BERLIN

Events

20th International Tattoo Convention

With DJs, Kung Fu masters, rock bands, and Polynesian dancers this isn’t your typical tattoo gathering. Though in addition to all the live entertainers, hundreds of the world’s top tattoo artists will be demonstrating their art. Ladies, who among you will be next year’s queen?

Price: €19 (Day Ticket); €39 (Weekend Ticket)

Location: Tempelhof Airport, Tempelhoferdamm 45

Times: Friday, December 3 – Sunday, December 5

More Information: www.tattoo-convention.de

Hallelujah Berlin – Christmas Bus Tour

The German capital is magical at Christmastime. Join this merry bus tour on a joyful jaunt through the city Sunday. Led by American drag queen Chicago “Mama” Rose and German tour guide Markus Müller-Tenckhoff, this fun-filled excursion stops off at Christmas markets around town. Which one has the best Glühwein?

Price: €25

Location: Ballongarten, Zimmerstrasse 97

Times: Sunday, December 5, 7-10pm (Also Monday, December 20)

Tickets: 030 69 10 13 13

More Information: www.chicagorose.de

English Books at Dussman – Opening Celebration

Dussman, Berlin’s biggest “cultural department store” now stocks more English-language books than ever before! The multi-level landmark celebrates its expanded English-language book department Monday with live music, freshly baked holiday treats, and special gifts for everyone. Eat a cookie, sing a carol, then go browse the selection of novels, biographies, children’s books, travel guides, and other literary English-language delights.

Price: Free

Location: Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus, Friedrichstrasse 90

Times: Monday, December 6, 2-6pm

More Information: www.kulturkaufhaus.de

COLOGNE

Events

Kuchenplatte – Records and Cake

Ramp up your record collection this weekend. Dozens of dealers set out boxes of funk, jazz, hip hop, soul, rock, and electro LPs Sunday at Cologne’s Opernterrassen. Fill up on waffles, then go browse the stacks. There’s no saying what gems you might find in those dusty old jackets.

Price: Free

Location: Opernterrassen, Brüderstrasse 2-4

Times: Sunday, December 5, 2pm

More Information: www.kuchenplatte.de

FRANKFURT

Music/Concerts

The Singing Christmas Tree

Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum! Those lovely branches vocalise their own virtues this weekend as members of the German-American Community Choir deck themselves out with green garb and shimmering garlands. Hear the twinkling troupe sing their medley of new and classic Christmas songs at Frankfurt’s Frauenfriedenkirche.

Price: €10-14

Location: Frauenfriedenskirche, Zeppelinallee 101

Times: Friday, December 3, 6 and 8pm; Saturday, December 4, 6 and 8pm; Sunday, December 5, 6 and 8pm; Monday, December 6, 7pm

More Information: www.gacc-frankfurt.de

Anima

This Russian vocal ensemble presents seasonal songs from their homeland Wednesday at International Theater. Graduates of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, these St. Petersburg boys fa la la la la like the best of them.

Price: €12-17

Location: Internationales Theater, Hanauer Landstrasse 5-7

Times: Wednesday, December 8, 8pm

Tickets: 069 499 09 80

More Information: www.itf-frankfurt.de

HAMBURG

Dance

Chopin Dances

With Broadway hits like “West Side Story” and “Fiddler on the Roof” on his CV, Jerome Robbins was one of the most successful American choreographers of the 20th century. On Sunday, The Hamburg Ballet premieres its production of two Jerome Robbins’ pieces – “Dances at a Gathering” and “The Concert.” Watch the company waltz and whirl to the music of Chopin.

Price: €6-158

Location: Hamburg State Opera, Grosse Theaterstrasse 25

Times: Sunday, December 5, 6pm; Tuesday, December 7, 7:30pm

More Information: www.hamburgische-staatsoper.de

MUNICH

Lectures

A Very Brief History of the Art Museum in the United States

Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, Americans got rich and started collecting art. Soon enough, museums were popping up around New York City, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. Find out more about the history of America’s art museums and how they differ from their European counterparts at Munich’s Amerikahaus on Friday.

Price: Free

Location: Amerikahaus, Karolinenplatz 3

Times: Friday, December 3, 7pm

Phone: 089 55 25 370

More Information: www.amerikahaus.de

Music/Concerts

Bluegrass Jamboree! Festival of Bluegrass and American Music

“Do you like American music? We like American music.” Or so sang the Violent Femmes. They’d love Sunday’s jamboree at Amerikahaus. Bands from Nashville and Austin play their fiddles and banjos in the style of their Appalachian brethren.

Price: €29

Location: Amerika Haus, Karolinenplatz 3

Times: Sunday, December 5, 8pm

Phone: 089 55 25 370

Phone: 089 55 25 370

More Information: www.amerikahaus.de

Galleries/Museums

Subjective. The Documentary Film in the 21st Century

Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne acknowledges film’s growing role in the art world with this new exhibition held in conjunction with the University of Television and Film Munich. Eighty-eight documentary films made over the last ten years take centre stage.

Price: €10

Location: Pinakothek der Moderne, Barer Strasse 40

Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-6pm; Thursday, 10am-8pm; through February 20, 2011

Phone: 089 23805 360

More Information: www.pinakothek.de

STUTTGART

Events

DEKUMO – Design. Art. Fashion

From porcelain bowls to woolen hats; baby clothes to dirndls, the 110 vendors at this weekend’s extraordinary indie shopping event will surely have something for everyone on your list.

Price: €6

Location: Kulturhaus Arena, Ulmer Strasse 241

Times: Friday, December 3, 2-9pm; Saturday, December 4, 11am-9pm; Sunday, December 5, 11am-7pm

More Information: www.nationaltheater-weimar.de