Weekend at a Glance: Moscow Ballet, Musicals and Markets

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Get your tickets to Theatre in the Park’s “A Christmas Carol,” which is celebrating its 44th anniversary this year and returning to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) stage for six shows through Sunday.

Home for the Holidays – Thursday-Friday, 9am-5pm –  Playhouses are on display and up for auction at Diamond View Park. Bidding closes Friday at 5pm, and delivery is included free of charge within a 30-mile radius of the American Tobacco Campus.All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity of Durham.

Pop-Up Retail at American Tobacco – Thursday-December 22, 11am-6pm – Durham Beard Supply and Happy Wax will be open in the Diamond View III Building selling personal care and grooming products as well as paraffin and phthalate-free soy wax melts, respectively.

Fourth Annual Mistletoe Market – Thursday, 4-7pm – Enjoy complimentary beer and wine while you shop dozens of Triangle-based artists at The Frontier – 15% of profits will go to Code The Dream, a nonprofit that provides tech education to young people from minority and immigrant backgrounds. Arepa Culture and Tenco Coffee Truck will be on-site to fuel you for a shopping extravaganza, and The Victorian Carolers will perform throughout the market from 5-6:30pm.​

41st Annual Santa Train – Thursday-Sunday, 5-9pm – Take the family to the Museum of Life and Science to experience a moonlit ride to the North Pole by way of the Ellerbe Creek Railway. Skate in your socks on a synthetic ice rink, create Christmas crafts, sip on hot chocolate and have your face painted by Paint Savvy. Don’t miss out on the snow polymers during the “Science of Santa” activities.

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker – Thursday, 7pm – Gather the family at The Carolina Theatre for the 25th anniversary tour of this production. Enjoy world-class Russian artists, larger-than-life puppets, nesting dolls and hand-crafted costumes that will bring the Christmas spirit to life.

‘A Christmas Carol’ – Thursday and Friday, 7pm; Saturday, 2pm and 7pm; Sunday, 2pm –  Ira David Wood III’s musical comedy adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” celebrates its 44th anniversary, returning to DPAC for six performances. With a cast of almost 100, this wonderful holiday story is brought to life with great songs and tremendous heart.

Geminid Meteor Shower Viewing – Thursday-Friday, 8pm-3am – Join Durham Parks and Recreation and the Morehead Planetarium at the West Point on the Eno Environmental Education Pavilion. From 8pm-10pm, participants can enjoy the viewing and educational activities. Beginning at 10pm, they can grab a cup of hot chocolate and watch the Geminids at their peak, with up to 120 meteors per hour. Free drop-in program, no pre-registration required. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Kidznotes Friday Evening Winter Concert – Friday, 5:30-7pm – Listen to young musicians play Vivaldi and Abreu Orchestras at Fayetteville Street Elementary. Free and open to the public, this is part of Kidznotes‘ semester-ending winter concert series – guaranteed to get you into the holiday spirit!

Santa Paws – Friday, 6-8:30pm – Bring those four-legged good boys (and good girls!) to the Durham Armory for a free evening of holiday fun with your canine friends, hosted by Durham Parks and Recreation. Get pictures taken with Santa, peruse a holiday pet market and enjoy bites from food vendors.

Holiday Market at Namu Garden – Friday, 6-9pm – Namu partners with Art Market at Vega Metals to host a market filled with holiday gifts! Come for a fun evening of food, drinks, local art and music.

‘Louis Austin and the Carolina Times‘ Exhibit Opening – Friday, 6-8pm – Join the Museum of Durham History for the opening reception of its newest exhibit, which explores the life of newspaper publisher Louis Austin and how he used the Carolina Times as a catalyst in the African-American effort for freedom. The event is free and open to the public, featuring complimentary drinks.

Christmas by Candlelight – Friday, 6:45-9:15pm – Visit Christmases past at Duke Homestead where you can see what the holidays were like in the 1870s. Costumed interpreters will lead a candlelit tour of the historic area where Washington Duke first grew tobacco. Enjoy Victorian-styled decorations, traditional storytelling, hot cider, cookies and caroling around the fire.

HIV Cure Research Day – Friday, 7-10pm – Enjoy music, interactive activities and food with 2BeatHIV as the organization celebrates becoming a nonprofit at Healing with Caare Inc. They will also be holding a coat drive, so don’t forget to bring a coat to donate!

Delta Rae – Friday, 8pm – This six-piece band hails from the Bull City with Liz Hopkins and Brittany Holljes fronting the robust group with sultry harmonies rounded out by Holljes’ brothers Eric (vocals, piano) and Ian (vocals, guitar) as well as Mike McKee (drums) and Grant Emerson (bass). Headlining more than 100 shows every year and a regular on the festival circuit since forming in 2009, this American folk rock band comes home to The Carolina Theatre stage.

Black Nativity – Friday, 8pm; Saturday, 3pm and 8pm; Sunday 3pm – Experience a stirring, soulful, gospel celebration about the birth of Jesus Christ (based upon Langston Hughes’ version of the Christmas story) at Hillside High School Theater, presented by the Triangle Performance Ensemble.

Sip, Shop, Snack & Save – Saturday, 10am-6pm – Shop 25% off all holiday decor at Vintage Home South as they toast to a number of local artisans for the season. Strong Arm Baking Company will be around from 1-3pm offering delicious samples and products along with handmade gifts from DeCicco Woodshop.

Kidznotes Saturday Morning Winter Concert – Saturday, 10:30am-noon – Listen to young musicians play Mozart, Haydn and Copeland Orchestra at Fayetteville Street Elementary. Free and open to the public, this is final part of Kidznotes‘ semester-ending winter concert series.

2018 Durham Craft Market Holiday Craft Fair – Saturday, 11am-4pm – With more than 50 local makers and artists, Durham Craft Market‘s annual shopping affair at the Durham Convention Center will include everything from pottery and paintings to photography and jewelry.

Shop Durham Holiday Market – Saturday, 1-4pm – Best of the Bull and Shop Durham will feature an amazing lineup of more than 10 local makers and shops at Durty Bull Brewing. The new 2019 Shop Durham cards will also be available, and all participating vendors will offer a discount or reward. Come get your local shopping done and grab a beer while you’re at it!

The Low Fare Art Fair – Saturday, 1-5pm – Shadowbox Studio hosts local artists of wide-ranging crafts, which include screen prints, handmade cards, paintings, folk art sculptures and more. Nothing will be priced more than $50, and most items will be priced between $10-$25.

Oysters + Oyster Saison Garden Party – Saturday, 2-10pm –  Join Ponysaurus Brewing at Eastcut Sandwich Bar for oysters, beer and live music in the heated garden.

A Very Merry Durham! – Saturday, 6pm-midnight – Celebrate the season at Fullsteam Brewery‘s holiday party! Between 6-8pm, bring the kids for holiday carolers, a naughty-or-nice wheel, appearances by the Holiday Gorilla, a very special Santa, the Poetry Fox and live winter wonderland scene painting! When the clock hits 8pm, there will be a stage show produced by Erik Lars Myers. And for those who want to party all night long, there’s a post-show DJ set of cheesy Christmas music and other fun ’50s and ’60s holiday tunes.

Contemporary Violinists Daniel D. and Eric Stanley – Saturday, 7pm – Hear these two self-made artists perform at The Carolina Theatre. Daniel D. is a three-time, first-place Apollo Theater winner and studied at NYC’s Julliard School of Music. He has become one of the most popular new-age social media superstars with a constantly growing international fan base. Eric received the YouTube Silver Play Button, surpassing 153,000 subscribers and 21 million total upload views. He made his national television debut on ESPN First Take and provided the theme song on violin.

Durham Village Holiday Market – Sunday, noon-4pm – The inaugural market takes place at The Rickhouse Sunday as well as December 17-18 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sample independent food, beverage and craft producers while checking off items on your shopping list. Grab a drink from the bar and eats from food trucks!

Oyster Roast Durham! – Sunday, 1-5pm – Bring the family out to Bull City Ciderworks for delicious oysters and shrimp, tasty ciders and a real good time!

NC Jazz Ensemble Annual Holiday Concert – Sunday, 4pm – Relax and enjoy the big band sounds of the saxophone, trombone, trumpet and rhythm sections in the performance hall of the Hayti Heritage Center. Under the direction of Mozell Long and featuring vocalist Denise Barnes, don’t miss “Joyful Jazz” with the North Carolina Jazz Ensemble.

Arcana-versary – Sunday, 7pm – Come join Arcana as they celebrate their third year with food from Toast, fun, beer and cocktails, and, of course, tarot!

Holiday Singalong – Sunday, 7:30-9:30pm – Durham County Beer & Hymns will be singing holiday favorites at Fullsteam Brewery. Their event is free to the public, but they will be accepting donations so the group can keep going through 2019 and continue to support local nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity of DurhamWorld Relief Durham and Reality Ministries.

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Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee is the assistant editor at Durham Magazine. Born and raised in Winston-Salem, she attended UNC-Chapel Hill and double majored in broadcast journalism and German.
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