...

Regular hours are listed here. The Smithsonian museums will be open on Thanksgiving, but other venues may be closed. Call before you visit.

AFI EUROPEAN UNION FILM SHOWCASE "Police, Adjective," Friday at 7. "The Boneman," Friday at 9:30 and Saturday at 10. "Low Lights," Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 1:30. "Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno," Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 7:45. "The Young Victoria," Saturday at 7. "Citizen Havel," Sunday at...

The following exhibitions open next week: "Black Box: Phoebe Greenberg," opening Nov. 30 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, showcases artist and film producer Greenberg's 12-minute film "Next Floor," which won an award for best short film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. 202-633-1000...

It's a timely moment to reflect on the birth of the gay rights movement given the controversy over same-sex marriage in the District and beyond, and artist Geoffrey Aldridge is doing just that with his exhibition at Transformer, "Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Wall." The title comes from the...

When "Disney's Mulan" hits Imagination Stage on Wednesday, the adaptation of the 1998 film about a strong-willed Chinese girl who disguises herself as a boy and goes to war will attempt to bring all the action of the animated musical to life. Even the climactic avalanche scene will be evoked by t...

Some kids grow up dreaming of a life in showbiz. Not Italo Elgueta. In a classic case of sibling rivalry, Elgueta started studying dance because his older brother was taking classes. As far as this family of Chilean immigrants knew, ballroom dance was what the cool kids in America did, or at leas...

On sale now: Studio Theatre stages "The Solid Gold Cadillac," a 1950s comedy about a woman who takes on big business, Dec. 2 through Jan. 10. $42-$63. 202-332-3300. http://www.studiotheatre.org .

A star (*) denotes a show recommended by our critics.