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First Friday Night at the Speed
Be the Speed's guest free for the evening. Enjoy complimentary (a synonym for "free") admission to the museum's permanent collection and the award-winning Art Sparks Interactive Family Gallery on the first Friday of the month. Parenting tip: Before your 2-year-old ventures into Art Sparks' watercolor room, calculate if the fun she'll have painting will offset the not-fun you'll have scrubbing her hands and clothes afterwards.
Dec. 2, 5-9 p.m.
The Speed Art Museum
2035 S. Third St.
speedmuseum.org
502-634-2700
'Rain: A Tribute To the Beatles'
"Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles" is (wait for it) a Beatles tribute show. The Beatles, of course, are the 1960s British band famous for being almost as good as The Who. "Rain" began as an offshoot of the Broadway production of "Beatlemania," which did not star Michael Keaton. "Rain" ran on Broadway for 300 shows at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City from October 2010 to July 2011.
Dec. 2, 8 p.m.
Whitney Hall, The Kentucky Center
501 W. Main St.
raintribute.com/tour-tickets
877-850-2929
$54-85

Bernheim Holiday Open House
Bring a friend, enjoy a delightful lunch at Isaac's Café, and celebrate the season (despite the temperatures, that'd be fall) while taking care of your entire holiday shopping list at Bernheim's Holiday Open House. There will be free gift drawings and holiday specials, handcrafted jewelry and art by Kentucky artists (keep it local or Santa's giving you coal), a variety of nature books, the Bernheim book, apparel for adults and children, and local artisans demonstrating their crafts and taking your orders. An idea for a great gift: Bernheim membership. Members receive an extra 10 percent off their purchases at the gift shop through December.
Dec. 3, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
HWY 245, Clermont
bernheim.org
502-955-8512
Free event; non-members pay regular $5 per car to enter Bernheim
Annual Old Louisville Holiday House Tour
Holiday home tours: they're not just for blue-haired ladies anymore! The 35th Annual Old Louisville Holiday House Tour is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, December 3-4, from 12-6 p.m. This year's tour is presented by the Old Louisville Neighborhood Council/OLIC and features eight mansions including the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, plus the Woman's Club of Louisville. The 2011 Holiday House Tour begins with parking (included with ticket purchase) at Cochran Elementary School, Fifth and Lee Streets (if your probation terms preclude being within 500 yards of a school though, you're on your own). Shuttle van transportation is available from the parking lot to the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, 1402 St. James Court, where all tickets are picked up in the basement Gift Boutique. Shuttles run continuously on the house tour route.
Dec. 3-4
Old Louisville
1402 St. James Ct.
holidayhousetour.com
502-635-5244
$20 in advance, $25 the day of the tour
 'ReEntry'
How do you go from battlefields to backyard barbecues? What is the price paid by families at home when husbands, mothers, sons and sisters go to war? Based on interviews with combat veterans and their families, this surprising new play gives troops a voice as it puts aside politics and takes you into their world, giving an inside look at the powerfully personal truths of those who serve and sacrifice.
Through Dec. 17
Actors Theatre of Louisville
316 W. Main St.
actorstheatre.org
502-584-1205
Starting at $24 | | |