The DC Lineup for this weekend: Festivities celebrate a variety of traditions

The joy of the holiday season continues this weekend, Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, with the notable menorah lighting ceremony at the White House and fun treats such as breakfast with Santa. Tour homes, attend a musical performance at DC’s arts high school, take a classic Swedish coffee break or watch a winter boat parade to enjoy the variety of traditions celebrated in DC neighborhoods.

The weather will be warm for this time of year, with high temperatures close to 70 degrees on Sunday and in the 40s throughout the rest of the weekend. Expect rain on Saturday and Sunday morning.

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   House Tours: Soak in DC history and find inspiration for your holiday decor with house tours throughout the city. The private boys academy St. Albans School on Mount St. Alban — on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW — hosts its annual Christmas House Tour on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s event spotlights features three homes in Kalorama. The St. Albans Parents’ Association has hosted this annual fundraiser for educational programs such as faculty grants since 1983. Tickets cost $40. … On Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., three house museums — the Society of the Cincinnati’s Anderson House at 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Dumbarton House at 2715 Q St. NW, and the President Woodrow Wilson House at 2340 S St. NW — hosts “Holidays Through History,” featuring tours with music, food and cocktails for $25 to $30 per person. … Across town, the Logan Circle Community Association presents the 40th annual Logan Circle Holiday House Tour on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The tour starts at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW and includes the diverse properties in the Logan Circle neighborhood alongside holiday carolers and winter wassail. The Old Korean Legation Museum, located in a building constructed in 1877 for a Civil War hero, is one of this year’s featured houses. Tickets cost $30 in advance and $35 at the door; proceeds go toward the neighborhood.

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   Music: Support DC youth at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, 3500 R St. NW, during the Instrumental Music Department’s annual Winter Concert on Friday at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for a suggested donation of $5. The performance will feature the school’s award-winning piano ensemble, jazz orchestra and wind ensemble. The school was founded over 40 years ago and guides students through a complete academic curriculum plus an arts major (dance, literary media and communications, museum studies, instrumental or vocal studies, theater, technical design and production, or visual arts). It is named after DC native Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, an accomplished composer and bandleader. Friday’s concert kicks off a series of holiday shows, anchored by performances on Dec. 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 of the school’s annual production of Amahl and the Night Visitors & A Motown Christmas, which pairs Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act opera with a collection of popular Motown songs. Also on the slate are a Dec. 9 concert by the Sophisticated Ladies called A Season of Celebrations and a Dec. 16 dance performance to Handel’s Messiah.

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   Ward 6 Neighborhoods: Head over to The Wharf complex for the Holiday Boat Parade on Saturday, which will feature festively decorated vessels and prizes for parade boats. The event also celebrates the season with opportunities for attendees to decorate ornaments, ice skate, meet Santa and enjoy the warmth of a fire pit, winter drinks at the Waterfront Beer and Wine Garden, and a lighted Christmas tree. Activities run from 6 to 9 p.m. Boats arrive in the Washington Channel at 7 p.m., fireworks start at 8 p.m. and the band Go Go Gadget performs live on District Pier Stage from 8:15 to 9 p.m.

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   Spiritual: Get your free tickets for the lighting ceremony of the National Menorah on Sunday at 4 p.m. on the White House Ellipse. Doors open at 3 p.m. Visitors will enjoy live music from the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” as well as latkes, doughnuts, free dreidels and menorah kits. Tickets are required to attend the ceremony, but the menorah is open for the public to visit throughout Hanukkah (from Sunday evening to Monday evening, Dec. 10). The event — attended by thousands each year and broadcast to millions around the world through media channels — is privately sponsored by the National Menorah Council.

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5. Causes: The 30th annual World AIDS Day is this Saturday. One way to raise awareness is Whitman-Walker Heath’s Walk & 5K to End HIV, now in its 40th year. Check-in for the event on Freedom Plaza at Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th Street NW begins at 7:30 a.m.; the 5K starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by the walk at 9:20 a.m. Registration details are available online with fees of $21 for runners, $23 for sleepwalkers (who plan to sleep through the event but still want to contribute — and get a free T-shirt mailed to them), $9 for student/senior walkers and $15 for other walkers. Whitman-Walker has already raised nearly half of its $850,000 fundraising goal.

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   Family Festival: Visit Tudor Place Historic House and Garden this Saturday for Deck the Halls: A Family at Christmas from 1 to 4 p.m. At this event families can tour the home, write a letter to Santa, send holiday greetings to a service member, sing carols, make ornaments and enjoy holiday treats. The cost for members is $8 for children under 16 and $3 for adults; for non-members it is $10 for kids and $5 for adults. For youth involved with Girl Scouts, this activity meets some of the prerequisites for the Daisy Good Neighbor and Brownie Celebrating Community badges.

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   Cultural: Get a taste of Nordic culture at the Swedish Holiday Market at the House of Sweden, 2900 K St. NW, on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Alongside the bazaar, there will be Swedish crafts, gifts, cheese and traditional cuisine such as herring and glögg available for purchase. This year’s market will be held inside and outside the embassy. Prepaid tickets are sold out online, but tickets will be available at the door for $5.

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   Ward 2 Neighborhoods: You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy Georgetown’s annual Breakfast with Santa this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Volta Park Playground, 1555 34th St. NW. Coffee, doughnuts, crafts and photographs of the event will be sold by Friends of Volta Park. All proceeds will go toward maintaining the park, which includes basketball and tennis courts, a pool and a playground. The breakfast is sponsored by local Realtor Nancy Taylor Bubes of Washington Fine Properties.

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   Ward 4 Neighborhoods: Keep shopping local even after Shop Small Saturday at the 13th annual Petworth Art & Craft Fair on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The market is held outside of Upshur Street Books in Petworth, 827 Upshur St. NW. More than 40 area vendors will be featured along with arts and crafts (including wreath-making), candy, a holiday pie contest and a hot cocoa lounge. If you can’t make it out to the fair, you can participate in an online gingerbread house contest by using the hashtag #gingerbreadhouseDC and tagging @PetworthArtsDC on Instagram or Twitter along with a picture of your creation. The winner will receive a $50 gift card to their favorite Petworth shop.

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    Ward 2 Neighborhoods: The Heurich House Museum, 1307 New Hampshire Ave. NW, will host its sixth annual Christkindlmarkt in the Castle Garden this weekend. Modeled on a traditional German public Christmas market, the event will include jewelry, ceramics, housewares, baked goods and other items from local artisans. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Hours are Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. (with a focus on products made in DC) and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with items from throughout the region). General admission tickets will be sold at the door. They cost $15 for adults, $3 for kids and include a chance to shop at 40 different market vendors and tour the historic mansion featuring its holiday decor. Early access passes — limited to the first 100 buyers — are available online for $25 until 5 p.m. on Nov. 29 (as well as at the door if they are not sold out). This allows for morning entry on Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and a commemorative tote bag. VIP passes for $20 include the bag and admission during normal hours. This historic mansion — nicknamed “The Brewmaster’s Castle” — was built in the early 1890s by German immigrant, philanthropist and brewer Christian Heurich.