Save the Dates: Fun Stuff for Families This Winter 

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• © Steve Callahan | Dreamstime

Do You Believe in Magic?

November 25

Families flock to be shocked and astounded by award-winning magician Jason Bishop. Together with his baton-twirling assistant, Kim Hess, Bishop knocks audiences' socks off with unbelievable feats of illusion and sleight of hand, from levitation to card tricks to disappearing dogs and beyond.

Friday, November 25, 3 & 7 p.m., at Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe Mountain Resort. $35-50. Info, 760-4634, sprucepeakarts.org.

Visions of Sugar Plums

December 17 & 18

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• Courtesy of Kirsten Nagiba

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's beloved Christmas ballet gets the Green Mountain State treatment at Vermont Ballet Theater's Vermont's Own Nutcracker. Local dancers shepherd audiences through the tale of Clara and the nutcracker prince, their adventures through the Land of Sweets, and their battle with the dastardly mouse king.

Saturday, December 17, 2 & 7 p.m., and Sunday, December 18, 1 & 6:30 p.m., at the Flynn in Burlington. $20.55-45.25. Info, 863-5966, flynnvt.org.

Fa-La-La-La-La

December 16 & 17

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Winter Carols —BarnArts' beloved holiday tradition — returns to fill locals with cheer, joy and a sense of community. The arts center's chorale sings jolly tunes, and encourages audience participation, at an indoor performance on Friday. The next afternoon, they're joined by youth singers for an outdoor show on the village green.

Friday, December 16, 7 p.m., at First Universalist Church and Society in Barnard; and Saturday, December 17, 2 p.m., on the Woodstock Village Green. Free. Info, 234-1645, barnarts.org.

Love and Joy

December 9-11

Billings Farm & Museum marks Woodstock's annual Wassail Weekend with three days of good old-fashioned fun. Guests sip holiday punch, dip candles, savor a mince pie, snowshoe along the Ottauquechee, vote for their favorite gingerbread construction and witness an authentically decorated Victorian farmhouse with halls decked with holly.

Friday, December 9, through Sunday, December 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock. Regular admission, $8-17; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 457-2355, billingsfarm.org.

For Auld Lang Syne

December 31

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• © Luca Montevecchi | Dreamstime

After two years of virtual programming, St. Johnsbury's First Night North makes a triumphant, in-person return this New Year's Eve. From musicians to magicians and old First Night favorites like Bob and Sarah Amos to new faces like Kotoko Brass, more than 50 acts keep the party going 'til midnight.

Saturday, December 31, 4 p.m.-midnight, at various St. Johnsbury locations. Price TBD. Info, 748-2600, catamountarts.org.

Journey to the Past

January 22 & 23

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Fans of all ages fall in love with Anastasia, the musical version of the beloved animated film. Imagining a world where the Romanov princess Anastasia survived, this romantic adventure follows her journey of self-discovery from revolutionary Russia to 1920s Paris.

Sunday, January 22, and Monday, January 23, 7:30 p.m., at the Flynn in Burlington. $65-98. Info, 863-5966, flynnvt.org.

Light at the Museum

Opens November 25

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• File: Daria Bishop

The sun may be setting earlier and earlier, but never fear — Shelburne Museum's Winter Lights display is back to light up the night. With the whole museum campus, from the historic mansions to the steamship Ticonderoga, decked out with twinkling bulbs of every color, visitors are sure to shed their winter blues.

Friday, November 25, through Sunday, January 1, 5-8 p.m., at Shelburne Museum. See website for all dates. $10-15; free for kids 2 and under; preregister. Info, 985-3346, shelburnemuseum.org.