A very happy Thanksgiving to all Baltimore.About.com readers and their families. Here's a short, holiday edition of your Weekend Roundup.

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! If cooking's not your thing, consider going out to eat this Turkey Day.

Friday-Saturday-Sunday

Festival of Trees - Kennedy Krieger Institute's 20th-annual festival kicks off at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The largest event on the east coast features live entertainment every hour, a reading by Cal Ripken, "reindeer" pony rides, and the SantaLand theme park. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+) and children (5-12). Children under 5 are free. They're available online.

If you flip on the TV tomorrow to watch the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, you might see some local faces.

The Towson University Marching Band will perform in the holiday spectacular this year. It's a big honor for the students and the school - the Tigers are the only university marching band participating in the 2009 parade. The band is composed of more than 230 members coming from more than 120 different high schools, from 12 different states, who have more than 70 majors. This is the band's first trip to New York.

Parade coverage will air live tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. on NBC (Channel 11), so keep your eyes peeled for the yellow and black.

Perhaps you've seen the commercials for the new film, The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock. The movie is based on a book of the same name by journalist Michael Lewis that chronicles the life of current Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Michael Oher.

Oher was the team's first-round pick in April's college draft. Before starring at the University of Mississippi, he led a very rough childhood, growing up poor, illiterate, and without the guidance of a strong family structure. But his is a rags-to-riches tale that seems tailor-made to translate to the big screen, and Hollywood took notice of Lewis' book. The full-length, big-budget feature opened Friday.

I've yet to see the PG-rated film, which appears geared toward families and kids, but Sun critic Michael Sragow liked it. Curiously, Oher himself has had very little to say about it, preferring to keep quiet and focus on his rookie season with the Ravens.

If you're interested, it's playing at the Landmark Theatres in Harbor East - always a fantastic place to take in a film (with a cocktail!). If anyone checks it out this week, let me know what you think.

Photo: Michael Oher of the Ravens is the subject of a new movie in theaters now. (Larry French/Getty Images Sports)

Friday night marked Bruce Springsteen's return to Baltimore after a 36-year absence. He didn't disappoint.

Even before the show, downtown was buzzing in a way it seldom does after the sun goes down. Bruce fans were everywhere. Those with tickets packed bars along Pratt Street, where E Street classics fired from stereos, and people without tickets were pacing up and down the streets, deciding just how much to bankrupt themselves for the privilege of getting inside 1st Mariner Arena.

Anyone who made it into the old arena were treated to one hell of a show. For nearly 3 1/2 straight hours, the 60+ year old Springsteen and his E Street Band played with astounding energy, performing an assortment of new and old songs. Toward the beginning, the group played the entire "Born to Run" album, delighting the crowd with classics like "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run."

If you've never seen Springsteen live and you get the chance to - take it. Even if you're not the biggest Bruce fan, the level of energy, intensity, and passion with which he plays and sings makes for a remarkable concert.

Here's the setlist from Friday's show:

Wrecking Ball (with Curt Ramm)
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm)
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River (with Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Spirit in the Night
Green Onions
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
The E Street Shuffle
For You
Radio Nowhere
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Long Walk Home
The Rising
Badlands
* * *
Ramrod
Hard Times
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land (with Curt Ramm and Ali Weinberg)
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)
Higher and Higher (with Curt Ramm)
Glory Days

Photo: Bruce Springsteen's Friday night show in Baltimore was spectacular. (Roger Kisby/Getty Images)