Ellington

Kick off your weekend tonight with a wide choice of events. At 7 p.m., Ballet Magnificat's "A Christmas Dream" at Thalia Mara Hall is sure to get the entire family into a Christmas state of mind. Tickets run from $10 to $30. Call 601-977-1001. Also starting at 7 p.m., and at the other end of the cultural spectrum, the Esperanza Plantation Holiday Showcase at the Pix-Capri Theatre includes music by Tommy Bryan Ledford, Wooden Finger, Colour Revolt and more. Admission is $15. Where's the best place to start your search for things to do in Jackson? The JFP Best Bets page, of course.

Saturday is your last chance this year to shop the Belhaven Market at the Mississippi's Farmers' Market. Stock up from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on local produce and handcrafted goodies, and browse for unique last-minute gifts. At 10 a.m., head to the Roberts Walthall Hotel downtown for the Youth Hip-Hop Summit Reconvening, hosted by the ACLU of Mississippi. This is your opportunity to give input into next year's summit. For the littlest Jacksonians, Santa will be at the zoo at noon with his cohort, Zany the Zebra. The event is free with regular zoo admission. Bigger kids will want to check out the free Skateboard Jam at 1 p.m. at Swell-O-Phonic in Fondren. The event includes a skateboard clinic, a skate jam and hip hop music by Astroknautz. Jackson has plenty of grownup events, too, including book signings, dinner theater and concerts. Where can you find them? Go directly to the JFP Events Calendar and pick a category, or browse all of the city's best events listings.

As usual for a Saturday night, the Jackson area has live music for your every aural pleasure. Fire hosts a cutting edge hip-hop show starting at 7:30 p.m. with headliner Wiz Khalifa. Mississippi's Big K.R.I.T., Mimosa and B.O.M.B. Squad will be heating up the crowd. If hip-hop isn't your thing, check out Cary Hudson and the Piney Woods Playboys at Underground 119, the blues with Sherman Lee Dillon at F. Jones Corner, jazz at Suite 106 or the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band's Christmas Concert at Belhaven University Center for the Arts. You'll find all this and more on the JFP Music Listings.

On Sunday, head back to the JFP events listings and calendars to plan more fun. At 1 p.m., grab the kids and head to Ridgeland and the Viking Cooking School to decorate a gingerbread house. $59 includes a pre-constructed house and all the gumdrops and peppermints you'll need. Later, leave the little ones with a sitter and make your way to BRAVO! for a Champagne and sparkling wine tasting for $55. All of that reveling will leave you hungry, of course, and perhaps in the mood for something new. The JFP Restaurant Listings and the Menu Guide provide the best dining the Jackson area has to offer.

Is something missing? To make sure your event is listed on the JFP calendars, send the information to [e-mail missing] or [e-mail missing], or add your event yourself. It's easy!