WEDNESDAY 2

Wednesdays are for student composers! The University of South Carolina School of Music presents a Student Composers Recital in the School of Music Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m.; the arts section has more on the budding Brahmses and blossoming Beethovens.

Wednesdays are for gay Paris! While waiting for a heart transplant that could save his life, Pierre reunites with his sister and her lively children; this rediscovery of his family and observation of the teeming streets outside his window give Pierre hope, and a new sense of how he might spend the time still left to him. So goes the plot of Paris, which opens tonight at the Nickelodeon Theatre (and stars the enchanting Juliette Binoche). Critical opinion on the movie is split: The Washington Post loves it, saying the film is “a funny, sad, romantic and deeply felt love letter to a great city”; Time Out New York hated it, saying “This could have been a true urban mosaic. Instead, we simply get a vision of Paris as the city of lite.” As always, Eight Days says see it for yourself and make up your own damn mind. Paris screens at 3, 6 and 8 p.m.; call 254-3433 or visit nickelodeon.org for more information.

Wednesdays are for gay New York! Trustus Theatre doesn’t officially opens its production of Rent until Friday evening, but those clamoring to get an advance viewing of the wildly popular rock musical can do so at Rent: Pride Style tonight at Trustus. The South Carolina Pride fundraiser — and the organization’s last big soiree for 2009 — features a performance of the production in addition to an East Village-inspired cuisine and cash bar and a bohemian silent auction. The pre-party begins at 6:30 p.m., and curtain rises at 7:30 p.m.; admission is $40. Call 781-0515 or visit scpride.org for more information.

THURSDAY 3

Thursdays are for mingling and jingling on Main! Frame of Mind presents another installment of its first-Thursday art series events from 6 to 9 p.m. on the 1500 block of Main Street; this installment, nicknamed Mingle and Jingle on Main, features art by Jean Bourque and Virginia Scotchie, guided tours of the new home of the Nickelodoen Theatre, and a holy host of carolers, swing dancers and more. (Added bonus: Several Main Street retailers and restaurants will be extending their hours for the event. Score!) Admission is free; call 988-1065 for more information.

FRIDAY 4

Fridays are for Festivus! Many Christmases ago, a much wiser man than Eight Days went to buy a doll for his son. He reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As he rained blows upon him, he realized there had to be another way. The doll was ultimately destroyed, but out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us! Five Points kicks off its celebration the non-traditional and non-denominational holiday today with a Festivus parade at 6 p.m., followed by the traditional Airing of Grievances (read: Five Points bar and restaurant crawl) at 7 p.m. and a tree-lighting at 7:30 p.m. (What, no traditional Festivus pole?) As an added bonus, Five Points will be offering free carriage rides to A Devine Evening from 5 to 9 p.m. Talk about a Festivus miracle! The celebration continues on Saturday with the Feats of Strength — a Harvest Hope canned-food and donations drive — from noon to 3 p.m. Festivus yes! Bagels no! Call 748-7373 or visit fivepointscolumbia.com for more information.

Fridays are for nutcrackin’! Should you have missed the Carolina Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker last week, fear not: The Columbia Classical Ballet kicks off its production of the Christmas classic tonight at the Koger Center. So if your idea of a good time involves sugar-plum fairies, waltzing flowers and regal rodents — not to mention world-class ballet — drop down the scratch, anywhere between $13 and $33, and swing by the Koger Center at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 252-9112 or visit columbiaclassicalballet.org.

Fridays are for jazz royalty! Though Jason Marsalis is the youngest of Ellis Marsalis’ talented sons, he’s certainly no Neil Bush; Marsalis brings his eponymous quartet to the Blue Martini tonight. The music section has more.

SATURDAY 5

Saturdays are for silent films! Silent film maestro Dennis James returns to the Capital City for the University of South Carolina’s annual Evening of Silent Film tonight at the School of Music Recital Hall; the arts section has more.

Saturdays are for famous expatriates! Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion play the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Coffeehouse tonight; the arts section has more.

SUNDAY 6

We see London, we see France!: The Rockettes come to the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday as part of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Sundays are for ladies who can kick really, really high! Yes, reader, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, rolling into the Colonial Life Arena for shows at 4 and 7 p.m., features all the classic skits and scenes of the long-running holiday stage show of the same name at Radio City Music Hall. That is to say, Santa will fly about New York City, Nutcracker soldiers will stumble and tumble, and Christ’s birth will be dramatized, wisemen and camels and all. But the real draw of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular: Those loveable and luxuriously leggy Rockettes, who’ll show off their signature, hamstring-stretching dance style (not to mention some serious inner-thigh action). Mmm … Rockettes! Tickets range from $51.50 to $69.50; call 1-866-472-8499 or visit coloniallifearena.com for more information.

Sundays are for benefit concerts! The Red Bank United Methodist Church hosts the annual Christmas at Red Bank benefit concert for Lexington Interfaith Community Services tonight; the music section has more.

Sundays are for musicals based on Arthurian legend! Really, Camelot is as much dime-store romance as it is musical theater: beautiful princess is swept off her feet by a shy but fiery British king and a suave and, uh, equally fiery French knight; the king and knight fight over her; princess becomes a nun after almost being burned at the stake; yada yada yada. The Newberry Opera House hosts two shows of the musical version of The Once and Future King at 3 and 8 p.m.; admission is $32.50 for the matinee or $40 for the nightcap. Call 803-276-6264 or visit newberryoperahouse.com for more information.

MONDAY 7

Mondays are for films about saving the planet! What happens when a Manhattan liberal with a guilty conscience abandons his high-consumption Fifth Avenue lifestyle and attempts to live a year in which he makes no net environmental impact — all while taking his baby daughter and caffeine-addicted and retail-obsessed wife with him? Find out: The University of South Carolina Green Quad Learning Center screens No Impact Man at 7 p.m.; the film follows writer and liberal schlub Colin Beavan as he attempts to go 365 days without affecting Mother Earth. Admission is free, and the screening is followed by a discussion replete with resources on how to have a low-impact holiday season. Call 777-1994 for more information.

TUESDAY 8

Oh, stand by me!: Carolina Ballet opens Playing for Change: Peace Through Music screens Tuesday at the Nickelodeon Theatre.

Tuesdays are for chamber music! The Upton Trio performs tonight at the home of mayoral candidate Kirkman Finlay. The $100 individual admission price might seem a bit steep, but the proceeds benefit the elegant and exciting chamber music trio, as well as the Nickelodeon Theatre and the South Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestra The concert also marks the official release of the trio’s new record, These Are Different Times, and proceeds from disc sales benefit The Nick and the Youth Orchestra as well. So that’s cool. Call 425-4343 or visit uptontrio.org for more information.

Tuesdays are for peace through music! Utilizing a mobile recording studio, documentarians and music lovers Mark Johnson and Enzo Buono traveled the world — to New Orleans, Barcelona, South Africa, Nepal and beyond — to record local musicians interpreting classic songs such as Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and Bob Marley’s “One Love.” The resulting multimedia music project, Playing For Change: Peace Through Music, features mashups of said musical performances alongside artists interviews and more; the documentary screens at 6 p.m. at the Nickelodeon Theatre and is followed by a talkback session as part of the Nick’s Community Film Forum. Call 254-3433 or visit nickelodeon.org for more information.

WEDNESDAY 9

Wednesdays are for cool jazz! In this case, Eight Days is using cool colloquially: Acclaimed Chicago new-jazz musicians Dave Rempis and Frank Rosaly perform at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art at 7:30 p.m.; admission $8 ($5 for CCA members), a pittance given the level of virtuosity Rempis and Rosaly possess. Call 779-4571 or visit 701cca.org for more information.