Check out some of the holiday activities taking place around Seattle and the Eastside!

Downtown Bellevue

‘Tis the season at Bellevue Square’s ever-popular Snowflake Lane, where live toy soldiers march alongside toy soldiers to festive music, a dazzling light show brightens the dark sky and snowflakes fall nightly. 11/29-12/31; 7 p.m.; Bellevue Square, sidewalks of Bellevue Way & NE 8^th at The Bellevue Collection; bellevuecollection.com/snowflakelane
Strap on those skates and step onto Bellevue’s outdoor Ice Arena. 12/29-01/12; Times and prices vary. Chaplin’s Bellevue Subaru Ice Arena, NE 1^st St. and 102^nd Ave. NE, one block south of Bellevue Square; magicseason.com
Return to downtown Bellevue after the holidays for the annual Celebration Lane, a night of bubbles, brilliant lights and drummers rocking to lively music. 12/26-12/31; 7 p.m.; The Bellevue Collection, sidewalks between Bellevue Square, Lincoln Square, and Bellevue Place;https://snowflakelane.com/

A Feast of Grace and Light Seattle Jewish Chorale presents uplifting songs for a different side of the season. 12/4 at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue; 12/15 at Seattle Jewish Community School in Seattle. seattlejewishchorale.org

 

Redmond
Redmond’s Winter Festival celebrate like an array of traditions, cultures, and faiths with music, kid’s activities, and campus lighting. Deck yourself with twinkling lights and stroll in the Luminary Walk along hundreds of candles and light displays. Round off the night with warm holiday treats and more fun at Redmond Town Center.  12/7; Free; Check website for details; redmondlights.com

Kirkland
Geoffrey Castle’s Celtic Christmas The enthusiastic electric six-string violin player presents his annual holiday show with Gael force. 12/13–12/14; Kirkland Performance Center; kpcenter.org

A Charlie Brown Christmas with David Benoit The acclaimed jazz pianist plays Vince Guaraldi’s beloved score. 12/2; Kirkland Performance Center; kpcenter.org

Seattle Center
Seattle Center Winterfest is a must-visit with many holiday-spirited events to enjoy, such as ice skating ($2-$7), ice sculpting, live performances, and the Winter Train & Village, which for a small donation allows you to play conductor.  11/23-12/31; Times Vary; Free; Seattle Center;seattlecenter.com/winterfest

Nutcracker This marks the 30th year that Pacific Northwest Ballet has performed its Maurice Sendak set version of the Tchaikovsky classic, and those Sugarplum Fairies still feel fresh. 11/30–12/29; McCaw Hall; pnb.org

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in Smell-O-Vision Celebrate the season with snozzberries! Watch the original film augmented with sweet smells from goodie bags filled with Wonka-style treats. 12/12–12/13 & 12/19–12/20; SIFF Film Center; siff.net

Capitol Hill
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant Seattle’s bold Balagan Theatre Company tells Scientology’s origin story via Christian tropes and antics galore. 11/22–12/21. Erickson Theater; balagantheatre.org

Homo for the Holidays Turns out when you ask Santa for something outrageous, irreverent and over the top, he delivers. 12/12–12/14 & 12/18–12/23; Century Ballroom; centuryballroom.com

 

First Hill
Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music Earshot Jazz presents the 25th annual concert of the master’s spiritually swingin’ take on the season. 12/28; Town Hall; townhallseattle.org

Magical Strings: Celtic Yuletide Concert  A festive evening of Irish dancing, juggling and music, featuring fiddle, harp, cello and hammered dulcimer. 12/14; Town Hall; townhallseattle.org

Downtown Seattle
Give the Holiday Carousel a whirl this year and benefit Treehouse, the local nonprofit organization that provides resources foster children, at the same time.  It’s a twofer! 11/29-01/01; Times and prices vary. Westlake Park, 4^th and Pine St.; Holiday Inn Seattle Downtown
Prepare your ears for the 27^th Annual Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition, where over 40 singing teams take to streets and battle it out (using their voices, of course) to be the last team standing on the Figgy Main Stage. To compete, visit pikemarketseniorcenter.org. 12/06; 5-8:30 p.m.; Free; Westlake Center, 400 Pine St.; Holiday Inn Seattle Downtown
Get on board with the Argosy Christmas Ship Festival, a Northwest tradition for 64 years, and sail to more than 45 Puget Sound waterfront communities to the sound of live choirs singing during the ride. 11/29-12/23; Times and prices vary. Argosy Cruises; 206.623.1445; argosycruises.com

Go Tell It On the Mountain Gospel greats The Blind Boys of Alabama bring their Grammy-winning holiday show back to Seattle. 12/17; Benaroya Hall; seattlesymphony.org

Handel’s Messiah Seattle Symphony and Chorale perform the whole Hallelujah. 12/20–12/22; Benaroya Hall; seattlesymphony.org

A Christmas Carol Don’t be a Scrooge about seeing this Dickens classic—it’s a fail-safe heart-warmer. 11/29–12/29; ACT Theatre; acttheatre.org

Oliver! There’s nothing specifically Christmas-y about this Dickens tale turned Broadway smash, but something about those orphans singing “Food, Glorious Food” feels appropriate for the season. 11/29–12/31; The 5th Avenue Theatre; 5thavenue.org

Home for the Holidays Seattle Symphony’s family-friendly pops concert is a holiday hit parade. 12/5–12/8; Benaroya Hall; seattlesymphony.org

Play It Again, Santa Seattle Men’s Chorus brings its customary charm—and cheekiness—to seasonal songs. 11/30–12/22; Benaroya Hall; flyinghouse.org/smc

Christmas in the Cloister The Medieval Women’s Choir presents music from abbeys in Germany, France and Spain. (It’s the music that’s medieval, not the women.) 12/21; St. James Cathedral; medievalwomenschoir.org

 

University District
An Irish Christmas Seattle Choral Company brings carols from the Emerald Isle to the Emerald City. 12/13–12/14; St. Mark’s Cathedral; seattlechoralcompany.org

A John Waters Christmas “The Pope of Trash” presents his unique brand of holiday hilarity, promising to “put the X back in Xmas.” 12/5; The Neptune Theatre; stgpresents.org

North Seattle
A Feast of Grace and Light Seattle Jewish Chorale presents uplifting songs for a different side of the season. 12/4 at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue; 12/15 at Seattle Jewish Community School in Seattle. seattlejewishchorale.org

Green Lake
The Santaland Diaries David Sedaris’ book by the same name is the source material for Seattle Public Theater’s staging of this snort-laugh favorite. 12/6–12/24; Bathhouse theater;seattlepublictheater.org

South Lake Union
Dina Martina Christmas Show It’s tough to describe this bizarre and gut-busting annual show, but “cringetacular” and “a hot mess with a heart of gold” feel pretty close. 11/29–12/31; Re-bar;dinamartina.com

 

Tacoma
Bundle up the family and see why Tacoma’s Zoolights continues to be a holiday favorite (and rightfully so), with a half-million dazzling lights and displays such as a Giant Pacific Octopus or ice-skating puffins. Visitors can also take a spin on an antique carousel or ride a camel!  11/29-01/05 (closed 12/24, 12/25, & 01/01); 5-9 p.m.; Prices vary; Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, WA; 253.591.5337; pdza.org

Vashon Island
Add Vashon Island’s Winterfest Weekend to your calendar and take your pick of art browsing, holiday shopping, and good ole’ fashioned fun with a visit to Santa’s Cottage, a holiday parade, the 3^rd Annual Gingerbread House Tour, and a tree lighting ceremony to complete the experience. Visit the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce for maps. 12/06-12/08; Time varies; Free; Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce, 17141 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon, WA; 206.463.6217;vashonchamber.com