Ugly Christmas Sweater Party & Other Weekend Possibilities

This is why you buy Christmas sweaters and wear them in public. The 12th annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is tonight from 8:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Tower Tavern (401 E 31st Street). The party is a benefit for Operation Breakthrough. General admission tickets are $50 and VIP tickets, which include entry at 7:30 p.m., are $75.

Get your bingo on tonight at Hamburger Mary’s (3700 Broadway, Suite 110). They’re hosting benefit bingo from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight to benefit Cultivate Kansas City.

Yelp is hosting the Return of the Taco Crawl on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. The four-stop crawl begins at California Taco Shop in Kansas City, Kansas, and ends at Bonito Michoacan in Kansas City, Kansas.

Komatsu Ramen (3951 Broadway) has opened in Westport. Take your time picking through the more than two dozen ramen combinations in a space that’s been enclosed in more wood than a Pinewood Derby. Komatsu is the latest restaurant from Erik Borger, the owner of Il Lazzarone.

Crows Coffee is holding a grand opening at its new Waldo location (7440 Washington Street) from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. Pastries are half-off and they’ll have $1 drip coffee to celebrate.

The Miami Creek Brewing Company is open this Saturday from 12 to 9 p.m. [Read the story of the Drexel brewery, which is bringing the farm to your glass, here.] They’ll have new brews like an imperial stout brewed with chocolate and mint.

Quit procrastinating and embrace the season of giving. The Strawberry Swing’s sixth annual holiday swing is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Union Station. Get a donut print from Cat Coq, ceramic mugs from claybytay, or a wooden six-pack holder from Romany House.

Boulevard Brewing Company is hosting its Monthly Maker Holiday Bizarre from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Boulevard Beer Hall (2534 Madison). You can shop local makers (Beer Paws will have dog biscuits made from spent grain), get down on Australian meat pies from the Pie Hole food truck, or order a Snow & Tell or Nutcracker Ale and keep the glass. [For more beer events, check out On Tap — our weekly beer calendar with The Pitch.]

— Jonathan Bender writes about food trends and is the author of “Cookies & Beer” and “Stock, Broth & Bowl.” Follow him on Twitter @jonathanbender.