Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed us by, we should all take a collective breath of fresh air and attempt to connect with the spirituality and merriment that goes along with the upcoming holiday season.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or George Costanza’s Festivus, there will be no shortage of events to take part in and enjoy.
Downtown Culver City’s Third Wednesdays presents its second annual “Holiday Happy Hour,” where patrons can celebrate yuletide spirit and goodwill under the sparking lights of the boulevards of downtown Culver City.
The Other Reindeer carolers will put you in a festive mood with their renditions of classic holiday tunes, while area bars and dining establishments will be making merry with free samples and a sleigh-full of beer specials.
You’ll also be able to stuff your stocking with discounts from stores, as well as strapping on your skates for a Third Wednesday-only “2-for-1 Skate Special,” at the outdoor Holiday Ice Rink.
The Holiday Happy Hour will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 19 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and if its anything like the last bash, it will be quite a festive time downtown.
If you thought you’ve seen and heard the Nutcracker ballet before, there is no doubt that you have never experienced a production like Nutcracker Swings at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.
Presented by the City Ballet of Los Angeles, this holiday classic is sent in Los Angeles’ Hancock in the 1940’s during WWII.
The production tells the story of our prince coming home on Christmas Eve and giving our Maria a beautiful Nutcracker that transforms the evening into a magical adventure which takes them into all the different lands of the world.
The Nutcracker Swings uses the music original score of Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington’s swinging jazz tunes.
Under the steady hand of Artistic Director Robyn Gardenhire, a former member of Joffrey II and choreographer of over a dozen ballets for CBLA and other companies, she is also the founder of City Ballet of Los Angeles School that provides training to students that are economically and socially at a disadvantage starting at age three and up.
This one-of-a-kind production will be presented on Friday and Saturday night, Dec. 21 and 22nd at 8 p.m. To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit www.CityBalletofLa.org.
The Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA is presenting a holiday concert called Christmas 101 (as in the freeway) featuring Rufus and Martha Wainright on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21 and 22 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. Masterminded by Rufus and Martha’s late mother and performer, Kate McGarrigle, Christmas 101 began in 2005 and features eclectic carols being performed in French and English by the McGarrigles, Wainwrights and many musical friends.
These concerts will also be graced by special guests Emmylou Harris, Van Dyke Parks and Carrie Fisher.
Following the concerts, a post-show Gala will take place, which will benefit the Kate McGarrigle Foundation created by Kate before her death in 2009 to raise money for underfunded sarcoma research.
Tickets for the concert are sold separately from the Gala, but can be purchased together in one transaction.
This is sure to be a special event at UCLA’s historic Royce Hall, so be sure not to miss it. More information and tickets can be found at http://cap.ucla.edu.
The Cinema Bar in Culver City will be rocking through the holidays with a rare appearance from Austin Texas-based guitar slinger and songwriter Will Sexton on Sunday, Dec. 9.
In addition to writing songs working as a solo act, Sexton has also played with his older brother, Charlie Sexton, who in recent years has played guitar in Bob Dylan’s backing band.
The following two Mondays the Cinema will feature some great gypsy jazz a la Django Reinhardt from Hot Club of LA. The Cinema Bar is located at 3967 Sepulveda Blvd., near Washington Blvd. and there is no cover.