The magical, musical days of december

by Elizabeth Morse Read

There’s a lot more to December than just the holidays! Let your children (and the young at heart) experience the stories and songs and snowy adventures that only December brings. Celebrate with festive lights that dispel the long dark nights, and the cheery warmth of friends and family sharing time together on a cold winter’s day! And wrap up the year with fireworks and parties! Happy holidays!

Do you hear what I hear?

Buy your tickets early for the Holiday Pops Concert performed by the Fall River Symphony Orchestra on December 11 at BCC’s Jackson Theatre (fallriversymphonyorchestra.org)!

Don’t miss the Newport Navy Choristers’ Christmas Concerts on December 4 at the First Baptist Church in Fall River and on December 9 at St. Barnabas Church in Portsmouth (newportnavychoristers.org).

Head for Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth to hear the Plymouth Philharmonic Holidays Pops Concert December 10-11 (memorialhall.com)!

Let your family enjoy a “Classical Christmas” at Emmanuel Church in Newport on December 10 – traditional hymns, sing-alongs, carols and refreshments (newportclassical.org).

Don’t miss the ever-popular Sippican Choral Society’s Christmas Concert on December 10 at Tabor Academy in Marion (sippicanchoralsociety.org).

Head for the Zeiterion in New Bedford for the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s “Holiday Pops” December 11 (zeiterion.org).

Let there be lights!

Buy your tickets early for the Christmas Wonderland and Festival of Lights at Edaville Railroad in Carver through January 1! Heated train rides illuminated by 17 million lights throughout the park and Europeanstyle Christmas Market (edaville.com)!

Stroll through the brilliantly illuminated Roger Williams Park Zoo for the Holiday Lights Spectacular through January 1 (rwpzoo.org)!

Bundle up for the annual Tree Lighting at Bowen’s Wharf in Newport on December 3 (bowenswharf.com)!

Bundle up and watch Waterfire in Providence on December 1-3 for the Three Nights Holiday Celebration (waterfire.org)!

Don’t miss the traditional “Lights On Festival” in Taunton – the Lighting of the Green on December 3 (facebook. com/lightingofthegreen)!

Enjoy the Annual Festival of Lights at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro through January 1 – more than 300,000 lights illuminating ten acres (lasaletteattleboroshrine.org)!

Heavenly voices

Listen to “Joyeux Noel: Seasonal Music of France” sung by the Pilgrim Festival Chorus December 2-4 at St. Bonaventure Parish in Plymouth and on December 16 at Church on the Green in Middleboro (pilgrimfestivalchorus.org)!

Mark your calendars now for the award-winning Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra's performance of Handel's "Messiah" on December 3 at the Church of St. Sebastian in Providence (ricco.org).

Head for Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth to hear the Vienna Boys' Choir December 2 (memorialhall.com)!

Mark your calendars for the return of the Christmas Concert with the Spirit of St. Anthony Choir on December 18 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford (musicatsaintanthonys.org)!

Listen to Handel's “Messiah” sung at Rosecliff Mansion on December 4, performed by the Ensemble Altera and the Professional Singers of the Choir School of Newport County (newportclassical.org).

Deck the halls

Visit the beautifully decorated whaling-era and Victorian homes in New Bedford on the annual Historic Holiday Tours December 10-11, led by the New Bedford Preservation Society (nbpreservationsociety.org)!

Be dazzled by the over-the-top splendor of the Gilded Age during “Holidays at the Newport Mansions” through January 1 (newportmansions. org)!

Begin your Sippican Womans Club Holiday Stroll on December 11 at Handy’s Tavern in Marion (sippicanwomansclub.org)!

Family fun for everyone!

Mark your calendar for the annual “Old Time Holiday Fair” on December 10 in Fairhaven – food, Town Hall shops, sing-alongs (fairhaventours.org)!

Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on AHA! Nights in New Bedford! The December 8 theme is “Starry Nights” (ahanewbedford.org).

Celebrate “Christmas in the Village” on December 10 in Onset (onsetbay. org) or the Annual Christmas Parade through downtown Wareham on December 3 (warehamvillage.org)!

Take the kids to “Disney on Ice” December 28 through January 2 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence (dunkindonutscenter.com)!

Bring the family to the wreath-making workshops at Soule Homestead in Middleboro on December 4 (soulehomestead.org)!

Mark your calendars for the weekslong annual Bristol Christmas Festival (christmasbristolri.com)!

It’s time to sharpen the ice skates (or rent them) for indoor skating at Fall River’s Driscoll Arena (508-679- 3274), New Bedford’s Hetland Arena (508-999-9051), Taunton’s Aleixo Arena (508-824-4987) or Plymouth’s Armstrong Arena (508-746-8825) (fmcicesports.com)!

There’s fun for all ages on the new indoor Southcoast Pickleball courts in Fairhaven, open daily. AC, changing rooms, refreshments, rentals, clinics, tournaments (southcoastpickleball. com)! Get ready for a fun-filled day iceskating or riding ice bumper cars at The Providence Rink in downtown Providence (theprovidencerink.com)! Head for the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Providence’s Roger Williams Park to watch the planetarium shows during school vacation (providence.gov/museum)!

Holiday food and shopping

Find that special gift at the Buy Black NB Pop-Up Holiday Market on December 3 at New Bedford’s Whaling Museum (buyblacknb.com)!

Buy beautiful hand-crafted gifts at the All That Glitters holiday fair at Loon Lake Lodge in Lakeville on December 2-3 – great shopping, cash bar, live music (lakevilleartscouncilma.org).

Check out the European-style Christmas Market at Edaville Railroad in Carver through January 1 (edaville. com)!

Head for Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth to shop at the Holiday Market December 4 (memorialhall.com)!

Shop online for that special gift at Artists for the Bay through December 31 (savebay.org/art)!

Eat Fresh, Eat Local! Fill your baskets with local produce, pies and jams, dairy products and holiday decorations! To find a farm, vineyard or indoor farmers market near you, visit semaponline.org, farmfreshri.org, or coastalfoodshed. org. To find food and wine events, go to farmcoast.com, coastalwinetrail.com, or ediblesouthshore.com.

All the world’s a stage

Check out the “Kristen Merlin Christmas Concert” on December 19 and “A Christmas Drag Show” on December 19 at The Alley Theatre in Middleboro (burtwoodschool.com).

Mark your calendars to catch a performance of “Church Basement Ladies” December 1-4, 8-11 at The Little Theatre in Fall River (littletheatre.net).

Enjoy dinner and a performance of “A Christmas for Carol” through December 31 at the Newport Playhouse (newportplayhouse. com).

South Coast sounds

Find out who’s on stage at the District Center for the Arts in Taunton! Don’t miss Hey Nineteen December 3, Wail On December 9, Eagles Experience December 10, Heavy Metal Christmas Party December 16, Barefoot Patch December 17 (thedistrictcenterforarts. com).

Head for The VETS to hear the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra perform “The Four Seasons” on December 9-10 (riphil.org).

Check out who’s on stage at the Spire Center for the Performing Arts of Greater Plymouth! (spirecenter.org).

Listen to the Claremont Trio perform on December 4 at Westport’s Concerts at the Point (concertsatthepoint.org)!

Head for the Zeiterion in New Bedford For schedule of events visit (zeiterion.org).

Head for The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River for great music! (narrowscenter.com)!

Holiday classics

Don’t miss the New Bedford Festival Theatre’s production of White Christmas through December 4 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford (zeiterion.org)!

Buy your tickets now for the Festival Ballet Providence’s performance of The Nutcracker at The VETS in Providence December 16-24 (festivalballetprovidence.org)!

Start your holiday season with a performance of A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep in Providence through January 1 (trinityrep.com).

Buy your tickets early to see The Newport Nutcracker at Rosecliff on December 1-2, performed by The Island Moving Company (islandmovingco.org).

Don’t miss A Christmas Carol: Solo Performance December 18 at the Spire Center for the Performing Arts of Greater Plymouth (spirecenter.org).

Catch a production of A Christmas Carol December 2-4, 9-10 at the Marion Art Center Theatre (marionartcenter. org).

Mark your calendar for the New Bedford Ballet’s Performance of A New England Nutcracker December 3-4, 9-11 at the NBB Community Theatre (newbedfordballet.org).

Expand your horizons

Take the family on a guided Seal Watch Boat Ride from December through April with Save the Bay, leaving from Bowen’s Ferry Wharf in Newport (savebay.org/seals)!

Check out what’s happening at the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth. The trails are free and open to the public every day from dawn to dusk (lloydcenter.org).

Go on a free Bird Walk or Flower Walk at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown (normanbirdsanctuary.org).

Get bundled up for the Family Owl Prowl at Fall River’s Copicut Woods on December 11 (thetrustees.org).

Learn about the free virtual classes in meditation, laughter yoga, tai chi, yoga and smoking-cessation hypnosis, offered by New Bedford Wellness Initiative (facebook.com/ NewBedfordWellnessInitiative).

Get Healthy! “Walk With a Doc” on Saturdays at Dartmouth Mall, part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative (nbewell.com)!

“Discover Buzzards Bay” offers an online portal with information about 100+ public places to walk, bird-watch, kayak/canoe, fish, snowshoe or crosscountry ski (savebuzzardsbay.org/ discover).

You can find other outdoor recreation spots along the South Coast at thetrustees.org, exploreri.org, massaudubon.org, riwalks.org, asri. org, riparks.com or stateparks.com/ rhode_island.