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John Oliver, Kurt Vile, ‘Beetlejuice’ and other events around Philadelphia, Dec. 28-Jan. 3

John Oliver, Kurt Vile, 'Beetlejuice' and other events around Philadelphia, Dec. 28-Jan. 3

Catch this year's fireworks at 6 p.m. and midnight at Penn's Landing and along the Delaware River.
Catch this year's fireworks at 6 p.m. and midnight at Penn's Landing and along the Delaware River.Read more--- Michael Bryant

COMEDY

John Oliver

John Oliver, the acerbic host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, ventures to Philly for two nights and four shows at Philly’s newly restored Met Philadelphia. While both days' 7 p.m. time slots are sold out, a few tickets remain for the two 10 p.m. stand-up performances, sure to include plenty of political satire and commentary. — Grace Dickinson

7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday. The Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad St. $69 and up. 800-653-8000. themetphilly.com

FAMILY

Disney on Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party

Mickey Mouse and friends go on a quest to free Tinkerbell in Disney on Ice’s brand-new show, filled with world-class skating and acrobatic stunts. Bring your family along for the adventure as Mickey, Moana, Belle, Elsa, and the rest of the star-studded cast follow a treasure map that takes them through several beloved Disney classics. — G.D.

Various showtimes Thursday through Monday. Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. $22 and up. wellsfargocenterphilly.com

New Year’s Eve Fireworks

What better way to ring in the New Year than with Philly’s annual free fireworks show? Shooting high over the Delaware River twice on New Year’s Eve, the spectacle draws thousands to the waterfront, rooftops and the top floors of parking garages every year. Stake out a spot at Penn’s Landing for prime views. — G.D.

6 p.m. and midnight Tuesday, Penn’s Landing, 101 N. Columbus Blvd. Free. delawareriverwaterfront.com

FILM

Midnight Madness: ‘Beetlejuice’

When Geena Davis' and Alec Baldwin’s unwitting ghosts find the comfort of their home disturbed by the living, the inimitable Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) is summoned to restore order. Tim Burton’s digitally restored 1988 classic screens at the Ritz at midnight on Friday evening. — Thea Applebaum Licht

11:59 p.m. Friday. Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St. $10.25. 215-440-1181. landmarktheatres.com

FITNESS

Resolution Run

Start 2019 on a healthy note by joining Philadelphia Runner’s New Year’s Day Resolution Run. Participants will set out on an approximately 3-mile route through the city. Afterward, runners are invited back to the running-gear retailer to write their yearly goals on a “resolution wall" and enjoy refreshments and a raffle. — G.D.

10 a.m. Tuesday. Philadelphia Runner, 1601 Sansom St. Free. philadelphiarunner.com/events

FOOD & DRINK

Mochitsuki Festival

Learn how to make mochi — chewy rice cakes often filled with ice cream or sweet red bean paste — at Maido, Ardmore’s Japanese market/lunch counter. At 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., the market will demonstrate how to make the cakes, a process that at one point involved pounding sticky glutinous rice in a hollowed-out tree trunk. Visitors will be able to participate in the process, taste delicious samples, and purchase a variety of mochi at the store. — G.D.

1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Maido, 5 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore. Free. maidoardmore.com

Christmas Taverns Twilight Tour

Haunted-spot specialists Grim Philly put a dark twist on the holiday season with a pagan-fueled take on Christmas history. Enjoy spiced cocktails, a snack, and a deeply researched history of winter festivities — think Vikings' Yule, Europe’s demon/goat figure Krampus, and more — on this Christmas-themed tour. — T.A.L.

Various times Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Rotten Ralph’s, 201 Chestnut St. $45, ages 21 and over. 856-829-3100. grimphilly.com

KWANZAA

Franklin Square Kwanzaa Celebration

The 75,000-plus lights illuminating Franklin Square’s Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show provide a colorful backdrop for its Kwanzaa celebration, featuring free crafting for kids. If you’re still craving holiday sweets, there will be doughnuts, cookies, s’mores, and a hot chocolate bar. The park’s pop-up beer garden will also be open. — G.D.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday. Franklin Square, 200 N. 6th St. free, historicphiladelphia.org

MUSIC

Delbert McClinton

You can call him the godfather of Americana, even if he predates that genre term by decades. It was in the 1960s, in fact — after he gave a young John Lennon some harmonica lessons — that Delbert McClinton began to perfect his indelible blend of R & B, honky-tonk, and rock-and-roll. The hard-to-categorize sound might have limited his commercial prospects, but it has stood the test of time. And at 78, the Texas native is as good a performer and as sharp a writer as ever — just check out his latest album, 2017’s edgily titled Prick of the Litter. In other words, he’s still making us an offer we can’t refuse. — Nick Cristiano

8 p.m. Friday. Copeland Hall at the Grand Opera House, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del. $34 to $38. 302-658-7897. www.thegrandwilmington.org

Margo Price / Lilly Hiatt

After breaking out with her honky-tonk Midwest Farmer’s Daughter in 2016, Margo Price came back strong with last year’s politically pointed All American Made. The Nashville songwriter broadened her scope musically and topically, singing with kindred spirit Willie Nelson on “Learning To Lose” and flying a feminist flag on “Wild Women” and “Pay Gap.” In addition to her current tour, Price is also up for best new artist at next month’s Grammy Awards, and she sings on Mercury Rev’s forthcoming tribute to Bobbie Gentry, The Delta Sweete Revisited, which also features Lucinda Williams and Phoebe Bridgers. — Dan DeLuca

8 p.m. Friday. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Sold out. 215-222-1400. worldcafelive.com

Bettye LaVette

Since her resurrection at the turn of the century, Bettye LaVette has specialized in turning canonical rock songs into personal statements of smoldering or fiery soul. On this year’s Things Have Changed, she turned to the songbook of her contemporary, Bob Dylan. Although they both released their first records in 1962, LaVette favors Dylan’s later works such as “Political World” (with Keith Richards on guitar), “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight” and “Emotionally Yours.” She’s in the area for two intimate, stripped-down duo shows — with keyboardist Evan Mercer — but as her a cappella version of Sinead O’Connor’s “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” proves, she shines with or without a band. — Steve Klinge

8 p.m. Friday. Hopewell Theater, 5 S. Greenwood Ave., Hopewell, N.J. $48.51-$53.85. 609-466-1964, hopewelltheater.com; 8 p.m. Saturday. Kennett Flash, 102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square. $60-$65. 484-732-8295, kennettflash.org

Japanese Breakfast

Jewish-Korean singer and Bryn Mawr College alum Michelle Zauner thought she’d quit making music after Psychopomp, the 2016 album she released under the name Japanese Breakfast. Fortunately, Psychopomp’s thoughtful, emotionally raw bedroom pop found more of an audience than her work in Philly’s underrated Little Big League had. The success inspired her to continue. In 2017, Soft Sounds from Another Planet expanded on that success with spacious, dream pop and kept Japanese Breakfast on the road most of 2018. They close the year with three sold-out hometown shows at Johnny Brenda’s, including a New Year’s Eve bash. — S.K.

8 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. Sold out. 215-739-9684. johnnybrendas.com

Armani White

Soulful, loquacious native son Armani White has a knack for making music as indebted to his family tree as it is to his sense of wordy emotionalism. The West Philadelphia rapper-singer made his bones with the life lessons of “Nothing to Prove” as well as an ode to his father’s double life (as a dad and a gang member) on the 2017 track “Public School.” After showing off his skills at the 2018′s Made in America, he spent the fall gearing up for his latest single, “Onederful,” inspired by is 5-year-old niece. If White stays home for the holidays, expect another smart smash soon. — A.D. Amorosi

8 p.m. Saturday. The Foundry at the Fillmore, 219 E. Allen St. $15. 215-309-0150. thefillmorephilly.com

Kurt Vile

After watching him duet with Courtney Barnett and John Prine, it’s nice to see Philly’s Kurt Vile on his own and departing ever so slightly from his trademark Neil Young sound on his newest album, Bottle It In. Dazed, hazier, and lazier — in a good, dreamy way — than his last several solo albums, Vile has found a sonic and lyrical palette that is free, cool, funny, and richly complex. Speaking of complexity and quirk, early-era post-punks The Feelies and latter-day punks Snail Mail open for Vile. Wow.

8 p.m. Saturday. The Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad St. $29-$54. 800-653-8000. themetphilly.com

Low Cut Connie

Having received shout-outs from both Elton John (who name-checked them during his latest Philly showcase) and Barack Obama (who included them on his Spotify playlist of favorite summer songs), Low Cut Connie is in a good place. Front man/pianist Adam Weiner and the shifting members of LCC still make the audacious, rock-and-rolling soul they have in the past, but the band’s latest album is a masterwork of jump blues, gospel, and nuanced pop balladry. For this New Year’s Eve show, they’re joined by N.J.’s twin soul sisters Nalani & Sarina, and R & B/hip-hop duo & More. — A.D.A.

9 p.m. Monday. The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St. $25-$35. thetroc.com

NIGHTLIFE

Electric Dreams: ’80s Dance Party

Grab your leg warmers and prepare to relive a very fine decade of music. DJs Baby Berlin and Mike Shaffer will feature some of the ’80s finest — including Journey, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, and Prince — along with celebrity drag impersonations. — T.A.L.

10 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. $5, ages 21 and over. 215-291-4919. kungfunecktie.com