December in the Neighborhood: Shop holiday markets, enjoy holiday music, and learn about Earth-like planets

A stand at the 2022 Van Ness Main Street Holiday Pop-Up (VNMS photo)

The study of planets comes full circle: Carnegie Earth and Planets, the scientific institution on Broad Branch Road, has been hosting lectures for its neighbors since 2006. The subject of its December 5th lecture is a callback to the first: Do other Earth-like planets exist? The 2024 version of the talk will provide some answers. RSVP here to attend in person. To view the livestream, register here.

Sounds of the season: The UDC music program’s annual gift to the campus and wider community is its free Christmas concert, featuring the renowned UDC Chorale and Jazz Ensemble. The show, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 9th, is at the UDC Theater of the Arts.

Then on Saturday, 21st, you can have a dinner and a show experience when Bobby Felder & The Capitol All Stars Big Band perform holiday classics at Jazz@Wesley. Tickets are $25 and are available at nationalchurch.org/jazz or at the door. Meals can be purchased for $15. Cash and credit cards are accepted.

Shop small and local and young and local: The annual Deal Middle School winter sale, on December 7th and 8th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., is a neighborhood go-to for Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands. New this year is the Student Winter Market, where kids will sell handmade crafts, artwork and treats.

Back for its ninth year is the Van Ness Main Street Holiday Pop-up market. (Forest Hills Connection is an editorially independent program of VNMS.) Some two dozen made-local vendors will be setting up shop at 4310 and 4340 Connecticut Avenue on Saturday, December 14th. Click here for a detailed vendors list, hours and other information.

Try 1820s-style winter crafting: Friends of Peirce Mill kicks off its winter workshops on December 7th with candle- and silhouette-making how-tos.

The art of the sea, and of the season: Hillwood Museum’s special exhibit, Fragile Beauty: Art of the Ocean, closes on January 5th. The estate’s holiday displays this year draw inspiration from those artworks. And, bring some friends and make it a tea party. Hillwood’s Merriweather Cafe makes Washingtonian’s list of the best holiday teas in the region.

Get outside and get active: The Rock Creek Park Weed Warriors are just as active in the cold of winter as they are in the warmer months, in part because many invasive plant species are easier to spot and remove this time of year. Several cleanup events are on the Rock Creek Conservancy calendar, including some at Reservation 630 and in the wooded area behind Politics and Prose (listed as Broad Branch – NOTA).