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CULTURE Holiday Happenings

A look at 2021’s Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa events throughout the Charlotte area

BY ANDY SMITH

Jazz singer and actor Leslie Odom Jr. will perform at Knight Theater on Dec. 13.

Odom’s Jazzy Christmas Comes to Uptown

WHEN LESLIE ODOM JR. released his rst Christmas album in 2016, he had just ended his Tony-winning run on Broadway as Hamilton’s Aaron Burr. That record topped Billboard’s U.S. Jazz charts and prompted a second holiday LP released last year: The Christmas Album. Now his aptly titled The Christmas Tour stops at Knight Theater Dec. 13. It’s one of several Christmas o erings from Blumenthal Performing Arts this year. A merry breakdown:

Charlotte Ballet: The Nutcracker (Dec. 3-26, Belk Theater)

Charlotte Symphony’s Handel Messiah

(Dec. 3-5, Knight Theater’)

Leslie Odom Jr. at Belk Theater during the Blumenthal’s Celebrating Big Dreams 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2017.

Jim Brickman: The Gi of Christmas (Dec. 6, Knight Theater) The Jazz Room: Holiday Edition (Dec. 9-10, Booth Playhouse) Charlotte Symphony’s Magic of Christmas (Dec. 10-19, Knight Theater) Cirque De Noel (Dec. 29-30, Belk Theater)

Ferry Christmas: Lake Norman’s Christmas Boat Parade

IT BEGAN on a foggy December night three years ago. Mooresville resident Kevin Shea’s family and neighbors, who live on the northern portion of Lake Norman, planned to board their boats and head to a Christmas light boat parade that evening. When visibility was too low to cross Highway 150, the group had an idea: Let’s do our own parade up here.

Organizers of the rst-ever Northern Lights of Lake Norman Boat Parade aimed for 10 boats. They hosted 21 that rst year. “The second year, even though it was a virtual event for the public, had 31 boats,” Shea says today, “and people streamed from Germany, the U.K., and Egypt.”

The 2019 event raised money for the Barium Springs Home for Children in Statesville—with no registration fee for participants, just suggested donations. This year’s parade bene ts Tunnel to Towers, which helps the families of rst responders, and homeless outreach group Hope of Mooresville.

As the event grows, so does the e ort to out t boats with the largest and merriest decorations possible. Shea uses nearly 12,000 lights on his, and he tops his double-decker vessel with a large in atable helicopter piloted by Santa himself.

“The funny thing is, I sent out an email to people last year to say we were considering canceling,” Shea says. “I got an overwhelming, ‘Please don’t. We look forward to this and need this right now.’ And we’ve gotten the same message this year. The growth of the event just isn’t stopping.”

This year’s public viewing area is at Stumpy Creek Park (160 Stumpy Creek Road, Mooresville). Check facebook.com/northernlightso akenorman for more updates.

The Hasidic pop-rock duo 8th Day, which consists of brothers Shmuel and Bentzion Marcus.

The Ballantyne Jewish Center organizes Hanukkah events at Stonecrest Shopping Center and in downtown Waxhaw.

Chabad of Charlotte Goes Big (Again) for Hanukkah

EVERY YEAR, members of Charlotte’s Jewish community look forward to Chabad of Charlotte’s Hanukkah programming. Last December, the community erected a massive menorah made out of scissor-li s in the Dick’s Sporting Goods parking lot at SouthPark. “We try to do something di erent every year,” says Rabbi Shlomo Cohen. “Last year was the huge scissor-li menorah; this year, we’re hosting a huge concert.”

Hanukkah begins a little earlier than usual this year, on Nov. 28, and lasts through Dec. 6. As of press time, internationally known Hasidic poprock group 8th Day was to perform at Symphony Park in SouthPark on the rst day of Hanukkah. One of the band’s most popular tunes, “Ya’alili,” has garnered more than 7 million views on YouTube. The concert is just the beginning of the 2021 programming for Chabad of Charlotte, with more to come on its site, chabadnc.org.

Other Hanukkah Programming

BALLANTYNE JEWISH CENTER does its usual Stonecrest Menorah Lighting at Stonecrest Shopping Center on Nov. 29, and another annual celebration takes them even further south. On Dec. 1, the center hosts a large menorah lighting in downtown Waxhaw. The event also includes food, music, and cra s. Among a bevy of celebrations, THE SANDRA AND LEON LEVINE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER hosts an event Dec. 4 that’s modeled a er the Net ix baking show Nailed It! Families work together in three kitchen competitions to create Hanukkah-themed confections.

Gantt Center Brings Back Kwanzaa Celebration

KWANZAA debuted in 1966 as a speci cally African American holiday, to last from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, formerly the Afro-American Cultural Center, was founded eight years later. Prior events have included hands-on art workshops, performances, public conversations, and more. As of press time, the Gantt Center had yet to nalize its 2021 o erings, but past events have emphasized the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity); Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Nia (Purpose); Kuumba (Creativity); and Imani (Faith). Check ganttcenter.org for programming updates.

Kojo Bey of the Charlottebased therapeutic drumming nonprofit Drums 4 Life at the Gantt Center in 2016.

Other Kwanzaa Programming

KITOKOS hosts an Annual Kwanzaa Celebration on Dec. 4 at its Cabarrus Avenue location in Concord. The Concord retailer, which also has a Concord Mills location, specializes in African jewelry, clothing, and other accessories. Expect food, live music, vendors, and the store’s massive collection of African-made out ts. KWANZAA CHARLOTTE hosts citywide events on each day of the celebration. The Kwanzaa Organizing Committee has organized events surrounding the holiday for 37 years. Events include workshops on Kwanzaa concepts, with events facilitated by music group and nonpro t A Sign of the Times, which performs music, dance, and spoken word involving the history of the African diaspora.