I spent a recent weekend in Music City attending Rites of Spring, an annual music festival presented by Vanderbilt University. My boyfriend Jeff and I were on a mission — a mission to cram in as much Nashville goodness as possible in a short weekend.

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Santa Claus is coming to town a little early this year. SantaCon kicks off at noon Saturday, when Santas of all sorts will gather on Fountain Square, then disperse around the city, singing, passing out candy and bringing holiday cheer to area bars and restaurants. To participate, email santa@cincinnatisantacon.com and follow @CincySantacon on Twitter to find them around town.

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With the holidays right around the corner, this weekend promises plenty of twinkling lights, Christmas songs and the one gift the three wise men forgot: booze.

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Singer-songwriter Feist and award-winning filmmaker Martin de Thurah will present a musically-charged evening at the Contemporary Arts Center April 9. Feist and de Thurah (who's worked with Kanye West, Fever Ray and Röyksopp) will discuss the creative process of creating a music video, a perfect event to coincide with the CAC's current exhibit Spectacle: The Music Video.

The duo will present a video screening followed by a talk moderated by Spectacle curator and Flux creative collective member Jonathan Wells. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. event, and admission is $15 for CAC members, $20 for everyone else. There will be a cash bar. Buy tickets in advance here.

Feist and de Thurah collaborated on the singer's video for "The Bad in Each Other."

The CAC has hosted some exceptional events lately, bringing electronic musician Dan Deacon to Spectacle's opening party this February, and welcoming street artist Shepard Fairey back to DJ a reception in his honor just last week. This is sure to be another full house party.

Eighties mall girl-turned-pop star-turned-Playboy pin-up Tiffany swings through Hollywood Casino's Boogie Nights club Saturday!

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Tune into MTV at 9 p.m. Sunday night for the only awards show that features Twilight in several categories. This is your chance to catch up on mainstream movies CityBeat is too cool to review so you have something to talk about with your little sister. And where else will you see Lupe Fiasco, Foo Fighters and Trey Songz (there's no way that's his real name) perform on the same stage? All of this bullshit will be hosted by Jason Sudekis, a saving grace, who is both funny and cute. Presenters include Charlie Sheen replacement Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber pedo Selena Gomez and everyone's favorite long john enthusiast, Charlie Day.

We'll start the night early with some red carpet action and check out what all the stars(?) are wearing…and watch the America's Best Dance Crew finale, which coincides with the pre-show at 8 p.m. Seriously, not that I watch ABDC, but there's a group 8-year-olds that dance really well. You're gonna love it.

As always, we promise lots of interactive polls, drinking games and hard-hitting reportage.

Go here for the MTV Movie Awards Live Chat. Because some of you were really going to watch anyway. Also, Jason Sudekis is funny and cute.

Go here to read part one.

Somehow Saturday morning Jeff and I woke up bright and early.  Flavor Flav must have sprinkled some magic dust on us the night before, because we weren't our usual hungover pieces of shit, writhing under covers 'til noon. For this special occasion, we headed to the famous Loveless Motel & Cafe (8400, Tennessee 100, Bellevue), a comfort food mecca and Nashville landmark. Hundreds of country musicians and otherwise famous humans hung their hats here when it was a hotel and have stopped in for grub since it's been a restaurant (seriously, there are countless autographed head shots covering every square inch of the walls).

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Stop waiting for a streetcar to pick you up! Get on your fixed-gear and go get yourself a "poop as you go" TOTO Biogas Bike. This Japanese invention runs completely on human waste and the company calls poop the "new coal."

TOTO is predominately a toilet maker but thought they'd try their hand at making motorcycles that not only run on poop, but use “residual light imagery to write messages in the air as it zooms by." Not to mention, it “can also play music to entertain spectators.” Finally, the toilet actually talks, a feature with which TOTO has been equipping many of its toilets.

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Today is the 79th birthday of Country music legend/High Times coverdude Willie Nelson. Most people are already familiar with Willie’s coolness — pioneer of late-’60s Outlaw Country, member of Country music all-star group The Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson and singer of such classic songs as “On the Road Again,” "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." He’s also been an activist for causes such as family farming and marijuana legalization and currently lives in self-sustaining community in Hawaii that only uses solar power.

Here are some words by CityBeat Music Editor Mike Breen about Willie’s life and legendary status, which he says transcends music. (“Nelson isn't a Country music icon — he's an American music icon.”)

So it’s kind of weird sometimes to think about Willie Nelson being tight with people like Toby Keith — a decidedly uncool guy who writes songs about the U.S. military putting a boot in anyone’s ass who messes with America and opens cheesy Country music-themed restaurants around the country.

But for every terrorist that Keith convinced via threat of violence not to attack America, there are many people who have enjoyed a song that Keith co-wrote about participating in Willie Nelson’s favorite pastime: smoking the weedus.

It turns out that Toby Keith can be self-depreciating and kind of likable (if you can somehow keep the image of this goatee out of your mind while you listen to the song). So here it is, in honor of Willie’s 79th, “I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again” by Toby Keith and Scott Emerick.

Going to the zoo isn't just for kids (though there always a million of them there). Whether you are a child, have 'em or hate 'em this weekend is perfect for a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. Friday-Sunday are Visitor Appreciation Days at the zoo, which means half price admission and parking for everyone! If you need any more reason to visit, there are tons of new exhibits like Night Hunters, African Savannah, Go Green Garden and more. Go here for special prices, hours and directions.

Craftmasters takes over Mainstay Rock Bar Saturday, offering up 10 local bands and 10 $4 craft beers all night long. Get down with Lions Rampant, Frankl Project, Eat Sugar and more as you sip tasty brews like Stone IPA, Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier and Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Lager. Music starts at 7 p.m. with bands on two stages. Five bucks gets you in the door. Get the whole lineup here.

Worried no event will satiate your hunger this weekend? For-goetta-bout it! Glier's annual Goettafest is back with enough pork and oats to satisfy even the hungriest of visitors. Enjoy classics like goetta omelets, goetta burgers and goetta dogs or go crazy with goetta sushi, goetta brownies and goetta eggrolls. As always, there will be plenty of live music, games and rides to keep everyone happy (but wait 30 minutes after eating before going on The Scrambler. Goetta's even less pretty coming up.). The festival runs Friday-Sunday at Newport on the Levee. Go here for festival hours and parking information.

Cincy Blues Fest is one of largest volunteer-run Blues festivals in the world. Celebrate the music and the hard work Friday and Saturday at Sawyer Point. Besides checking out local, regional and national Blues acts, Mike Breen has come up with 19 reasons this is a can't-miss event. Go here to read 'em all.

The Cincinnati Art Museum makes so many fantastic works of art accessible to visitors. This Sunday, you can get an even more in-depth look at one artist's life during its Reel Art film series. Filmmaker Ellen Weissbrod's documentary A Woman Like That focuses on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, a 17th century Italian woman who pursued art during a period when female artists faced much prejudice. Learn about this important Baroque-era artist and meet Weissbrod and co-filmmaker Melissa Powell at a Q&A session following the screening. Go here for ticket information and screening time.

As always, there are many more events, concerts, gallery exhibits and theater shows going on this weekend. Go here to see 'em all. Got a kick-ass event that should be on everyone's To Do list? E-mail arts and event listings to calendar@citybeat.com at least two weeks in advance.