So much to do this weekend. Here are a few other events you might be intrigued by over the next few days:

Friday

Elvis, Elvis, and more Elvis - Baltimore's Night of 100 Elvises kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Lithuanian Hall, 851-3 Hollins St. The main ballroom will host at least 12 bands and 12 Elvis tribute artists. All entertainers will perform all Elvis music, all night. No song will be duplicated in the ballroom. You get the picture. Tickets are $55 and include drinks and a southern buffet.

Saturday

Merry Tuba and Holiday Sing - More than 250 brass players perform at the Harborplace Amphitheater perform a special holiday concert at 3:30. The Heart of Maryland Chorus precedes them, at 3, and from 11 to 2:30 audience members are invited to join in as part of a sing-along.

NOTE

I thought you also may be interested in knowing that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has extended its registration deadline for its "Hallelujah! Community Sing-A-Long" on Dec. 9. The deadline is now Dec. 7, so get your lungs ready and register online.

Glancing at this weekend's activities, it seems this is truly the first weekend of the holiday season. Enjoy!

Thursday

Lighting of the Washington Monument - America's oldest monument to our first president is awash in lights for the holiday season. Live entertainment, food, drink, and even fireworks are on the tap during the pre-event, which starts at 5:30 in the heart of Mount Vernon.

Free holiday concert at Harbor East - Today, Dec. 10, and Dec. 17 shoppers and diners in Harbor East will be treated to free concerts at the corner of Aliceanna and President streets. Tonight features The Crawdaddies, next week is Mambo Combo, and the Junkyard Saints perform on Dec. 17. The music runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

Friday

Little Italy Chirstmas tree lighting - A tree at the corner of High and Stiles streets in Little Italy lights up with the Christmas spirit at 6 p.m. Holiday carolers from the Coral Arts Society and a Santa - who speaks Italian - will be among the attendees.

Saturday and Sunday

Dollar Days - Every year for one weekend in December, downtown Baltimore attractions drop admission prices to $1 or less. Dollar admission at the Baltimore Aquarium may be the highlight, but dozens of other attractions also offer up this holiday treat.

Sunday

Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade - The annual parade begins at 2 p.m. Poly/Western High School and ends on 37th St. It's a 2.5-mile path that includes more than 150 marching units. This year's Miss Yuletide is Maggie Terhune, and the grand marshall is Nicholas Greer.

There are good deals, and then there are great deals. File Baltimore's annual Dollar Days under the latter.

Each year a number of downtown businesses slash their admission prices all the way down to a buck for one weekend in December. Saturday and Sunday, a single George Washington will get you into a number of attractions, including the Baltimore Aquarium. Be forewarned though: this promotion draws big crowds, so get to the aquarium early to pick up your tickets.

Another quick note: If you're interested in catching the Da Vinci exhibit at the Maryland Science Center (and you should - it's very interesting), you'll have to buy a separate ticket. A dollar only gets you into the museum, it's not valid for special exhibits, IMAX movies, you get the picture. But it's still a great deal.

If the weather is nice this weekend, you can bet the Inner Harbor will be packed, so you might want to check out these tips on parking.

Nothing in life is free, but $1 admission ain't bad.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has just been found guilty of taking gift cards intended for the city's poor. She was acquitted on three other charges.

The jury convicted her of one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and acquitted her on two counts of felony theft and one count of misconduct in office. Jurors failed to reach verdict on another count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary.

Dixon allegedly kept $630 worth of gift cards a developer intended to be used by the city's poor.  She then bought electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy and other items at Target.

"The city will still continue to move forward," Dixon said outside the courthouse after the verdict, according to The Sun. "This city will continue to run. ... We won't miss a step."

So what do you think? Should this conviction force Dixon from office? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Photo: Mayor Sheila Dixon was convicted of embezzlement today. (Steve Ruark/Getty Images)

That is to say, the kind the rest of the world plays?

In light of last night's stirring Ravens win, I thought I'd bring this to your attention: Baltimore is getting a soccer franchise in a new league.

According to the Baltimore Business Journal, the city will have a team in a minor league set to debut in April. The team will be called Crystal Palace Baltimore. Its ownership includes Randall Medd, a real estate investor and options trader from Delray Beach, Fla.; professional soccer player and real estate entrepreneur Pete Medd; and Jim Cherneski, a pro soccer player for more than a decade. Crystal Palace USA was founded with the help of Crystal Palace Football Club UK and its chairman, Simon Jordan.

I'm not the world's biggest soccer fan, but I know the sport is popular in the city. July's friendly involving Chelsea and AC Milan drew an impressive crowd to M&T Bank Stadium.  No word yet on where our new team will play, but as soon as more information becomes available, I'll post it.

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 was 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)

Amazing how this year is flying by, isn't it? It's almost Thanksgiving!

Friday

Bruce Springsteen in concert - The Boss is back in Baltimore for the first time in 36 years. Tickets to the show at 1st Mariner Arena sold out in 20 minutes, so if you want to catch this historic performance, you'll have to pay a pretty penny - but they are available on StubHub.

Jim Gaffigan in concert - The hilarious dry humor of Midwestern comic extraordinaire Jim Gaffigan comes to the Lyric Opera House. If you haven't heard Gaffigan's musings on Hot Pockets and Popeye's, well, you're missing out. Tickets start at $33.75 and are available online.

Saturday

Santa arrives at Harborplace - It's officially the Christmas season. St. Nick rolls into the Inner Harbor for the inaugural Santa House lighting. The Heart of Maryland Chorus will be performing Christmas carols at the event, held in the amphitheater. The festivities begin at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday

Ravens vs Colts - If you doubted how much the Colts meant to the city of Baltimore, watch native son Barry Levinson's outstanding documentary on the subject, The Band That Wouldn't Die. Not like this match-up needs any more juice, but Peyton Manning and the Colts are looking like the class of the AFC this year. They're undefeated (and their kicker, Matt Stover, hasn't missed all year). Tickets to the tussle at M&T Bank Stadium will be tough to come by, but once again, you can get them on StubHub if you're willing to pay. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.