READING: Dave Eggers has delivered two (out of three) great novels, and tonight he reads from last one (which is just out on paperback), What is the What. He'll be at the Strand discussing the book and he'll also give a slideshow presentation from a recent trip he took to Sudan. More info here.

Friday // 7pm // Strand Bookstore [828 Broadway] // Free

EVENT: We love a good pillow fight, and tonight there's a punk rock one taking place at Silent Barn. 16 contestants will battle it out on a matress. The winner of the 10-minute rounds will get $100, and everyone in attendance will be able to rock out in feathers to Viva Nada and the Unstoppable Death Machines.

Friday // 7pm // Silent Barn [915 Wyckoff Ave] // $10

MUSIC: People, there are STILL tickets left for the Andrew Bird concert tonight! Get on a pair of fancy socks on and buy one for yourself. Stuck on what socks to wear? We interviewed him earlier this year where he suggested socks by Paul Smith and told us he likes to "mix it up, you know I wear Sock Monkey socks sometimes. Have you ever seen those Sock Monkey kits? They’re good socks!"

Friday // 8pm // Beacon Theater [2124 Broadway] // $24 to $39

THEATER: Jason Trachtenburg of the beloved Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players stars as Scrooge in a darkly satirical new musical adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Set in modern day North Carolina during a December heat wave, the show features “a haunting indie rock score” for piano, guitar, glockenspiel, synth and percussion. In this re-imagining, staged by the Vortex Theater, Scrooge is “a corporate philanthropist who must examine what it means to do good in a country faced with environmental destruction and corporate domination.” In step with the show’s environmental message, Vortex is making this a “green” production by using only recycled materials, non-traditional theatrical lighting, and buying renewable energy such as wind power and bio-diesel generators – John Del Signore

Friday // 8pm // Sanford Meisner Theater [164 11th Ave] // Tickets cost $12

BLOCK PARTY: Details, the mag, is throwing a block party this weekend in the Meatpacking District. You can expect shopping, music and lots of entertainment with some special guests. It's not quite Black Friday prices but you'll save some money on holiday shopping with 20% off at shops like Theory, Tracy Reese, Banana Republic, Puma and many more. Some restaurants will offer also offer discounts as wella s champagne and food tastings. To top it all off, The Hotel Gansevoort will host seven pop-up stores including which will include Epson, and Kenneth Cole. More info here.

Saturday // Noon to 5pm // Various Locations, Meatpacking District // Free

THEATER: Broadway is back after the longest strike since 1975, and that’s good news for a lot of reasons, but especially because this season is unusually rich in exciting non-musical productions. (Not to take anything away from some of reasonably fun shows like Xanadu or Curtains.) We’re pumped to catch Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, Tracy Letts's August: Osage County, Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention and Mark Twain's lost satire Is He Dead? Another worthwhile play we managed to see before the strike is Tom Stoppard’s London import Rock ‘n’ Roll, a hearty feast of ideas about the power of ideologies to overwhelm individuals, as seen through the lens of late 20th century Czechoslovakia, Stoppard’s birthplace. We recently interviewed one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s stars, Brian Cox, who some know best as Dr. Guggenheim from the film Rushmore; see him live on Broadway this weekend. – John Del Signore

Saturday // 2pm & 8pm // Jacobs Theatre [242 West 45th St] // Tickets prices vary

MUSIC: Ra Ra Riot, Jukebox The Ghost and The Epochs form a triple-threat lineup at Union Hall this Saturday. The latter two played our Gothamist House show during CMJ earlier this year, and we highly suggest catching them before headliners Ra Ra Riot. Listen to the Ben Folds-ish goodness of Jukebox the Ghost here.

Saturday // 8pm // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $10

ART: Love him, hate him or splash him...Banksy has become one of the bigger names in the street art scene, and we like the additions to our city streets. Starting this weekend he'll be taking the art indoors, in Chelsea. The opening is open to the public and will likely be crowded -- so hopefully they'll have security on hand incase the Splasher shows up (like at the Shepard Fairey show earlier this year). The show runs through December 29th.

Sunday // 1 to 5pm // Vanina Holasek Gallery [502 West 27th St] // Free

SHOPPING: Feeling crafty? Head over to the Astoria Craft Collective Holiday Show this weekend to pick up some unique gifts and stocking stuffers. Local, independent designers and shops will be on hand to hawk their handmade goods. More info here.

11am to 5pm // Waltz-Astoria [23-14 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria] // Free

Banksy photo via elishacookjr's flickr.