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)

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.

Well, the celebrity edition, anyway. On tomorrow's show (7 p.m., Channel 2), three "celebrity" contestants compete in the Jeopardy Million Dollar Celebrity Challenge. Among the trio is Robin Quivers, sidekick on the Howard Stern Show.

Quivers is a Baltimore native, and tomorrow night she'll be playing for the SEED School of Maryland, a statewide, public college preparatory boarding school that presents students from across the state with an opportunity to receive a tuition-free education that prepares them for success in college and beyond.

Kudos to Quivers, who has been the King of All Media's newswoman for more than 25 years. No matter what you think of Stern, you certainly can support the SEED School, which opened in August 2008.

Go Robin!

Photo: Robin Quivers will be playing Jeopardy tomorrow night for SEED School of Maryland. (Mike Coppola/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Not sure how many of you know about the Asian Arts Gallery at Towson University, but there's an interesting exhibit running there through Dec. 12.

"Furniture for the Divine," features, well, furniture, and accessories used in the worship of deities and ancestors dating from the 14th century. Items include altar tables, shrines, tributary carvings and sculptures, tapestries, and portraits.

The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. It's closed on Sundays and Thanksgiving Weekend. Admission is free.

It's located in the Center for the Arts at the corner of Osler and Cross Campus Drives. The Asian Arts Gallery is on the second floor of the building, room 2037. Parking and direction information is available online.

There's just about 9 hours until kickoff of the Ravens-Browns game. While the game almost was blacked out in Cleveland (the team stepped up and bought the remaining tickets to ensure a sellout and avoid a local TV blackout), it will be on (many, many) televisions in Baltimore.

If you're heading out to watch it, check out my list of top spots around town to take in a game. If not, crack a cold one, sit back in the recliner and enjoy.

I'd love to hear your score predictions. The Browns are awful, but there were a lot of upsets yesterday in the NFL, proving anything can happen any time two NFL teams tussle.

For the record, I'm going with 27-13 Ravens.

Photo: The Ravens need a big game from young phenom Ray Rice tonight against the Cleveland Browns. (Larry French/Getty Images Sport)

Fear not fans of the 4-4 Ravens and perpetually putrid Orioles. Baltimore does have one winning pro sports franchise, and they kick off their season tonight.

The Baltimore Blast begin defense of their indoor soccer championship tonight at 7:35 p.m. at 1st Mariner Arena against the Rockford Rampage.  The Blast are the class of the Major Indoor Soccer League, the new/old name of the six-team league in which they compete.

Tickets start at $16, and are available by calling 410-732-5278 or 410-547-SEAT. They also can be purchased online.  Going to a Blast game is, well, a blast. The soccer is fast and intense, and the fans can get very close to the action. It's a good option if you want to see some - winning - professional sports in town.

Friday

Baltimore Blast season opener - The defending Major Indoor Soccer League champs open the 2009-2010 season at 1st Mariner Arena at 7:35. Tickets start at $16 and can be purchased at the arena box office, by calling 410-732-5278, or by going to Ticketmaster.com.

Friday-Saturday-Sunday

Irish Festival - The 34th annual festival kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The menu features Irish favorites like corned beef and cabbage, plenty o potatoes. Don't forget some Irish whiskey and beer to wash it all down. There's also traditional Irish music, book readings and signings, and Irish dance on the entertainment bill. Admission is: $10, seniors (62+): $8, young 'uns (12-17): $5, active military with ID: $5, children under 12: free.

Saturday

Dino Day at the Maryland Science Center - From noon to 4 p.m. visitors can enjoy a live reptile show, make a dino necklace, dig their own fossil, and more. All activities are free with paid admission.

Three Movie Visionaries: Barry Levinson, David Simon, and John Waters - Baltimore's Mt. Rushmore of filmmakers gather on one stage for the first time in an event to benefit the Maryland Film Festival. Thankfully, it's for a good cause, because at $125 a ticket, it ain't cheap. Maryland Institute College of Art, Brown Center, 5:30 p.m., 1301 W. Mount Royal Ave.