High-Flying Holiday
Opens on Sunday 26
The New England Center for Circus Arts’ annual solstice and holiday extravaganza goes virtual with ‘Twas the Night…, streaming on demand through January 2. The program features filmed performances from NECCA’s professional program and youth troupes in a gladsome, gravity-defying celebration of stunts and the season.
Reindeer Games
Monday 27
Reindeer Live grants little ones (and the young at heart) the opportunity to meet Dasher, Prancer and Cupid in real life at Burlington’s ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Vermont Reindeer Farm brings out its antlered charges for three presentations, and curious kids learn what makes these furry friends so suited for cold weather and foggy Christmas Eves.
Bless Us, Every One
Wednesday 22
The talented thespians of Vermont Youth Theater present Old-Fashioned Christmas, a collection of carols and classic tales performed at Bethany United Church of Christ in Montpelier. The teen troupe performs scenes from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the 9 through 12 cohort puts on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Father Christmas Letters, and actors ages 5 through 8 present Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
Merry and Bright
Wednesday 22, Thursday 23 & Sunday 26
Kids and caretakers pack into the family minivan for their last few chances to experience Holiday Lights! at the Vermont State Fairgrounds in Rutland. The 15-minute drive provides views of spectacular light displays, some as tall as two and a half stories high. Those who tune in to 89.3FM enjoy a festive soundtrack and missives from Santa himself.
Pen to Paper
Tuesday 28
Anyone whose New Year’s resolution list includes “finally write that novel” or “start writing regularly again” can make their way to the Morristown Centennial Library in Morrisville for Work in Progress. The weekly writing group encourages attendees to write for one uninterrupted hour, followed by a convivial debrief with their fellow wordsmiths.
A Shocking Display
Wednesday 29
The Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington hosts HED Talks — the acronym stands for “Humor. Entertainment. Dumb.” — in which local comedians must give a speech based on a PowerPoint presentation they have never laid eyes on before their moment onstage. Persuasive, preposterous and, dare we say, pioneering.
Domestic Bliss
Ongoing
Visitors to Jackson Tupper‘s solo show “Mayo” at Safe and Sound Gallery in Burlington may suspect that quarantine is the artist’s happy place. His bold, blocky acrylics celebrate the idiosyncratic pleasures of life behind closed doors: doing the crossword on the toilet, making a sandwich in your underwear and playing an absolutely knock-down, drag-out game of ping-pong with your housemate.
This article appears in Winter Reading Issue 2021.
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