Best things to do this weekend in Los Angeles and Southern California: December 13 - 15

I first saw Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway as Sally in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown alongside other soon-to-be theater superstars Anthony Rapp and Roger Bart back in (ouch, I hate to admit it) 1999. Many moons, Tonys, and Glinda performances later, Chenoweth is on stage for one night only, performing a solo show for the holidays at L.A.’s most over-the-top venue, the Dorothy Chandler. Chandeliers fit for the queen of Broadway, indeed. Enjoy holiday favorites and surely some, ahem, popular show tunes as well.

Trans history is as old as culture itself. The fine storytellers at Celebration Theatre and the Greenway Arts Alliance have joined forces to create a play that weaves together stories rooted in Native Hawaiian tradition (Kapaemahu), Islamic mysticism (djinn), and spiritual alchemy (the Rebis) to “reclaim trans wisdom, healing, power, and joy.”

Winston House has only been open for three years on Venice’s busy Windward Ave. block, but it quickly became a go-to for an area suffering from a lack of live nighttime music venues. Sadly, the cozy spot is closing later this month, so get in there while you can. Revival House is putting on a record release show with live performances from Liam Berkeley, Alexa Perl, and Gavin Turek, so head down and jam into the night beachside.

Heghnar Watenpaugh, a professor of art history at UC Davis, will be at The Getty for a talk on how we think about art in the wake of genocide. The talk will specifically focus on the Armenian Genocide and its aftermath when religious sites were destroyed, repurposed, appropriated, sold, or transferred, and what their legacy became both within Armenia and in museums abroad. Prof. Watenpaugh will reflect on what this means for the practice of art history and museums in the 21st century.

For those who can't attend in person, the event will also be live-streamed on the Getty Research Institute YouTube channel.

Pasadena Symphony’s annual Holiday Candlelight concert always sells out, and its location in the acoustically esteemed All Saints Church is the cherry on top. This year features a performance from Broadway star Lisa Vroman.

Make a full day of it at The Mission in San Juan Capistrano. Your ticket to the annual Capistrano Lights festival includes admission to the over 200-year-old historic mission — the “birthplace of Orange County” — plus the full evening regalia with lights, trees, wreaths, an audio tour with a reading of "The Night Before Christmas," and much more.

Romance novels are having a moment. If you’ve made your way through everything on your shelf, bring the ones you've read to Manhattan Beach and pick up a new hot book and some hot new friends at the Romance Book Exchange, hosted by The Fleuria. It's a romance book truck — who knew that was a thing? The event includes a “blind date with a romance book.”

There’s a party going on at Cerritos Center this weekend.

Bring your board and compete or just watch from the beach as the best surfers in the area make their way to Venice for the 31st annual Venice Surf-a-Thon. There are categories for everyone to compete: kids, body boarders, and even a “foamie expression session.” Hang ten!

What, you thought I was going to throw another holiday movie in here? We have plenty of time for that. Instead, take advantage of it being Friday the 13th and go see the classic horror film at O.C.’s independent Frida Cinema.

Find your way through the sea of Santa hats at the annual Santa Monica Main Street pub crawl. It’s rowdy, it’s a classic, it’s the biggest on the West Coast, and it’s for a good cause. Now in its 16th year, the pub crawl has provided OVER HALF A MILLION MEALS for the Westside Food Bank since 2008!

The Victorian and The Bungalow are the official starting locations for the crawl's two routes, so you can also choose your own adventure.

Perfect your holiday cooking the French way, with a class at Sur La Table.

This opportunity in Woodland Hills features roasted chicken, vegetables and Parisian crepes en flambé.

Two bars that made the 50 Best brand's “North America's 50 Best Bars” list this year – one here and one in Mexico – are teaming up for a Yucatán and Puebla-inspired holiday cocktail pop-up. Award-winning beverage directors Max Reis of Mírate and Joshua Monaghan of the Rosewood Mayakoba’s Zapote Bar have co-created a menu featuring four festive cocktails, including the Apapacho (Don Fulano Anejo, Vermouth Rosso, Coffee, Heavy Cream, Nutmeg, Pinole) and the El Emperador (Sonajero Pomegranate Ponche, Green Chile, Parsley, Walnut Ice Cream).