Weekend best bets: Festivus Celebration, Soul Christmas

RALEIGH, N.C. — There is plenty to do in the Triangle the weekend before Christmas!

Festivus Celebration - Crude Bitters' The Bittery will be hosting free mini cocktail classes on Saturday, in addition to a wall to post and air your grievances.

Liquid Sugar Cookie vs. A Sugar Cookie - Chatham Hill Winery will be sampling its Sweet Carolina Christmas White wine, which tastes like a liquid sugar cookie, along with rich sugar cookies. Taste testing is Saturday and Sunday.

Santa with Goats - Spring Haven Farm in Chapel Hill is hosting this event this weekend. Enjoy a visit with Santa, feed horses, play with baby goats and more fun.

North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival - This annual light display is at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre through Jan. 14. There are more than 20 displays featuring thousands of LED lights. There are also nightly performances.

Christmas in Raleigh - Centennial Campus Middle School hosts this event on Friday featuring hot cocoa, cookies, caroling and more family fun.

Festival of Lights - Hill Ridge Farms has turned its farm into a winter wonderland. Enjoy the lights along with bonfires, s'mores and more. The lights are lit through New Year’s Eve.

Dilly Dallier Support Day – House of Swank in Raleigh is trying to make last minute shopping a little easier on Saturday. Doors will open at 9 a.m. and there will also be breakfast pastries.

Liquid Pleasure - See this beach music band at Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh Friday night.

Thomas Rhyant's Soul Christmas - Soul singer Thomas Rhyant sends glad tidings and good cheer from our stage to you at The Bullpen on Saturday night.

Shamu Garcon Cajun Dance Party - Representing Louisiana, Shamu Garçon is a cajun dance band waltzing their way across the Piedmont. See them Friday at The Bullpen.

Carolina Ballet's The Nutcracker - A holiday tradition that’s perfect for the whole family, Carolina Ballet’s production is the only performance of The Nutcracker in the country with illusions created by world-renowned magician Rick Thomas. See it at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium through Dec. 24.

The Santaland Diaries – Theatre in the Park presents this one man show reliving an out-of-work, young actor's brief stint as an elf inMacy's “Santaland.” The play, based on David Sedaris's short story, chronicles the holiday season and is filled with charged, politically incorrect,irreverent commentaries of fellow elves, Santa's true colors, and the raucous adults and children who come to sit on St. Nick's lap. See it through Dec. 24.

Rudolph The Musical – The beloved TV classic gets the musical treatment. See the show at Fletcher Opera Theater through Dec. 24.