What’s up this week
If you love carols — classic or contemporary — your cup will runneth over this week.
But first, it’s not too late to sign up for what might be on its way to becoming an annual tradition: the Free Press Movie Night’s interactive screening of a locally shot Hallmark holiday movie. The Dec. 9 selection is Crashing Through the Snow, and it features all the hallmarks (no pun intended) of the genre. Register for a free ticket here. The film starts streaming at 7 p.m. tonight and will feature a live chat from members of the Winnipeg cast and crew, including Summer H. Howell, Jan Skene. John B. Lowe and Chase Winnicky.
(Hallmark) The Free Press Movie Night’s interactive screening of a locally shot Hallmark holiday movie, "Crashing Through the Snow", is Dec. 9.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra gets in the spirit this weekend (Dec. 10-12) with its Holiday Pops program at the Centennial Concert Hall, conducted by Julian Pellicano and featurings guests including percussionist Ray Co-Co Stevenson, the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, singer-songwriter Raine Hamilton and more. The works presented include everything from Everything, by Hamilton, to Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, to We Three Kings by John Henry Hopkins Jr. to Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson (fun fact: Sleigh Ride’s lyricist Mitchell Parish was, you guessed it, Jewish.)
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It’s not a carol, strictly speaking, but Handel’s Messiah with its famous Hallelujah chorus has long been considered a holiday tradition. The WSO presents the work Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the concert hall in a performance featuring the CMU Festival Chorus under the baton of Janet Brenneman, along with Jessica Kos-Whicher (soprano), Kirsten Schellenberg (alto), Matthew Dalen (tenor) and Neil Craighead (bass). Tickets are $39 to $119.
Another tradition, if not quite as long-standing, is the JP Hoe Hoe Hoe Holiday show. The Winnipeg singer-songwriter is taking his popular seasonal revue to the Burton Cummings Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 11; the show is sold out, but there’s an afterparty ($5 plus fees) at the Park Theatre, starting at 11 p.m. Tickets here.
Family-friendly local legend Fred Penner brings a seasonal show to the Burt the next afternoon at 3 p.m. The Juno-winning songwriter is set to delight generations of Fred Heads; tickets for the Sunday show are $40-$46 at Ticketmaster.
’A Charlie Brown Christmas." (United Feature Syndicate/UFS/TNS)
The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack for the 1965 animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas has become a somewhat unorthodox seasonal favourite. The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra presents Music from a Charlie Brown Christmas at the West End Cultural Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. The show, a reprise of one the WJO did in its 2019-20 season, features narration by Quinn Greene and vocals by Jayme Giesbrecht. Tickets are $45.50 at Eventbrite.ca.
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