The Sactown Weekend Update for Nov. 26-30
Macy's Theatre of Lights (Wednesday and Friday through Sunday)
Oh come, all ye faithful to Old Sacramento, the buildings and rooftops of which will be filled with light, color and sound for the first weekender of this annual holiday program featuring the poem “The Night Before Christmas” recited by onetime Sacramento Union reporter Mark Twain (voiced by Bill Farmer, who has also voiced Disney characters like Goofy and Pluto). Free. Wednesday at 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 6:15 and 7:45 p.m. between Front and Second streets. Old Sacramento. 442-8575. oldsacramento.com
Global Winter Wonderland (Friday through Sunday)
All the world’s a stage at the Global Winter Wonderland, a luminous multicultural theme park and massive display of glowing structures filling 17 acres of Cal Expo this Christmas season. Inspired by China’s lantern festivals and executed by about 60 artisans and engineers from that country, the spectacle features lanterns as tall as seven stories that depict iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Taj Mahal in the park’s “Global Village,” as well as Yuletide scenes, and utilizes 100 tons of steel and more than two million LED lights. The traveling exhibition, which launched in 2011, visits just one city per year (Atlanta hosted it last year), and this year Sacramento was selected—in part because of its diverse population—bringing with it carnival rides, food from around the world, and other attractions to spread holiday cheer. Light it up! $12-$25 per ticket. Open Friday and Saturday 4:30-11 p.m., and Sunday 4:30-10 p.m. Cal Expo. 1600 Exposition Blvd. globalwonderland.org
An Irish Christmas (Friday through Sunday)
This celebration of classic Christmas tunes and traditions fused with Irish music and mythology has become an annual Harris Center event, featuring elaborately choreographed numbers with performers from blockbuster shows like Riverdance and Magic of the Dance. Irish folk music and classic Christmas carols like “Silent Night,” “Little Drummer Boy” and “Carol of the Bells” will be featured in arrangements rounded out by pipes, flutes, fiddles, accordions and other instruments from the Irish homeland. $25. Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. Harris Center. 10 College Pkwy. Folsom. 608-6888. harriscenter.net
Spinning Into Light (Saturday and Sunday)
B Street Theatre’s latest world premiere production is an original musical comedy. Written and directed by the theater’s artistic director Buck Busfield (with songs composed by Noah Agruss), the work will be performed by the stellar four-person cast of B Street regulars Greg Alexander, Melinda Parrett, Jason Kuyendall and Tara Sissom. Set in a Southern mill town in the 1950s, Spinning Into Light focuses on the romantic trials of Vassar (Alexander), his fellow factoryworkers Sally (Parrett) and Mindy Sue (Sissom), and Sally’s ex-husband Kenny (Kuyendall) as they chase everything from love to forgiveness to country music superstardom. $23-$35. Saturday at 5 p.m. Sunday at 7 p.m. B Street Theatre’s Main Stage. 2711 B St. 443-5300. bstreettheatre.org
