Photo by DG-rad

TREE LIGHTING: It’s really tonight! The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, the first to be hosted by the Obama family, starts at 5 p.m. this evening on the Ellipse. If you weren’t one of the lucky few to win the ticket lottery, you can’t get in, but keep in mind that it will be broadcast live online, and of course, to stay the heck away from the entire area starting about 4 p.m. until well after the pageant is over. We’ll have more on the street closures and bus detours in effect in just a little while.

For something else holiday related tonight, the Botanic Gardens is holding extended hours on select Tuesdays and Thursdays this month while they host live music concerts. Tonight the garden is open until 8 p.m., and hosts the Downtown Quartet for an evening of a cappella signing. Free, 6 – 8 p.m.

ART: The Torpedo Factory has their free Holiday Open House tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Enjoy music and beverages while viewing their open studios filled with work for sale for all price ranges. Guests are also invited to make a food donation benefiting Carpenter’s Shelter.

Or for an option inside the District, the regular Phillips After 5 event tonight (5 – 8 p.m.) features a holiday treats buffet, wine tasting, a jazz pianist, lectures on Czech Avant-Garde Photography (6:30 p.m.), Man Ray and Fashion (6 or 7 p.m.), discounted museum shop prices, and a special show in the Café from the Pink Line Project, featuring DJs “remixing the definition of art.”

MUSIC: The Ted Leo show is sold-out tonight at the Black Cat, so consider Montreal’s Land of Talk at The Rock and Roll Hotel. Brooklynites The Subjects and locals Club Scout open, $10, 8:30 p.m.