After a deluge of rain over the last few days, we’re excited to see the sun again. In the next few days and over the weekend, you’ll have the chance to enjoy plenty of holiday events both inside and outdoors.
We’ll be publishing What Yule Do — the holiday version of What You’ll Do — every week throughout the season to keep readers in the know about events happening in the area.
Have a holiday event you’d like to see highlighted? Submit to our free community events calendar, which you can find on the right side of the page.
Music and Performance
The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band (TRADOC) will present “Celebrate the Holidays!” tonight at 7 p.m. at Saint Bede Catholic Church. Holiday concerts are among the band’s most popular performances, and although the concert is free to the public, tickets are required for entry.
Enjoy an acoustic sound at a free concert on Thursday evening. Louis C. Vangieri – The LCV Project – will perform at the Williamsburg Library Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Vangieri has been active in the acoustic music community since the mid-1970s, performing at colleges and universities.
Virginia Regional Ballet presents The Nutcracker, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at Phi Beta Kappa Hall. In its 36th year, the production will also feature guest artists Lauren Fadeley and Francis Veyette, a real-life married couple from Pennsylvania Ballet, as Sugar Plum and Cavalier.
The American Children of SCORE and Dean Shostak will present “Holy & Ivy & Crystal,” a festive concert on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. SCORE is a musical ensemble of 30 children ages eight to 12, representing more 15 schools from Fauquier and surrounding counties. Shostak is a Williamsburg native who uses glass instruments dating back to the colonial era.
The Williamsburg United Methodist Church will hold a Christmas Benefit Concert on Sunday, featuring organists, a pianist and handbell ensembles. The concert is free to attend, but a voluntary offering will benefit Respite Care, which offers an enriching social afternoon for seniors with special needs. Respite participant artwork will be on display.
Children’s Fun
Join Saint Nick and Mrs. Claus on Saturday morning for Breakfast with Santa, at 8:30 a.m. at Riverwalk Restaurant in Historic Yorktown. Kids and families can visit with Santa, interact with his helpers, sing along with carolers and have story time with Mrs. Claus. Tickets can be purchased by calling 875-1522.
For parents in need of a break, check out the Parents Shop/Kids Skate event, part of the county’s “Skate, Rattle and Roll” program. Drop children grades kindergarten through fifth at the Dare Elementary School Gymnasium from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, where they can skate to holiday music. The cost is $10 per child and pizza and snack concessions will be on sale as well. Call 890-3500 to learn more.
Historic Yorktown
Yorktown Market Days will conclude its seventh season at Riverwalk Land on Saturday, with the Holiday Market scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market will feature approximately 40 vendors selling food, candles, holiday decorations and more. There will also be live entertainment and local artists with a wide selection of goods. For more information, click here.
Also at Riverwalk Landing Saturday is the sixth annual Toyland Parade from 1 to 3 p.m. Children, adults and families are encouraged to dress in holiday-themed apparel and decorate a stroller or wagon for this festive march. (Dogs in holiday garb are welcome too!) The parade will form and begin on the grass area in front of the Riverwalk Landing fountain.
Yorktown Market Days and the Toyland Parade are presented by the Riverwalk Landing Business Association and York County. See the website for more information. In the event of adverse weather conditions, please call the event weather hotline at 890-3520 for the most current information.
Ongoing
Merchants Square will celebrate the holiday season with a number of events this year. Enjoy “Master Thespian’s A Christmas Carol,” a 30-minute street production of the Christmas classic from the Virginia Theatre Machine. Back for its sixth year, all performances are outdoors on Duke of Gloucester Street and free to the public. Father Christmas will be strolling the square on afternoons between Nov. 29 and Dec. 22. From 4 to 5 p.m. on select dates, he will be next to the Merchants Square Christmas tree on Duke of Gloucester Street (outside The Precious Gem). The Williamsburg Waites begin their official caroling in Merchants Square on Friday. See the dates and times for all three programs here.
Santa will be at the William & Mary Bookstore, this weekend until Dec. 22. Santa will be available for pictures Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. Click here for a list of upcoming dates and times.
Go for a glide at Holiday Skating in New Town. James City County, Town Management and Iron-Bound Gym are partnering for the second year in a row, with a synthetic rink open select days and hours through the end of January. Skating is $5 per person with skates, and $7 for those without. See the Hometown article on the rink’s second year here.
A Colonial Christmas offers a glimpse of 17th and 18th century holiday traditions from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Seasonal special tours and interpretive programs will run through Jan. 5 at the Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center. Call 253-4838 or visit the website for more information about hours and tickets.
SantaLand at the NewTown Shops on Main is located directly across the street from the Virginia Diner store and next to Blue-Green Aqua. Santa and Mrs Claus will be there every Saturday and Sunday through and including Sunday December 22 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Santa encourages lots of photographs and family photos and has free giveaways for all children.
Greenfield Senior Living will be collecting for Toys for Tots every weekend until Christmas at SantaLand. Everyone who donates may enter a drawing to win an iPad, and on Dec. 15 Veteran Sgt. John Coble, USMC will be personally collecting toys and free refreshments will be served. See this Hometown article for a full list of Toys for Tots drop-off locations.
