Nothing says Christmas like fried chicken and ‘naner puddin,’ so you could hardly do better this holiday season than to take a break from the mall and groove to some deep-fried swamp boogie with Southern Culture on the Skids at the Cat’s Cradle on Dec. 14. With New Town Drunks and Fantastico! on the bill, too, and a bake sale (!) to benefit the Carrboro Food Bank, it’s practically a Christmas miracle. catscradle.com

For the 11th year in a row, Hillsborough authors Michael Malone and Allan Gurganus will welcome the holidays with their popular two-man performance of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Hillsborough. Tickets are available at several downtown Hillsborough businesses or at the Burwell School Historic Site at 319 N. Churton St. 919-732-7451.

A half-dozen of our best artists – Katherine Armocost, Peg Bachenheimer, Mirinda Kossoff, Luna Lee Ray, Barbara Tyroler and Anita Wolfenden – join forces for a unique exhibition called “Getting Layered: Six Women Artists Collaborate on Self-Portraiture,” opening with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Frank Gallery in downtown Chapel Hill. The show runs through Jan. 5. frankisart.com