MONDAY
Bourbon Pop Up Gift Shop
Green Building
Free | 5 p.m.
This event promises to take the “Louisville bourbon experience to the next level.” With retailers offering “bourbon analogous gifts for those looking to surprise the Bourbon lover for the Holidays.” And it wouldn’t be a true bourbon event without bourbon cocktails on hand to warm your winter spirits (thanks to Galaxie bartenders).
TUESDAY
Bye Bye, 2016 – End of Year Magic Mixer
Haymarket Whiskey Bar
Free | 8 p.m.
Finally, 2016 is coming to a close. Undoubtably, more gut-punching disasters will happen before it’s all over, but fuck it, let’s party. Celebrate the end of this terrible year with Haymarket Whiskey Bar at a magical mixer with live music, plenty of drinks and good friends with shoulders to cry on.
Jazz Night with Your Friendly Neighborhood Jazz Band
Tim Faulkner Gallery
Free | 8 p.m.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Big Band is a local jazz band with a constantly-rotating lineup of regular members and the occasional special guest. The band’s sound changes according to the roster of any given night, and, this Tuesday, the group will perform “classic big band literature and original arrangements.”
Yelp’s Guide to Giving: Coffee Giving Hour 2
Vint
$2 donation | 6:30 p.m.
Help Yelp Louisville pay it forward this holiday season with an event benefiting Volunteers of America. All you have to do is stop by Vint on Frankfort Avenue and donate more than $2, and in return you get coffee, a pair of Yelp fingerless gloves or coffee mug and live holiday music.
WEDNESDAY
Howell’s Hoot & Holler Karaoke – Holiday Song Extravaganza
Zanzabar
Free | 8 p.m.
Howell’s Hoot & Holler Karaoke is not your average karaoke session. Not only can you get on stage and sing your heart out, but you also get to enjoy random entertainment by Howell Dawdy, and free tacos from one of Louisville’s local taquerias. It’s a night best described on the Zanzabar website as “lame ass, insular, pseudo karaoke.”
Anime Movie Night
Kaiju
Free | 7 p.m.
Enjoy anime goodness at Kaiju this Wednesday with free popcorn (as long as supplies last) and screenings of “Nausiccaä of the Valley of the Wind” at 8 p.m. and “Sword of the Stranger” at 10 p.m. And, for you diehard anime fans out there, show up early (at 7 p.m.) for a meet and greet.
THURSDAY
As Seen on TV Holiday Party
Against The Grain Brewery
Free with gift | 8 p.m.-Midnight
All you have to do to attend this holiday party is bring one wrapped As Seen On TV product, which will enter you into the world’s largest infomercial gift exchange! Why anyone would want an As Seen On TV gift is beyond us, but while you’re there, Against The Grain will have its special holiday brew, a peppermint milk stout called Santa Came Early, on tap all night.
Smithmas
Zanzabar
$3 suggested donation | 7 p.m.
Forget Christmas, celebrate The Smiths on Smithmas! Enjoy live covers of The Smiths and Morrissey songs by the best local bands around and DJ sets all night, with proceeds from the event going to The Fairness Campaign.
FRIDAY
Winter Dark Market
Haymarket Whiskey Bar
Free | 6 p.m.
This holiday season, give your loved ones a gift with a pinch of darkness. The Winter Dark Market will feature curated oddities and wonderfully-weird art from a number of unique local artists including MissHappyPink, Yoko Molotov, Idlewild Butterfly Farm and more. And once you’ve got your gift, stick around for drinks and music by DJs Thulsa Goon and Talamasca.
Ugly Sweater Bambi Walk
Bardstown Road
Free | 7 p.m.
Grab your favorite ugly sweater for a night of drinking at this annual bar hop. Beginning at Bambi Bar and continuing down Bardstown Road with “plenty of boozing, caroling, Christmas cheer and birthday songs for baby Jesus” in between. Dress warm!