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"More than 50 of the brightest minds from Austin's comedy scene recap the year that was," huh? C'mon, everybody wants to see this kind of show before the new year kicks in. Especially this show – because it's hosted by Lisa Friedrich and Mac Blake. Listen: If you want to know WTF just happened? during the past 12 months – and you want to laugh until you cry about it – then this is where you should be tonight.

It's beginning to look a lot like the nights after Christmas are gonna be funnier than ever, with Bob "The Storyteller" Khosravi bringing his smart brand of hilarity to the Cap City stage, rocking the lucky crowds like he's done at Austin's Moontower and Portland's Bridgetown and more.

Elliot Rogers' first solo show offers "hypnotic spaces and surreal mindscapes which reflect his inner meditative visions and explore the connection between the self and the alien other." It's all trippy AF, in other words – and the closing party will be awash with live music and fancy libations.

That Vince Torres and his astonishing cohort of creatives have garnered more graphic goodness for those Guzu walls, with 26 artists paying tribute to shows from the small screen, with stylish renditions of characters and settings from television’s past and present. Featuring homages by Chet Phillips, Tessa Morrison, Killian Glenn, Half-Human, Nina Sanchez, and more. Where's your fandom at, baby? It's probably right here, right now.

The powerhouse performers of Local Opera Local Artists unleash their vocal glories and instrumental panache to herald 2019's approach, with Liz Cass, Claudia Chapa, Chantal Freeman, Jaimie Lowe, Charissa Memrick, Kyle Naig, Jeremy Osborne, Meredith Ruduski, Cindy Sadler, Peter Stopschinski, Julia Taylor, Veronica Williams, Graham Yates, and Arnold Yzaguirre bringing the magnificence right there in the brewery.

While we've got the space available in our printed year-end listings section, we wanted to alert you to this terrific annual event that happens throughout the city in the latter half of January and the first half of February. It's kind of like that whole EAST or WEST celebration of art that goes on – you know? – except that this program is predicated on printmaking in all its many forms and functions.Print Austin is spread among galleries and studios all over town (although the soon-to-be-shuttered Flatbed Press is pretty much Ground Zero), and it boasts numerous workshops and parties in addition to the excellent displays, but that last thing is especially why we're giving it this early huzzah: We know that you don't like to miss out on what's best in this city, and Print Austin isn't just an inside-baseball sort of deal for inkstained artisans and their hardcore fans. No, this is also a wealth of highly accessible graphic goodness that's coming up for the regular citizen to enjoy as well, and we'll have more details here for you as this 2019 business gets under way.

Does it return? Of course it returns – this show is more evergreen than a forest of Christmas trees. David Sedaris' outlandish tale of a (oh, shall we say disgruntled) Macy’s elf jingles to life again in this latest incarnation, with that costumed Crumpet waxing snarktastic on the talent it takes to juggle tinsel, tearful tots, and not-so-sober Santas during what's hailed as the most wonderful time of the year. J. Robert Moore – the bright star of Zach's one-man show Buyer and Cellar a couple years ago – plays Crumpet, and Nat Miller directs, so we reckon this year's holiday-skewering is doubleplusgood to go. But does our reviewer think so, too?

This ZACH Theatre adaptation of the Dickens classic, directed by Abe Reybold and starring the estimable Jaston Williams, is "a musical sleigh ride through rhythm and time, infusing the traditional Victorian story with a score that spans all genres and eras." It's riotously redolent of the ghosts of Motown past, but of course you know the basic Ebenezer of this thing: crotchety, cratchity, creepy, and (ultimately) heartwarming. And, what's that? You think there's an awful lot of Dickens going on in town lately? Our Robert Faires tells you why.

The players of the fictional KPNF radio station re-create Dickens' cherished masterpiece in this Nathan Jerkins adaptation, with all the characters brought to life by a small company of voice actors and live foley sound effects. Directed by Ryan Crowder for Penfold Theatre. And, what's that? You think there's an awful lot of Dickens going on lately? Our Robert Faires tells you why.

The City Theatre company takes on Joe Sears and Jaston WIlliams' classic about holiday antics in the third smallest town in Texas, with Scot Friedman and Rick Smith handling all the many roles and Robyn Conner directing.

Steven Lavaggi's large colorfield paintings "contain a spontaneous energy that captivates the imagination."

Teodora Pogonat's provocative series of photography depicts women overcoming struggles, hardships, and setbacks through the use of a 30-pound pink military-grade parachute.

Three artists, three strong views of this complex life. And now our journo-about-town Brenner has reaped the visions that Erika Huddleston, Amy Scofield, and Tammy West have sown – and here's his report.

It really is a sort of annual report, visually, with this eight-person show featuring artists from Big Medium's wealth of programming in 2018 – including EAST, WEST, the Big Medium Gallery, and Canopy Studios. Witness here the marvels of R F Alvarez, David Amdur, Mimi Bardagjy, Jieun Beth, Santiago Escobedo, Bill Kolb, Ana Esteve Llorens, and Alyssa Taylor Wendt.

This new exhibition, organized by the Vitra Design Museum and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, presents the work of more than 120 artists and designers, displaying sculpture, prints, fashion, furniture, film, photography, apps, maps, digital comics, and more to show how African design generates innovative design approaches and solutions with worldwide relevance.

The Julia C. Butridge Gallery is now accepting exhibit proposals for 2020. Located at the Dougherty Arts Center in the heart of the arts district, the JCB Gallery is known for its diverse exhibitions of artists and their work.

This exhibition is enhanced with artifacts providing historical context for the paintings, rich with the unbroken connection the Comanche people have with their roots. Also, Rodeo: The Exhibition. Boy howdy, it's the history of the Texas rodeo – vibrant, interactive, and fully documented in this fine new show.

The colorful paintings of Peggy Weiss' "Odyssey Remembered" pay homage to both the ties that bind and the everlasting influence of nature on our psyche. Bonus: New works by photographer Kevin Greenblat and painter Erika Huddleston, too.

Ed Ruscha, anyone? We'll bet yes – we're big fans ourselves – and now here's a diverse selection of the celebrated American artist’s books, photographs, drawings, and pprints. With archival production materials, preliminary sketches, and studio notebooks; with more than 150 objects providing visitors an unprecedented look into Ruscha's creative process. And the Chronicle's Melany Jean tells more about this show right here.

Here's a new show of the New York-based artist's sculpture and photography, a body of work that "reflects an increasingly complicated world that requires a nuanced understanding of the potential of hybridity and pluralism." And this is our reviewer's reaction to the show.

"Chapel Shrine" showcases the paintings of Austin artist John Patrick Cobb, whose works of Biblical imagery are inspired by the religious paintings he encountered in European chapels. "Nacimentos" features traditional Nativity scenes from Mexico.

Paintings – beautiful paintings, we daresay – by Eva Sim-Zabka and Timothy Woolsey. And the photography of Chris Cina.

Lovely exhibition of wildlife sculpture and more by the renowned artist in this new show.

This? Is one of those ooooh-this'll-look-great-on-Instagram pop-ups that all the like-hungry kids are flocking to, cameras at the ready, surfaces polished for posing. The venue's packed with a colorful array of ice-cream-themed environments, obvs, and so they'll offer you free samples of frozen confections, too. Note: See David Brendan Hall's photo gallery of the place right here.

Through straight-forward animation and accompanied by a Sylvia Meyer music score, vintage figurines perform in humorous, absurd, and moving vignettes in this Liliana Porter video. It'll be screening, accompanied by Porter's Labor forzada installation, through February.

If someone's going to be presenting other forms of life, how lucky for those forms and for the viewers of those forms, that it's the New York–based artist Huma Bhabha, here offering an unforgettable array of human, alien, god, plant, animal, and machinelike entities, rendered in her unique combination of representation and abstraction, in two dimensions and three, in whatever media works best. Celebrated in professional art circles, welcomed with a mixture of wonder and fear by ordinary citizens with eyes to see, Bhabha's creations provide an infusion of transgenre brilliance and savagery that Austin, in particular, needs right about now.

Darren Peterson's unstoppable Circus Chickendog presents a fun holiday show for all ages, featuring talented rescue dogs performing circus feats, a talking parrot, world-class juggling, unicycling, live music, and many more magical acts. Directed by Dillon Yruegas, scripted by Melissa Vogt, it's a barking delight and we recommend the show highly.

Yes, there's Sugar Water Purple on Wednesday nights. And this Thursday features Friends For Now, a daring supergroup of improv, and then the Qmmunity favorite called Queer Towne. Friday brings Movie Riot and the laugh-inducing ladies of Loverboy and that Live at ColdTowne stand-up showcase hosted by Carina Magyar. Then there's Saturday, with the love-stinks larking of Missed Connections ATX, followed by a gathering of that mysterio-hilarious Midnight Society. And Sunday's got a Stool Pigeon spieling up the laughs for you, and – see website for more.

In this new show by Tammie Rubin, "the wispy tendrils of ball moss serve as a signifier of gathering chaos, conclave connections, concentrated confusion, a labyrinth of values, and growing will. Sculptures are constructed of knots and tangles of twine and rope, embedded with steel wool and cotton, and armatures of wire."

In which the founding fathers of Austin punk get visual, as Jon Dee Graham, Jesse Sublett, and Larry Seaman present their unique visions of the world via canvas, paper, 3-D assemblages, and more.