The number of variables that go along with planning a wedding can feel overwhelming. But bridal exhibitions and conventions make it easier to sort out the lists of what you want, what you can afford and what’s available.  

Ideologically speaking, the local radio programs 'Every Woman' and 'Alternating Currents' are cornerstones of independent media. The movements they give voice to (women's music and LGBT news and issues, respectively) were foundational to WAIF-FM, which both shows have called home for more than 30 years. Last month both jumped ship to Media Bridges' emerging low-power FM station, WVQC.  

A stroll through the Krohn Conservatory’s steamy indoor rainforest (aka the Palm House) or the arid Desert House is an exhilarating escape from the icy grip of winter. The Tropical House is also therapeutic. Free iPod tours are available anytime and you can hire a tour guide for 1-20 people anytime.  

If you have a Santa suit or a Mrs. Claus outfit (you can dress as an elf, too, but these are frowned upon) you can be a part of Santacon — a Christmas-themed bar crawl. All you do is sign up on the Santacon Web site, dress up and take direction from text messages on where to go next. In a guerilla style hike, Santas converge on different locations (mostly bars) around the city to sing songs and spread merriment wherever they go. Noon.  

Offering up one of the most unique performances you might ever hear is Matisyahu, an American Hasidic Jewish Reggae musician. His words roll fast off the tongue with one rhyme masterfully wrapped in another and gilded with Hebrew and Yiddish twang.   

Offering up one of the most unique performances you might ever hear is Matisyahu, an American Hasidic Jewish Reggae musician. His words roll fast off the tongue with one rhyme masterfully wrapped in another and gilded with Hebrew and Yiddish twang. He plays cultures like a slide guitar, blending and bending influences such as Phish, Sublime, traditional Jewish Klezmer, Acid Rock and more. 8 p.m. at Bogart's.  

This time of year casts a bright, if cold, light on the many traditions that converge in America. Our shopping sprees and hectic schedules are time trial races and affectations that keep our eyes off the meaning — if there is any such holy grail to be found — of the holidays.  

Authors Teri Casper and Daniel Smith, who conduct bus tours of haunted Cincinnati, sign and discuss their new book, Ghosts of Cincinnati: The Dark Side of the Queen City. The duo shares a chilling mixture of local lore, history and ghost stories. Free. 6-8 p.m. Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Fields Ertel.  

The DeComposition Zombie Crawl invites you to drag your sorry, dead ass across Covington and devour the living! It’s the final week of Covington’s Full Spectrum, so come dressed to kill or let your hosts zombie you up with spooky makeup at the first stop, Molly Malone’s from 6-7 p.m. Crawl continues through Covington and ends at Leapin' Lizard Gallery. Party until midnight.  

Chainsaws-a-go-go! If the USS Nightmare and the Dent Schoolhouse are the Hollywood haunts in town, this is surely the low-budget slasher flick. Costumes and props are spartan, but Angel of Death is hellishly, demonically scary.