‘Tis the season to be nerdy!

This Saturday (Dec. 6) at the Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway), the one-of-a-kind event Cthulhupalooza is taking place.

Not only is there going to be a Rock Band video game competition with a nirvanimetric tonne of prizes, a performance by local nerd-rock band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and a screening of a film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu.

Doors open at 5:00pm, the Rock Band Finals are at 7:00pm, The Call of Cthulhu screening is at 9:00 p.m., and the Thickets will bring the Rio's roof down at 10:00 p.m.!

If you want to play some Rock Band with a rock band, check this out.

Already in action is the Victoria-based comedy group LoadingReadyRun’s annual Desert Bus for Hope charity video game marathon.

These hilarious nerds are playing perhaps the most boring video game in the history of video games, Penn & Teller’s Desert Bus, and broadcasting the event live over the web. You can watch and listen to them play, or see how they’re doing in the game and even chat with them as they play. Members and friends of the troupe pop in and out to keep things fresh.

The length of the marathon video game session will be determined by the amount of money that gets donated as they play. Last year’s event ran 108 hours long and they raised over $22,000.

To watch them play or donate so they have to play even longer, click here.

The charity to which both of these groups donate is Child's Play, a gamer-run charity that raises money to buy games, toys and more for children’s hospitals around the world. The charity was started by Seattle's Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, creators of the videogame-centric webcomic Penny Arcade.

If after rocking out at the Rio on Saturday you find yourself wanting to chill, why not stick around for the Cheech and Chong double-feature? The Rio serves plenty of snacks in case you get the munchies.