The Historic Triangle is coming alive with holiday spirit this weekend, giving residents the chance to enjoy a fireworks show, sing along to Christmas carols or stroll through winter festivals.
Every week through Christmas, WYDaily will compile a list of upcoming holiday events in the area.
This week’s events are:
Annual Traditions
The Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance’s Christmas Parade brings marching bands and floats through the City of Williamsburg on Saturday morning. It starts at 8:30 a.m. in Merchants Square and travels down Richmond Road to William & Mary Hall.
On Sunday, Grand Illumination lights up the sky with fireworks launched from three spots in Colonial Williamsburg. Entertainment starts at 5 p.m. and the fireworks begin at 7 p.m.
Historic Yorktown is hosting a full weekend of events, starting with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony Friday evening. It also includes the annual Christmas Market on Main Street, a lighted boat parade and cookies with Santa on Sunday. Get the full schedule events here.
Festivals
Christmas Lights on the Green brings holiday cheer to the lawn at Walsingham Academy on Friday night. Free and open to the community, the program will include hot cocoa, cookies, carol, an old-fashioned candlelight procession and a visit from St. Nicholas. It starts at 5 p.m.
Also on Friday evening, the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums Corps Alumni will march up and down Main Street in New Town, starting at 5:30 p.m. Then, the DoG Street Rhythm Kings will play in front of the movie theater from 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by the lighting of the Theater Square at 7:30 p.m. with treats and hot drinks provided by many New Town businesses.
Avalon: A Center for Women and Children will be decorating trees in the gazebo at the end of Main Street in New Town after dark Friday. The relaxed holiday event precedes Light Up the Night: A Festival of Trees, to be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at New Town Art Gallery. Sunday’s event will feature refreshments, entertainment, and a raffle, as well as the opportunity to meet with Avalon’s Board members, staff, and supporters.
The Winter Festival at the Williamsburg Pottery brings two days of musical performances, food samples, make and take ornaments, face painting and a wine festival. The festival starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Click here for a full schedule of events.
New Town Art Gallery will host the Festival of Lights, a gala on Wednesday to benefit the auxiliary of Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. The event starts at 6 p.m., and includes live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent and live auction, to benefit the organization’s community programs that support women’s health initiatives.
Arts
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra will perform Handel’s “Messiah” on Thursday evening at Crosswalk Community Church. Benjamin Rous will lead the orchestra, joined by the Virginia Symphony Chorus and soloists. The concert is at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $25 to $63. Click here to learn more.
The King’s Players will present “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at King of Glory Lutheran Church. The audience functions as the studio audience for the show, which is set in a radio station on Dec. 24, 1948, for a live broadcast of the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Guests are encouraged to dress in period holiday attire.
Watch Irish dance performed to Christmas songs in the 2014 showcase by the Nelson Academy of Irish Dance. The school, which opened its own studio in January, will have shows at noon and 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Williamsburg Library Theatre.
Members of the Williamsburg Choral Guild will sing holiday carols in Merchants Square on Saturday afternoon. Joined by a brass quartet, the group will sing from 1 to 1:45 p.m. and again from 2:15 to 3 p.m.
The Williamsburg Symphonia presents Holiday Pops, a program of favorite tunes for the festive season, at 1:30 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The concert will feature singer-songwriter Susan Greenbaum back for another year to perform with the local symphony.
Sing along with the choral ensembles from the College of William & Mary. The Choir, Women’s Chorus and Botetourt Chamber Singers will give their annual holiday concerts Saturday. The 2 p.m. show is family-friendly with a children’s sing-along, while the full program will be at 8 p.m. at Phi Beta Kappa Hall.
The Cantori Choral Ensemble will perform Sunday evening at Walnut Hills Baptist Church. The 12-member group, accompanied by Rebecca Davy, will start at 5 p.m.
Shopping
From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, shop for holiday decor, jewelry, ornaments, baked goods and more at the Annual Girl Scout Holiday Bazaar. The fundraiser for the scouts will be in the Bruton Parish Church Fellowship Hall.
The annual Alternative Giving Fair on Sunday will showcase more than 30 local, national and international charities offering crafts or the chance to give donations in someone’s name, all to make a difference in the lives of others. It runs from 9 to 11 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg United Methodist Church.
Ongoing holiday events:
There will be live music in New Town every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening through Dec. 18. Performing groups include the Williamsburg Waites, all-male a cappella group The Gentlemen of the College and a tuba quartet. Click here for a full roster of musicians and a times.
Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center will host “A Colonial Christmas” for a look at 17th- and 18th-century holiday traditions. Special tours and interpretive programs run through Jan. 4.
In Merchants Square, holiday spirit spills onto the street. A 30-minute production of A Christmas Carol returns for its seventh year at 5 p.m. Friday; 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday; and 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Father Christmas will be strolling the square from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. This weekend’s programs also include a Christmas Homes Tour of historic spaces in Colonial Williamsburg, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Click here for more information.
