Calendar of Events in Houston: Houston Lifestyles and Homes Magazine, Dec 2009 . Area

BEGINNING DEC 03

candlelight tours at bayou bend

It’s time for Yuletide: Holiday Time at Bayou Bend. This annual transformation of the house brings festive lighting to the gardens and holiday delights to eight of the mansion ’s rooms decorated with historic recreations of celebratory moments from the 17th-20th centuries.

Candlelight Open House tours are the highlight of Bayou Bend’s annual Yuletide celebration. These tours, Dec. 3-4, Dec. 10-11, Dec. 17-18 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., are enhanced with soft light of candles and period music, docents in each room provide information about the holiday settings and discuss the customs of the times. These special evening tours are self-guided on Thursdays; docents are present on Fridays. Each candlelight evening features special holiday entertainment, including school choirs Schola Cantorum (of Memorial High School) and the Spring Branch Girls Choir on Dec. 3 and AD Players on Dec. 4.

Admission is $7.50 for adults, and $5 for students 18+ & seniors age 65 + with ID. Children 17 and under are free. No reservations are required. For more information, call 713-639-7758. (Thursday evenings include a self-guided tour of the exhibit; on Friday evenings, docents share information about the exhibit with the guests.)

Visit www.mfah.org/bayoubend or call 713-639-7758 for other holiday activities. Bayou Bend is located at 1 Westcott Street (off of Memorial Drive).

BEGINNING DEC 04

Downtown’s Second Annual Holiday Spectacular

Downtown Houston will deck the halls this holiday season with the second annual Downtown Holiday Spectacular, a seasonal celebration filled with family traditions and community events.

From the Heritage Society’s Annual Candlelight Tour and Nutcracker ballet, to ice skating at Discovery Green and holiday trolleys, traditions both old and new are perfectly packaged to draw Houstonians and visitors to downtown throughout the season.

The Holiday Green Market returns on Sundays, skating with Santa on Saturdays and the Silver Screen holiday movies series on Thursdays.

This is also a year of special anniversaries, as the City of Houston will celebrate the 90th Annual Holiday Show and Mayor ’s Tree Lighting on Friday, Dec. 4.

For more information, go to www.houstondowntown.com.

BEGINNING DEC 04

heights
holiday home tour

The 2009 Houston Heights Association Holiday Home Tour will be held on Dec. 4-5. The Houston Heights Association event, is a great opportunity to peek inside remarkable homes that represent the architectural integrity and diversity of this eclectic neighborhood. This year ’s collection includes a Queen Anne-style home built in 1898, two 1920 Craftsman bungalows, a 1919 Victorian and Craftsman-style abode, and three recently constructed homes.

Decked out in their finest for the holidays, the tour homes will have docents on duty to point out the rich history, architecture, distinctive features and decorations of each home.

Home tours will take place on Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 p.m.-9 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 3 p.m.-9 p.m.

Explore this charming neighborhood with its nationally renowned antiques and vintage clothing shops, art galleries, eclectic boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Eat, drink, shop and be merry with Mistletoe Madness in full swing on Saturday. Visitors are encouraged to come early, browse, shop and enjoy the local restaurants that feature some of Houston ’s finest chefs.

Advance tickets are $17 and are available online at www.houstonheights.org and at several Houston Heights locations including Another Place in Time, Buchanan ’s Native Plants, Eclectic Home, The Artful Corner and Waldo’s Coffee House.

Tickets purchased the days of the tour are $20 for all seven homes or $5 for each individual home and will be available at the Heights Fire Station at 107 W. 12th and Yale Streets, and at each of the homes. Tickets purchased online may be picked up at the will-call booth at the Fire Station during the tour.

THROUGH
DEC 19

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN at company onstage

The holiday favorite Frosty the Snowman by Rob Howard is playing at The Company OnStage with two shows every Saturday through Dec. 19.

Frosty comes alive with help from a special top hat and the children of Glenville love their magical walking, talking, dancing snowman. When Magnificent Max tries to lure Frosty to join his traveling menagerie, Frosty ’s new friends help him make an important decision and learn the true meaning of friendship.

Frosty the Snowman is performed Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and children. Coupon books for group rates are available, and reservations are strongly recommended. For further information and reservations, call 713-726-1219 or go to www.companyonstage.org.

holiday magic at west oaks mall

West Oaks Mall is hosting a full schedule of exciting entertainment throughout the holiday season to create a magical holiday experience including: visits with Santa through Dec. 24 near Dillard ’s; live musical performances through Dec. 24. Area school groups, organizations and local performers will present holiday entertainment representing a variety of musical genres all season long.

Catch the West Oaks Mall Christmas Tree Silent Auction on display until Dec. 15, auction closes on Dec. 14. Bid on a fabulous tree for your home. Winners of the silent auction will be notified Dec. 15. Proceeds will benefit a children ’s wish granting organization.

Dogs and cats can have their photos taken with Santa during Pet Nights with Santa on Dec. 14. All pets must be on a leash.

Catch snow flurries through Dec. 20 on Saturdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. Children can also glide across an 800-square-foot ice-free rink from Dec. 17-24.

For more information, go to www.shopwestoaksmall.com or call 281-531-1332.

CHEVRON JINGLE BELL RUN & WALK, dec. 13

The Downtown YMCA will host its 26th annual Chevron Jingle Bell Run and Walk on Dec. 13 at beginning at noon. The race begins at 2 p.m.

The event includes a 5-mile course for competitive runners, a 3-mile course for families and a fun run for kids. Spectators come from all over the Gulf Coast region to watch the colorful event where racers compete for both speed and best costume prizes.

Proceeds from the Jingle Bell Run and Walk benefit thousands of youths and seniors who participate in the Downtown YMCA Programs, through the Downtown YMCA annual Partner ’s Campaign.

Race brochures can be picked up at Houston area YMCA’s or register online at www.JingleBellRun.org. The cost is $25 for adults and $10 for children.

For more information, to volunteer or register, call 713-758-9295.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol now showing at Wortham IMAX® Theatre

’Tis the season for “The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.” A thrilling new vision of one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time, Disney ’s A Christmas Carol is now showing at the Houston Museum of Natural Science Wortham IMAX Theatre. Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience through proprietary IMAX DMR technology, Disney ’s A Christmas Carol, an IMAX 3D experience, debuted concurrently with the nationwide theatrical release.

Through the all-encompassing power of IMAX 3D, movie-goers will reach for the falling snowflakes, feel the rumble of the horse-drawn carriages over the cobblestone streets and soar with Scrooge high above the London night sky. With crystal clear images, laser-aligned digital sound and maximized field of view, IMAX puts you in the movie.

“It’s as if Charles Dickens wrote this story to be a movie—it’s so visual and cinematic,” said Robert Zemeckis, director, producer and screenwriter. “It’s the greatest time-travel story ever written and I wanted to do the movie the way I believe it was originally envisioned by the author. ”

Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). Scrooge later encounters the ghost of his dead business partner Joseph Marley, who ’s paying the price in the afterlife for his own callousness. Marley hopes to help Scrooge avoid a similar fate and tells him he will be visited by three spirits. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take Old Scrooge on an eye-opening journey revealing he ’s reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

For tickets or more information, visit www.hmns.org or call 713-639-4629.

Allegro dance of houston
presents the nutcracker,
dec. 19-20

Allegro Dance of Houston will perform a full-length version of The Nutcracker for the seventh consecutive year. “It is our hope to continue to expose the community to the beauty of dance for many years to come, ” said director Glenda Brown. “It is so important to encourage young people in the arts as well as in sports.”

An outstanding production at an affordable price, The Nutcracker will be presented at Westside High School at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“The costumes are beautiful, the props and scenery are lovely, and the audience continues to grow each year. Dancers from the Houston Ballet are also featured. They are absolutely wonderful, ” Brown said.

In conjunction with the ballet, Allegro is sponsoring a Toy Drive benefitting patients at Texas Children ’s Hospital. There will be collection boxes at each performance for new toys. Company dancers will deliver the toys while dressed in their Nutcracker costumes.

For tickets, call Allegro at 281-496-4670.

The Texas Repertory Theatre Co. presents Miracle on 34th Street, through dec. 23

The Texas Repertory Theatre Co., Houston’s Uptown Classic Theatre, continues its tradition of holiday offerings for the entire family with a new production of Miracle on 34th Street, adapted for the stage by Texas Repertory Artistic Director Craig A. Miller. Running through Dec. 23, Miracle on 34th Street is the holiday classic by Valentine Davies.

Miracle on 34th Street is a heart-warming look at what Christmas truly means, with Kris Kringle as the personification of good will and holiday spirit. As Macy ’s holiday Santa, he enchants children, shoppers, and employees so completely that he is deemed dangerous by fellow employees who question his competency and plot to ruin him. A small girl ’s belief in Santa and the magic of the holiday is at stake in a climactic and profound courtroom decision.

Miracle on 34th Street runs four performances a week through Dec. 23. For tickets or more information, call 281-583-7573 or go to www.texreptheatre.org.