Here are a few events going down in the LA-area this weekend.

Thursday

Down and Derby Rollerderby Disco ath the Echoplex (1154 Glendale Blvd). A fun, retro-70s party on wheels, with some of the more obscure hits of the Greatest Decade. The entry fee is $5 with RSVP, $10 at the door and quad skates of every size will be available to rent for another $5. Guests are welcome to bring their own roller skates to the event.

Seawolf's Alex Brown Church

Seawolf plays The Roxy Theater (9009 W. Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood). I love theese guys.

The Entrance Band

Fool’s Gold, The Entrance Band, and Tearist play at the Echo (1822 W. Sunset Blvd).

Friday, December 18

The Sparkly Christmas Winter Holiday Hanukkah Nogstlye Christmas show! (Recession Edition), a multi-holiday puppet show involving two messiahs, corny jokes, glitter, spontaneous songs, live music, puppets, eggnog, and goldfish crackers. Written and directed by Moira MacDonald and J.P. Parr, the adventure begins with the Los Angeles DASH bus and concludes with a stupendous cataclysmic show-stopping seasonal scenario that defies all reasoning. Tonight at 8 and 10 pm The Velaslavasay Panorama in the West Adams Historic District (1122 West 24th Street).

You can get one of Laura Crawford's Biketaches at the LB Popup Shop

Long Beach Poperatives are hosting a pop-up shop at Portfolio Coffeehouse starting this evening and running all weekend. Jewelrey, arts, and crafts will be for sale.

Burlesque star Dita Von Teese will be signing copies of her new book, Stripteese, at Space 15Twenty (1520 Cahuenga) from 7-9.

Nerdcore punk act Aquabats bring their Superhero show to the Henry Fonda Music Box (6126 Hollywood Boulevard). It’s sure to be a memorable performance. Here’s  there 1997 video Super Rad to get you in the mood:

Saturday, December 19

Celebrate an indie Christmas at LA Record’s annual party at Bedrock rehearsal space in Echo Park (1623 Allesandro St). There will be complimentary tequila for those of age (but all ages are welcome), and fries or poutine available from the Frysmith truck. Performances by our faves Abe Vigoda, the Soft Pack, and Leslie and the Badgers, in addition to numerous DJs and “pop-up” record stores. There will be an all-vinyl dance party, pictures with Santa, and live screen-printing. Plus free valet parking. RSVP now to get in free (with a donation of a child’s toy).

Karen Lofgren's light sculpture, on display in downton Long Beach

Downtown Long Beach, blighted somewhat by vacant storefronts, has turned these eyesores into an asset with Phantom Galleries–a series of temporary exhibitions of California artists. During the month of December, to celebrate the “darkest days” of the year (and, it appears, our economy) is a collection of light sculptures, entitled Let There Be Light. Tonight you can meet the artists at a reception from 6 to 9. You can download a map at the Phantom Galleries website, and use your cell phone when you’re downtown to get the full audio tour experience.

Even the buoys are lit up in Naples

The lights don’t go out in Long Beach. Tonight is also the Naples Boat Parade! The canals of the the Naples neighborhood of Long Beach outshine Venice’s more famous waterways any day of the year. And around the holiday season, the houses, slips, and boats adorning the canals are particularly glitzy. Tonight, starting at 6:30, you can watch the boats tour the canals and nearby Alamitos Bay, or you can rent a Gondola and enjoy the view from the water. Check the website for details.

The Edgar Varela Fine Arts Gallery in downtown LA (542 S. Alameda St) brings you Christmas with Bessie, a night of musical tributes to queer legend Bessie Smith.

Dead Meadow plays at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa (843 W. 19th St).

The Sparkly Christmas (etc.) repeats again tonight.

Sunday, December 20

Get your hands dirty for a good cause! Heal The Bay is hosting a creek restoration event in Malibu Creek State Park. Meet at 9 am at 1925 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas) and get ready to rip out non-native plants and clean up litter. Malibu Creek is one of our region’s most important watersheds and is the southernmost home for spawning steelhead trout.

Third Annual Christmas Sweater Festival at the El Rey Theater (5515 Wilshire Blvd).  Weat your ugliest Christmas Sweater and and come hear The Deadly Syndrome, Eskimohunter, Castledoor, The Pity Party, and others. This year’s beneficiary is Teen Impact, which serves teens with cancers at LA Children’s Hospital.

Flicked shows The Golem at Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. The classic silent movie taken from Jewish folklore about a monster made from clay, built to defend the Jews from persecution. The Flicked experience returns to the days of vaudeville as affordable community entertainment, with live music accompanying the film as well as live acts (Jones Welsh, Liam James Springthorpe, and Will Salmon). Flicked is “old movies with new music, vaude-vilified with live acts.”  The show starts at 7:30. Center for the Arts is located at 2220 Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock.

Retro Holiday Slide Show with LA historian extraordinaire Charles Phoenix. The King of Retro returns to spread holiday cheer with a slyly entertaining live comedy performance that celebrates mid-century holiday life and style. With his unstoppable enthusiasm and wry, eagle eye for the very best and most bizarre of his massive collection of found-Kodachrome slides, Phoenix supercharges the classic living room slide show into a hysterical/historical celebration of American holiday life and style. It’s a 1950s & 60s New Years, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas jubilee that’s sure to get you in the mood for the all the holidays like you never have before! IN COLOR! Tickets are $25 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (6712 Hollywood Blvd). This is the LAST show in California, before the show heads north!

Savage Republic

Savage Republic is back for some new-wave, experimental fun at The Echo (1822 W. Sunset Blvd), with Spirit Photography and The Beaters. A Part-Time Punks show.

The Sparkly Christmas (etc.) repeats again tonight.