Musician Adam L. McKnight / Photo via Facebook

December Best Bets

Friday, December 2

“Party With Impact” is a night of comedy with comedian and comedy writer Sam Jay to benefit HIV services, prevention and LGBTQ+ healthcare in Atlanta. Local gay comedian Ian Aber will also perform. The show benefits Positive Impact Health Centers. 8pm, Variety Playhouse

 

Friday, December 2 – Saturday, December 3

The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus is returning to The Cathedral of St. Philip with another beautiful holiday show that will take the audience on a journey through laughter, tears, goosebumps, and holiday nostalgia. This year’s show will feature a live orchestra and the Cathedral’s beautiful organ. 8 pm Friday and 2 and 6pm Saturday, St. Philip’s Cathedral

 

Saturday, December 3

Go to Woofs and watch the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers battle in the SEC Championship game. 4pm

Tyler Perry moderates for the Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry Tour. Fox Theatre, 8pm

 

Sunday, December 4

Check out the Atlanta Botanical Gardens’ Garden Lights, Holiday Nights. While plenty of the show’s fan-favorite features return, guests can expect new twists, including an all-new exhibition in the Anne Cox Chambers Garden by French artist Cédric LeBorgne and three massive sculptures from the spring/summer exhibition, Origami in the Garden. Daily through January 2

 

Monday, December 5

Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender and aspiring allies, providing a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues. 7 to 8pm for youth and 8 to 9pm for adults, Charis Books and More

 

Tuesday, December 6

It’s runoff day, as Raphael Warnock squares off against Herschel Walker for a Georgia Senate seat. Go vote!

 

Wednesday, December 7

Spend an evening with acclaimed musician Adam L. McKnight on a musical journey through uplifting original songs, R&B classics, and holiday favorites in the Alliance Theatre’s “Gift of Love.” Drawing from his experiences as a back-up vocalist and studio musician for the likes of Elton John, CeeLo Green, Train, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan, Bonnie Raitt, Zac Brown Band, and many more, Adam is an entertainer and storyteller who puts his heart and soul into every song he performs. From R&B to gospel to pop, Adam will delight audiences with a selection of hits for all musical tastes. 7:30pm, Hertz Stage, running through December 23

 

Thursday, December 8

Out Front Theatre Company presents “Christmas Dearest.” It’s 1953 and Joan Crawford is desperate to reignite her career with the new film “Oh, Mary!,” a big splashy musical adaption of the life of the Virgin Mary. Everything has to be perfect, but the stress of surviving in Hollywood has turned Joan into a tyrant. 8pm, running through December 18

 

Friday, December 9 – Sunday, December 11

The Atlanta Ballet brings back a holiday favorite – “The Nutcracker,” with opening night tonight. 7:30pm, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

 

Friday, December 9

Join the OUT Georgia Business Alliance for the 2022 Community Honors Celebration tonight as the organization spotlights the inspiring individuals and organizations boldly leading Georgia’s LGBTQ community forward. OUT Georgia will use the 2022 Community Honors Celebration to recognize finalists and announce the winners in the categories of Business Leader, Community Leader, Next Gen Leader, Nonprofit, Corporate Ally, Small Business, New Business, and Member of the Year, plus unveil the first-ever nonprofit grant awards of the OUT Georgia Impact Fund, powered by United Way of Greater Atlanta. Standard tickets include a cocktail reception, dinner stations from JenChan’s and Occasional Occasions by Carlton, dessert, open bar, and a night of fabulous celebration and entertainment with Ella/Saurus/Rex, Dotte Com, Michael Robinson, the MetroGnomes Big Band (Atlanta Freedom Bands), and after-party beats by GeeXella. 6 to 11pm, Atlanta City Hall

 

Sunday, December 11

Atlanta’s favorite holiday fundraiser, Toy Party, is just around the corner. The event benefits metro Atlanta youth organizations and is a night filled with fun, friends and live entertainment. The silent auction will begin Friday, December 9. 6 to 10:30pm, The Biltmore Hotels

“KURIOS™ – Cabinet of Curiosities” is Cirque du Soleil’s 35th production since 1984. Cabinets of curiosities are the ancestors of museums, also known as cabinet of wonder in the Renaissance Europe. Aristocrats, members of the merchant class, and early practitioners of science formed collections of historical relics, works of art or mysterious travel souvenirs or artefacts. “KURIOS™ – Cabinet of Curiosities” has a cast of 46 artists from 16 different countries. Now running through December 24 under the iconic Big Top at Atlantic Station, with 1:30pm and 5pm performances today.

 

Tuesday, December 13

PALS Atlanta hosts Drag Queen Bingo – Holidaze Night. 7:30pm, Lips Atlanta

 

Thursday, December 15

Charis welcomes Sharon Bridgforth in conversation with Mary Anne Adams for a celebration of “bull-jean & dem/dey backbull-jean & dem/dey back collects,” two performance/novels centering Sharon Bridgforth’s Southern-Black-butch-sheroe, bull-jean. This event is co-hosted by ZAMI NOBLA: The National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging. First published by RedBone Press in 1998, the Lambda Literary Award-winning the bull-jean stories chronicles the course of love returning in the fife-times of bull-dog-jean. Set in the rural 1920s South, “the bull-jean stories is an act of griot-anthropology, remembering the ancestor we never knew but always knew we needed–the raucous, sweet-talking, heart-aching wo’mn-lovvn-wo’mn bull-dog-jean and the fierce and beautiful community that surrounds her.” 7:30 to 8:30pm virtually. Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/bull-jean–demdey-back-3/register

 

Saturday, December 17

Join Charis for an all-day party to help get in the spirit and get your holiday shopping done. All hardback books will be 10 percent off (in-store and in-stock). A free gift-wrapping station will be set up for self-wrapping. Also enjoy holiday music, cookies, and hot drinks set up outside. 10am to 7pm

The Atlanta Women’s Chorus holiday show will bring the joy and awe of the season in full view.  Focusing on songs that elicit the feelings of winter and joy of the holidays, this program is sure to put you in the holiday spirit. 2 and 7pm, Cascade Midtown UMC 

Ring in the season with your favorite music from theater, television, and film. Atlanta Freedom Band’s annual holiday production hauls out the holly with selections from the stages of Broadway, cinematic classics, and the heart-warming television specials of our childhood. 8pm, Church at Ponce and Highland 

 

Sunday, December 18

The PFLAG support group for parents and families of LGBTQ children meets in person today. 2:30 to 4pm, Spiritual Living Center

 

Monday, December 19

John Waters is back, with Christmas lunacy throbbing in his veins. Cockeyed. Rabid. Ready to reinfect the lunatic fringe with holiday jeer. “The Pope of Trash”, as William Burrough once called him, is coming. A John Waters Christmas returns to the Variety Playhouse. 8pm

 

Friday, January 6 – Sunday, January 8

Who knew that when they played their first house dance party in Athens, Georgia in 1976 that the B-52s would be still be rocking the house in 2023? Rescheduled from November, this farewell tour includes special guest KC & the Sunshine Band. 7:30pm, Fox Theatre