WEDNESDAY 25

Wednesdays are for surreal soul-searching comedy! Stumbling upon an article in The New Yorker about a high-tech company that extracts, deep-freezes and stores people’s souls, actor Paul Giamatti (played by, uh, Paul Giamatti) very well might have found the key to happiness for which he’s been searching. But, complications arise when he is the unfortunate victim of soul-trafficking, and Giamatti’s journey takes him all the way to Russia in hopes of retrieving his stolen soul from an ambitious but talentless soap-opera actress. So goes the plot of Cold Souls, which opens tonight at the Nickelodeon Theatre and which Entertainment Weekly calls a “darkly funny, twisty-cool existential tragicomedy, loaded with smart notions and filmed like a surrealist dream.” Sign Eight Days up: The film screens at 3, 6 and 8 p.m. Call 254-3433 or visit nickelodeon.org for more information.

Wednesdays are for memes! Art Bar hosts a special edition of Mr. B’s Goodtime Karaoke Explosion at 9 p.m., in which Mr. B gives thanks to the gods of the Interwebs with an Internet Meme Costume Party. Eight Days suggests thinking outside the LOLcat box and going as, say, Bubb Rubb or The Pancake Bunny. You can has reason to get hammered the day before Thanksgiving: Call 929-0198 or visit artbarsc.com for more information.


THURSDAY 26

Thursdays are for turkey! And stuffing! And pumpkin pie! Yes, loyal Eight Days reader, today is Thanksgiving, which, if you’re in our family, means Bloody Marys for breakfast, gorging yourself stupid and falling asleep in front of the television. But Eight Days recognizes that not everyone is as sedentary as we are, especially on this most bountiful of feasting holidays, so we humbly present the following opportunities to get yourself out of the house ... and perhaps away from all those annoying relatives.

Thursdays are for exercise! The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands hosts its annual Turkey Day Run this morning, and what better way to kick off a day of abject gluttony than with a hearty 8K run? (There’s also a 3K run for those who want to hit the mashed potatoes quicker.) The run begins at the Colonial Life Arena at 9 a.m., with registration beginning an hour beforehand, and the race will run you $30. Call 799-4786 or visit bgcmidlands.org for more information.

Thursdays are for drum trips! Rusted Root plays a special Thanksgiving show tonight at the Elbow Room; the Pittsburgh-based band is known for its fusion of jam-inspired bluegrass and world drumming. The music section has more.

Thursdays are for ... Shaqsgiving? NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is hosting a Thanksgiving soiree at Tabu in The Vista; Eight Days is certain that The Big Aristotle is a better party host than a free-throw shooter, and Wilt Chamberneezy has always struck us as a gregarious fellow. Flyers for the event say doors open at 9 p.m. and admission is free until 10 p.m., but Eight Days has been warned that this is a private birthday party and that space is limited. Call 252-6382 for more information.


FRIDAY 27

Falcon punch!: Carolina Ballet opens The Nutcracker at the Koger Center on Friday.

Fridays are for nutcrackin’! Much like it does every Friday after Thanksgiving, the Carolina Ballet kicks off its annual holiday presentation of The Nutcracker at the Koger Center tonight, bringing with it the usual assortment of rat kings, toy soldiers and sugar plum fairies. And, oh yeah, some of the finest professional and pre-professional dancers in the city as well. Curtain rises at 7 p.m.; admission ranges from $16 to $26. Call 771-6303 for more information or visit carolinaballet.net for tickets.

Fridays are for polar opposites! Today is Black Friday, but today is also Buy Nothing Day.
Whichever one you choose to subscribe to is up to you.


SATURDAY 28

Saturdays are for partying in the U.S.A.! Disney tween-pop sensation Miley Cyrus performs at 7 p.m. at the Colonial Life Arena; Eight Days wonders if Hannah Montana will make an appearance. Tickets range from $42.25 to $82.25, a pittance to see the smiles on your children’s faces. (At the very least, it’ll get the bratty little buggers to shut up.) Call 1-866-472-8499 or visit coloniallifearena.com for more information.

Saturdays are for harvesting hope! A consortium of the Capital City’s finest songwriters gather tonight at Art Bar to raise funds and gather donations for the Harvest Hope Food Bank and Food Not Bombs; the music section has more.


SUNDAY 29

Lasers rule!: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday.

Sundays are for lighting Christmas trees! Malls and department stores be damned — the yuletide season in the Palmetto State doesn’t begin until the governor lights the big Christmas tree on the State House grounds. Gov. Mark Sanford will do the lighting at this year’s Governor’s Carolighting; taking care of the caroling are the Governor’s All-Star High School Chorus and Band, the University of South Carolina Trumpet Choir, the Palmetto Mastersingers, the Carolighting Children’s Choir and the Handbell Choir. We have to ask: What’s the damage on the state’s electrical bill like for that giant tree, and does the money to pay for it come out of our taxes? Ask the guv himself — the shindig kicks off at 6 p.m. (SCETV will also be broadcasting the event, should you feel like staying in and polishing off the last of the broccoli casserole.) Call 737-0769 for more information.

Sundays are for lasers! Eight Days’ll say one thing about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra: It puts on one killer laser light show. The music section says many, many more things about Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which plays the Colonial Life Arena at 3 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m.


MONDAY 30

Mondays are for shopping local! If Eight Days is a fan of anything, it’s supporting local businesses. So we order you to attend the following: Sustainable Midlands hosts a Sustainable Holiday Celebration at 701 Whaley from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; the event, which encourages attendees to shop local and support local arts, will feature wine from Cellar on Greene, hand-crafted ornaments made from recycled materials and more. Call 381-8747 or visit sustainablemidlands.org for more information.


TUESDAY 1

Tuesdays are for dueling banjos! Well, banjoes dueling with bassoons, that is: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra at 8 p.m. at the Koger Center; our cover package has more.


WEDNESDAY 2

Wednesdays are for student composers! The University of South Carolina School of Music presents a Student Composers Recital in — where else? — the School of Music Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. The performance is free, so you have little excuse not to see these rising Rachmaninoffs, maturing Mozarts and burgeoning Brahmses in action. Call 777-4280 or visit music.sc.edu for more information.

Wednesdays are for student dancers! The University of South Carolina Dance Company offers up two separate showcases at Drayton Hall tonight: The first half of the evening, which begins at 6 p.m., finds the company performing eight original contemporary dance pieces by student and guest choreographers; the second half, beginning at 8 p.m., features the company’s resident professional dance company, the Wideman/Davis Dance Company, presenting Balance, an original dance piece addressing the issue of homelessness in Columbia. Tickets for both shows are $16 for the public; $14 for military, faculty and staff; and $10 for students. Call 777-5112 for more information.