Go, Dog. Go!
P.D. Eastman was not Dr. Seuss. The two served together in the Army’s film unit, and Eastman’s fun, simple books for little kids are published under the Cat in the Hat’s umbrella, so people who are confused about the whole thing should be cut some slack.

Eastman’s Go, Dog. Go! is the gripping tale of six pooches who can’t sit still, are obsessed with vehicles, and really just want to party. There’s also a dog who’s quite picky about hats. The closing performance of Childsplay’s production of the rollicking stage version starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 23, at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. It’s meant for audiences 3 and older. Tickets are $15 to $26 at the Childsplay website or 480-350-2822. Julie Peterson

Rhymes With Equality
You Racist, Sexist, Bigot is a film directed by Matty Steinkamp and Pita Juarez, host of the podcast Mira Listen. It features stories of Americans overcoming discrimination. Rhymes With Equality is a benefit event for the documentary, which will make its way around the festival circuit next year. Poet and performer Melissa Dunmore of Mujeres del Sol will host a night of poetry from Yovani Flores and Rashaad Thomas and young poets from the School of Hip-Hop Phoenix. Additionally, The Stakes will perform, and they plan to debut the video for their latest single, “Prophecy.”

The event starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 23, at Valley Bar, 130 North Central Avenue. Admission is $10. For more information, visit the Valley Bar website. Jason Keil

Obscura Dance Night Winter is Glamorous (WIG) Party
Get your wigs, kids, because after a hiatus, the Obscura Dance Night Winter is Glamorous (WIG) Party is back.
Rips Ales & Cocktails, 3045 North 16th Street, will host the hairpiece-themed party. DJ Court will soundtrack the evening with synthpop, Britpop,New Wave, and indie. In the spirit of holiday giving, there will be ticket giveaways for upcoming concerts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Real Estate, and STFKR.

The 21-and-up event will kick off at 8:30 p.m. and run until 2 a.m. on Saturday, December 23. There is no cover charge before 9 p.m., and it’s $5 after. For more information, visit the Facebook event page. Lindsay Roberts

Arizona Cardinals v. New York Giants
There’s nothing more American than football and cheeseburgers. And when it comes to the NFL, if the Dallas Cowboys are the Big Mac, then the New York Giants are the Whopper, as enduring and iconic a team as any the league has to offer. So when first-time head coach Ben McAdoo benched the team’s most respected member, quarterback Eli Manning, in favor of mercurial and unproven backup Geno Smith, he caused quite a stir in the national sports community.

Not surprisingly, when the Giants visit Glendale’s University of Phoenix Stadium, 1 Cardinals Drive, on at 2:25 p.m. on Sunday, December 24, Eli will be on the field and Coach Ben will be on the bench — make that the couch. Tickets are $18 and up. Visit the Cardinals website or call 623-433-7101 for details. Rob Kroehler

Scrooge in Rouge
Stage comedy teems with meta-situations in which characters who are actors (keep up, here) must go on in place of other actors (that is, characters) who’ve fallen ill and/or died or something. “Unplanned” cross-dressing and quick changes fail humorously (on purpose — keep up, here). Other shows showcase the virtuosity of players who officially depict 50 people each.

For the second year now, Mesa Encore Theatre presents Scrooge in Rouge, a rowdy English-music-hall homage in which three plucky actor-characters suddenly have to portray everybody in A Christmas Carol. The humor’s naughty, the songs are astonishing, and it’s partly inspired by real-life male impersonator Vesta Tilley. Sunday, December 24’s showtime is 2:30 p.m. at MET’s Black Box, 933 East Main Street. For tickets, $15, visit the Mesa Encore Theatre website or call 480-834-9500. Julie Peterson

TechMas
Wind down the festivities of the day with a nap — and then get ready to get wound up all over again at TechMas. Hosted by the Society for Musical Esotericism, the event will include a jam-packed schedule of sonic entertainment from a combination of live electronic music acts and DJs. The Tempe dive that’s as known for its shows as it is for its cheap drinks gets lit, with knob-twisting and button-pushing from local acts including Terminal 11 and Carlos Sandoval. Issa, Beast Infection, and JSA are a few of the DJs.

Beats begin at 8 p.m. on Monday, December 25, at the Palo Verde Lounge, 1015 West Broadway Road in Tempe. Admission to the 21-and-over event is free. See details at the Facebook event page. Amy Young

Monty Python’s Life of Brian
The holidays are here, and they’re the perfect time to see the film that turned the Son of God’s story on its head. The controversial and hilarious Monty Python’s Life of Brian follows what happened to the guy who was born in the manger next to Jesus. Brian is continually mistaken for the son of Mary and Joseph in this satire by the British comedy troupe. It was prohibited throughout Europe upon its initial release, which caused it to be described as “so funny, it was banned in Norway!”

Get saved on Monday, December 25 at FilmBar, 815 North Second Street. Screening times haven’t been announced as of this writing. For more information, visit the FilmBar website. Jason Keil

Snow Week
During the Arizona Science Center’s sixth annual Snow Week, 75 tons of snow will cover Heritage and Science Park, 115 North Sixth Street. Besides throwing snowballs and building snowmen, you can also take part in activities such as a Chewbacca roar contest, a Death Star explosion, a New Year’s Eve ball drop, movie screenings of Frozen and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and carpool karaoke at the Arizona Science Center, 600 East Washington Street.

Snow Week runs from Tuesday, December 26, to Sunday, December 31. Playing in the snow is free, and activities at the science center are included in the price of admission, which is $18 for adults, $13 for children 3 to 17, and free for those 2 and younger. For more information, call 602-716-2000 or go the Arizona Science Center website. Laura Latzko

Cactus Bowl
There are too many damn Wildcats in college sports. Sure, most of them belong to colleges that probably aren’t real. But all told, there are around 20 Wildcats in the country and a handful of them have highly visible sports programs.

So in case there was any confusion, and there likely was, this year’s Cactus Bowl features the Kansas State Wildcats and the UCLA Bruins. To be fair, there are around 10 Bruins mascots in collegiate sports, it’s just that no one cares about the others. But hey, at least the bowl, which features eligible teams from the Pac 12 and the Big 12, doesn’t have any Eagles or Bulldogs to contend with.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Chase Field, 401 East Jefferson Street, on Tuesday, December 26. Tickets are $10 and up. Visit the Fiesta Bowl website or call 602-514-8400 for details. Rob Kroehler

Goodbye, Vitamin
It kind of sucks when you get to the end of a book and want to talk about it, but no one you know has peeped it yet. That’s what book clubs are for. Hosted by Barbara VanDenburgh, the First Draft Book Club is a monthly event where you can get chatty about a different book each time. Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong is this month’s selection. The fictional novel finds main character Ruth honestly and humorously examining life at 30. The bookstore serves beer and wine, with happy hour prices running the duration of the event. Drink and discuss at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 27, at Changing Hands, 300 West Camelback Road. Admission is free. Call 602-274-0067 or visit the Changing Hands website. Amy Young