San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Holidays 2020:
A guide to the indoor and outdoor excitement.
Here’s a guide to holiday excitement you can find at home or around the Bay Area.
The Golden Girls Live: The Christmas Episodes 2020: Two holiday parodies, based on episodes of the popular television series, are set to be presented online, as a drag sendup and loving tribute to the show’s popular characters. With San Francisco drag stars Heklina, Matthew Martin, D’Arcy Drollinger and Holotta Tymes.
The live stream is set to feature beloved holiday carols, and a limited number of VIP ticket virtual meet and greets. Because these shows are produced live, each performance will be a little different. 3 p. m. Dec. 20. $ 30$ 50. the goldengirlslive.com
Winter Is Coming: LiveStream Holiday Plants Talk: From boughs to berries and branches to blooms, California Academy of Sciences Associate Curator and McAllister Chair of Botany Nathalie Nagalingum plans to discuss traditional plants of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Saturnalia and Festivus, and why they play such a big part in our many holiday celebrations. 10 a. m. Dec. 20. Free. Available to stream on their YouTube and Facebook channels. 4153798000. calacademy. org
Voices of Music presents: Fiddle Tunes Across the North Atlantic: Festive fiddle tunes have long played a part in seasonal music and dance. Many melodies have been notated, published and passed down through oral tradition. In a lecture/ demonstration, musicologistperformer Laura Risk plans to discuss these traditions and how they traversed oceans. 11 a. m. Dec. 20. $ 15. Tickets available online. 4152604687. voicesofmusic.org
San Francisco Girls Chorus: Island Holiday: In place of their annual holiday performance at Davies Symphony Hall, the chorus plans to present a virtual concert featuring three world premiere works by Angélica Negrón, Matthew Welch and Sahba Aminikia. The program also includes music from the Caribbean and traditional holiday favorites conducted by Valérie SainteAgathe, featuring guest artists including the Kronos Quartet, ukulele player Florante Aguilar, and organist Robert Huw Morgan. 3 p. m. Dec. 20. Free, $ 25 suggested donation. 4158631752. sfgirlschorus.org
Zoom SingAlong Messiah: The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley has moved its 50year traditional singalong event to Zoom. The Handel masterwork will be performed with live soloists, an orchestra and chorus. Costumes are encouraged. You can get a free score to follow online at messiahcelebration.com. 4 p. m. Dec. 20, 4 p. m. Free. 5105250302. uucb.org
Golden Bough: Celtic Songs of Winter and Christmas Carols: Margie Butler, Paul Espinoza and Kathy Sierra are set to sing and perform instruments including Celtic harp, pennywhistle, violin, mandolin, accordion, guitar, harmonica, recorder and bodhran in a livestreamed seasonal event for Old First Concerts. 4 p. m. Dec. 20. Free, donations encouraged. Viewing available on their YouTube channel. 4154741608. oldfirstconcerts.org
Berkeley Ballet Theater’s Nutcracker Celebration: Celebrate three decades of Sally Streets and Robbie Nichols’ production of “The Nutcracker.” The livestreamed event includes interviews, a ballet watch party with many generations of dancers included and a Zoom happy hour celebration following the performance at 7 p. m. 5 p. m. Dec. 20. Free. Viewing available on their YouTube channel. 9254021073. berkeleyballet.org
San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus: ( At) Home for the Holidays: Celebrate three decades of the group’s traditional holiday performance, presented in 2020 as a virtual livestreamed showcase. Programming includes performances by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti, comedian and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” champion Bianca Del Rio, India’s first openly gay royal Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, members of the San Francisco Philharmonic, the SFGMC Homophonics and Lollipop Guild ensembles and others. Home delivery of wine and treats to Bay Area homes is included with VIP tickets. 5 p. m. Dec. 24. $ 25$ 150. 4157922647. sfgmc.org
28th Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy: Jewish comedy on Christmas served up in a virtual Chinese restaurant. Featuring Lisa Geduldig, Alex Edelman and Judy Gold. Some proceeds will benefit Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance” and the Helen and Joe Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust. Dec. 2426. $ 25$ 50. 4155223737. koshercomedy.com
Ongoing
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at Home: In lieu of an inperson event, the organizers plan to add a section on their website with new content each weekend. It will include access to videos of “A Christmas Carol” presented as a serialized reading, performances of traditional Victorian songs from the Coventry Carolers and the Bangers & Mash Band, eraappropriate craft projects and a virtual party on Christmas Eve. Through Dec. 24. Free. dickens fair. com
Berkeley Rep Presents: The Steadfast Tin Soldier: Looking Glass Theatre Company presents Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman’s play, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story about a little tin soldier who never gives up, as a livestreamed event featuring live music composed by Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert. Scenic design by Todd Rosenthal, costumes designed by Ana Kuzmanic, choreography by Tracy Walsh, Sylvia HernandezDiStasi and featuring puppet design with the Chicago Puppet Studio.
5 p. m. TuesdaySaturday; noon SaturdaySunday; 4 p. m. Sunday. Through Dec. 27. $ 25$ 75. Ticket holders will have access to the production for 48 hours after initial viewing. 5106472949. berkeleyrep. org Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce: ‘ Pandemic’: The 2020 Ibsen Award winner and longtime collaborators Machine Dazzle, Matt Ray and producers Pomegranate Arts, join together to celebrate the holidays in all of their dysfunction. The livestreamed event will reframe holiday favorites with a blend of music, film, burlesque and random acts of fabulousness. Ticket holders are also invited to attend a virtual afterparty following the live production. Available on demand through Jan. 2. $ 10. 6507242464. live. stanford. edu