2020 Holiday EVENTS

bring joy this time of year

FESTIVALS

Texas Renaissance Festival: The 16th century-themed festival is open in Todd Mission with new programming and safety measures. New this year are a manually propelled DaVinci’s Flying Machine, Dragon Tower Slide, Airy Botter’s Escape Room and a pirate ship museum. Open until Nov. 29. Visit www.texrenfest.com or call 800-458-3435.

Dickens on The Squares: The architecture, sights, and sounds of a Victorian holiday in downtown Galveston can be enjoyed during the Galveston Historical Foundation’s Dickens on The Squares. This year the event is in a new configuration while addressing the ongoing impact of COVID-19. Each square will feature entertainment, Dickens pubs, and food options with a specially designed holiday market on Pier 21. Set for Dec. 5-6, this year’s event will take place in five separate locations (Hendley Green, Old Galveston Square, Saengerfest Park, Galveston Historic Seaport, and Pier 22) with each featuring a dedicated entrance and exit, strict capacity limits, mask requirements for entry and participation. Please note tickets will be limited this year. www.galvestonhistory.org/ events/dickens-on-the-strand. 409-765-7834.

HOLIDAY MARKET

Heights Mercantile Holiday Market: Offers Christmas gifts from handmade and ethically sourced small businesses. This free event is family and pet friendly. Parking is limited, so it’s recommended to walk, bike or ride share if you can. Visitors must wear your masks and practice social distancing. Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pop-ups on the promenade at Heights Mercantile, 711 Heights Blvd. Visit www.heightsmercantile.com.

ICE RINKS

The Ice Rink at the Woodlands Town Center: The 21,000-square-foot permanent multipurpose facility features ice skating in a main room with lighting, a state-of-theart sound system, tables for parties and concessions. Open until Monday, Jan. 18. The Ice Rink is at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion multipurpose building/event center on the northwest side of the pavilion at the corner of Lake Robbins and Six Pines, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands. Visit www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/icerink.

The Ice: At Discovery Green, the 12-acre park in the heart of downtown Houston, The Ice powered by Green Mountain Energy will be open for the winter season through Jan. 31. Supporting the health and safety of the community, Discovery Green is implementing procedures and protocols following guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tickets must be purchased in advance at discoverygreen.com/ice to ensure contactless ticketing.

HOLIDAY LIGHTS

The Light Park: Over 1 million animated lights will dance in time with holiday music at The Light Park — a mile-long holiday light show featuring a 700-foot LED tunnel. It’s located at the parking lot at Hurricane Harbor Splashtown, 21300 I-45 north in Spring. Open 5:30-10 p.m. daily until Dec. 31. Visit www.TheLightPark.com.

Festival of Lights – Moody Gardens: Enjoy a festive stroll along a mile-long trail featuring more than 2 million lights and lighted scenes themed to holiday music that take you around the Moody Gardens property with views of Galveston Bay. Stops along the way bring you to see Star the Dancing Tree of Light, concession areas, hot chocolate, fireside s’mores and other festive foods, mistletoe. Open until Jan. 2 at Moody Gardens, One Hope Blvd., Galveston. Visit www.moodygardens.com.

Sugar Land Holiday Lights: Presented by Constellation Field, the home of the Skeeters baseball team, will present more than 3 million lights, eight themed areas, holiday shopping, food, holiday movie nights, Santa and more. The lights will shine through Jan. 3, from 6-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 6-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. www. sugarlandholidaylights.com.

Zoo Lights: TXU Energy presents Zoo Lights that will transform the Houston Zoo at night with more than 300,000 LED lights illuminating more than 50 animal-themed light displays, 15 miles of tree lighting, and seasonal songs and stories. View the lights through Jan. 10. Tickets will be timed to allow for proper social distancing, with increased cleaning and disinfecting. Visit www.houstonzoo.org/events/zoolights.

MUSIC

Merry Christmas Darling – Heidi Kettenring Sings Karen Carpenter: Chicago’s leading lady Heidi Kettenring lends her signature warmth to the timeless treasures and holiday hits of Karen Carpenter. Songs include “Close to You,” “Merry Christmas Darling,” “For All We Know,” and “The Christmas Song.” Nov. 27-Dec. 27 at A.D. Players at The George Theater, 5420 Westheimer Road. A.D. Players has set up a well-ventilated, contactless, epidemiologist-reviewed and approved experience for patrons. There also will be live streaming of the concert. Visit www.adplayers.org/karen-carpenter-christmas.

Holiday at the Hope’s - A Christmas Party Concert: A musical celebration with an abundance of good cheer for the entire family. Inspired by their real-life experience as first-time home buyers, Ben Hope and Katie Barton are celebrating the holidays in their signature style, performing favorite holiday songs and sharing stories about their families’ traditions – all while decorating the tree, baking cookies and spiking the eggnog. This is a radio play streamed on demand. Dec. 1-13. Visit www.stagestheatre.com.

OTHER

The Christmas Train in Alvin: The family can enjoy an old-fashioned train ride on the open-air coaches while experiencing hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights and displays. Visitors can enjoy handmade pizza at Big Al’s Pizza Parlor, hot cocoa, cookies, popcorn and cotton candy. Located approximately 25 miles south of Houston, Victory Camp is 12 miles south of Beltway 8 in Houston, off FM 528 in Alvin, across from Ron Carter Autoland. Nov. 27-28; and Dec. 4-5, 10-12, 14-23. Call 281-388-2267 or visit www.victorycamp.com.

THEATER

A Christmas Carol: This inventive adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic is pared down to its essential elements. A resident company of actors assemble online to perform a trunk-show production of the Christmas story. With two actors missing and everyone performing from home, creating a magical world of holiday make-believe is no easy feat. Dec. 4-27 online. Visit www.alleytheatre.org/plays/production-detail/a-christmas-carol. Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol: In this world premiere online event created for audiences of all ages, interdisciplinary performance collective

Manual Cinema takes on Charles Dickens’ holiday classic with a visually inventive adaptation made to broadcast directly to your home. A holiday skeptic, Aunt Trudy has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her Chicago apartment, she reconstructs his annual Christmas Carol puppet show – over a Zoom call while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. Saturday, Dec. 5, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. on SPA Digital. Visit https://spahouston.org.