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Holiday hub: Boston winter events

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on December 7, 2009 7:14 PM

By Rebeca Cardoso, Contributing Writer -

Boston is an exciting place to spend the holiday season. Whether you’re looking for a good place to watch traditional performances, get in touch with the religious aspects of the holidays, shop or just get out and about, the city is bound to have something to satisfy your needs.

Holiday Pops: Dec. 9-27

Where: Symphony Hall

Price: $33-$122

Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops will begin the 2009 Boston Pops Holiday Series on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The season will run through Sunday, Dec. 27, and include 35 pre- and post-Christmas concerts.

The season will also include six kids’ matinee concerts on the following dates: Saturday, Dec. 12 (11 a.m.); Sunday, Dec. 13 (11 a.m.); Friday, Dec. 18 (4 p.m.); Saturday, Dec. 19 (11 a.m.); Sunday, Dec.20 (11 a.m.), and Thursday, Dec. 24 (11 a.m.). These include sing-along songs and pictures with Santa after the concert. Table seats will include a kids’ menu.

Mayor’s Holiday Special: Dec. 9 – Jan. 18

Where: Prudential Center

Price: It’s up to you!

The Prudential Center boasts over 75 shops and restaurants (Lacoste, The Cheesecake Factory, Sephora, Legal Sea Foods, just to name a few) along with one of the largest garages for parking in the city of Boston. Performances, store and restaurant deals, hotel discounts, as well as 8,000 half-priced tickets can be available by printing out a voucher (or several!) from www.bostix.org/mhs/mhsVoucher.html. More information is available at www.mayorsholidayspecial.com.

Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker: Dec. 4-16

Where: Boston Opera House

Price: $38-$75

Come see for yourself what the Boston Globe is calling “imaginative scenery, captivating special effects, substantive choreography and exquisite dancing.” This show has been a tradition for Boston audiences for over 40 years. The performance not only includes the Boston Ballet Company, but over 250 children from the Boston Ballet School.

A Christmas Carol: Dec. 6-27

Where: New Repertory Theatre

Price: $20-$43

Charles Dickens’ timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge will come to life once again this holiday season. This is the fifth year which the New Repertory Theatre (in partnership with Watertown Children’s Theatre and arsenalArts) will be reenacting this classic story of a stingy man who, in his old age, finally rediscovers the joy of the holidays. The fee is reasonable, taking into account that this performance is the winner of Edge Boston’s “Best of New England Theater 2008.”

A Civil War Christmas: Dec. 1-13

Where: Huntington Theatre Company

Price: $20-$82.50

For the more history-oriented audience comes the story of a president, a rebel soldier, a blacksmith and a fugitive slave who, despite their different circumstances, come to realize that the greatest gift is the “gladness of one’s heart.” Local choirs carol prior to each show, and the performance is laced with the music of the holidays.

Cultural Survival Bazaars: Dec. 4-20

Where: Cambridge College (Dec. 4-6), Harvard University Center for Government and International Studies (Dec. 12-13), and The Shops at Prudential Center (Dec. 19-20)

Price: Whatever you make it out to be!

Instead of buying your mom those same old candles she still has from last year or your dad yet another tie, how about buying unique hand-made crafts from cultures around the world while supporting indigenous communities and fair trade?

This series of cultural festivals has exposed over 35,000 Americans to indigenous visual arts, music, and culture for the past six years at various locations. They sell their work directly to the public, so it is a prime example of fair trade. Indigenous artisans have made over $3 million through this program.

Visitors have the chance to speak directly with the people behind the wonderful works displayed at each location. At the bazaars, one can find jewelry, carpets, masks, and instruments as well as musical performances, films, cultural presentations, as well as how-to demonstrations—just to name a few things.

For more info, visit www.culturalsurvival.org.

Tru Grace: Holiday Memoirs: Dec. 4-27

Where: Central Square Theater

Price: $17.50-$35

If you’re someone who likes variety in a performance, this is the event for you. Two heartwarming stories about kids in the 1930s during the holiday season come together in one performance. In the first, A Christmas Memory, a young boy named Truman Capote remembers a friendship with his cousin, an eccentric social outcast, and the spirit for life that he had. The second, Grace Paley’s The Loudest Voice, takes the audience to a Russian-Jewish immigrant school where the teacher annually stages the Nativity. The event incorporates a diverse cast, puppetry, first-class music, and — as is always present in the holiday season — fruitcake.

Beacon Hill Holiday Stroll: Dec. 10

Where: Corner of Charles St and Saint Vernon St

Price: Up to you!

Shop, eat, and enjoy the holiday season via Beacon Hill’s shops, boutiques, and restaurants! The shopping experience is made unique by the music of Victorian carolers, a full brass ensemble, and the Apollo Club of Boston — the second oldest, continuously active men’s singing group in the United States!

Events apart from shopping include a horse and buggy ride down Charles Street, a tree-lighting ceremony at 7:00 p.m., and a free holiday picture with Santa from 3:30-6:45 p.m.

The Starlit Birth: Dec. 11

Where: Church of the Advent

Price: $15-$62

For those looking for a more religious take on Christmas, The Boston Cecilia is performing a series of plays: James Woodman’s A Midwife’s Tale (1996), Magnificat (1993), and his two recent carols, Divinum mysterium and Blake’s Cradle Song (2009).

A Midwife’s Tale was commissioned by the Boston Cecilia and first performed in 1996. It features Zachel, the midwife that was chosen to attend to Mary at the time of Jesus’ birth. The story comes from the Arundel Manuscript; legends from and before the 8th century. Carols from Spain, England, and Colonial America are also laced into the presentation, and all are welcome to partake in what has become an annual tradition.

SoWa Holiday Market: Dec. 12-13

Where: Cathedral High School Gymnasium

Price: $5 entry fee

For those interested in fashion, there is the 6th Annual SoWa Holiday Market. This event features over 80 artists and designers from all over New England! An original, fashionable gift can be found for everyone — from handbags to letterpress stationary, jewelry to baby clothes, pottery to silk-screened t-shirts, and much more. SoWa is well known for being a trendy Boston arts and media district and is within walking distance of some of Boston’s best galleries, boutiques, and international cuisine.