Names and faces
■ The Biden family’s tradition of eating lunch, shopping and watching a Christmas tree lighting in downtown Nantucket, Mass., on Friday became mostly about keeping the president’s 2-year-old grandson from having a meltdown. There was President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley, dancing and clapping with nephew Beau to “Jingle Bell Rock” to keep him entertained as they waited with the crowd gathered for the 48th annual tree-lighting ceremony on Main Street. There was Beau perched on the shoulders of his dad, Hunter Biden. There was Beau being carried by his father, then not being carried by his father, then appearing to say things that suggested he wanted to get out of the cold and intermittent heavy rain. Beau’s grandfather walked with him at various points. Every member of the family seemed to be doing whatever they could to keep blond-haired Beau, who is named after his late uncle, happy for a few hours until the tree was lit. The Bidens have a more than 40-year tradition of spending Thanksgiving on Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. The day after, they go out to lunch — this year, they dined at the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant. Afterward, they hit Nantucket Bookworks. The president emerged carrying his purchases in a reusable tote bag. They meandered along downtown Nantucket’s cobblestone streets, going into some stores and window shopping at others. Biden spent time in a leather goods store and a pet store, among other businesses. “We’re thankful for you,” someone yelled to the president. The tree-lighting ceremony went off with a bit of a hitch. The red, green and blue lights failed to come on following a countdown from 10. The high school’s a capella chorus came out to sing until the problem was solved and the tree was illuminated, ushering in the Christmas season in Nantucket.
■ Steven Spielberg will be honored for his life’s work at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Festival organizers said last week that the 75-year-old director, producer and screenwriter will be awarded an honorary Golden Bear, the annual event’s top prize, for a body of work comprising more than 100 movies and series. The multiple Oscar winner’s work “is unique in the history of international cinema of the past 60 years for its immense variety,” the festival said. Spielberg’s productions have included everything from “E.T.” to “Schindler’s List.” The Berlin festival will screen his latest film, “The Fabelmans.” “With an incredible career, Steven Spielberg has not only enchanted generations of viewers all over the world, but has also given a new meaning to the ‘cinema’ as the factory of dreams,” festival co-directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said. “Be it in the everlasting magic world of teenagers or in the reality that history has carved forever, his movies take us to a different level, where the big screen becomes the adequate surface for our emotions to be fulfilled.”