This weekend’s events are again largely dominated by the holidays, with many fairs, concerts, exhibits, and other holiday-themed shows. We’ve crammed quite a few of them into our weekly list of Seacoast highlights. (To see more holiday events, click here.)
Holiday Theater: Round 2
Several more Christmas-themed plays open at local theaters this weekend, including Prescott Park’s holiday show, Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play, at Exeter Town Hall (Dec. 7-16); Pontine Theatre’s A Victorian Christmas at The Plains School in Portsmouth (Dec. 6-9); A Christmas Carol (Dec. 6-23) and Sole City Dance’s The Nutcracker (Dec. 8-14), both at the Rochester Opera House; and The Bang Group’s Nut/Cracked at The Dance Hall in Kittery (Dec. 7-8).
Holiday Fairs & Festivities
Among the most notable holiday fairs coming up this weekend are A Joyous Christmas Fair at the First Congregational Church of Kittery Point on Friday, Dec. 7, from 3-8 p.m., and the Greenland Christmas Fair at Greenland Community Congregational Church on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. If you’d rather attend a more unorthodox celebration, the Wrong Brain Holidaze Bizaare takes place at the Newmarket Millspace on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
‘Forward’ at Nahcotta
As always, the first Friday of the month brings Art ’Round Town to Portsmouth and the Dover Art Walk to Dover. The Nahcotta gallery in Portsmouth will take the opportunity to introduce its second annual holiday group show, “Forward,” with a reception on Friday, Dec. 6, from 6-8 p.m. The show features work by 11 artists selected by the gallery; 25 percent of proceeds from sales will be donated to a nonprofit of the artist’s choosing. Learn more here.
Holiday Concerts
Highlights of the many Christmas concerts coming up this weekend include Merrill Peiffer’s Merrill Sings: Holiday Edition at the Rochester Opera House on Friday from 7:30-10:30 p.m.; the Harvey Reid & Joyce Andersen Christmas Concert at York First Parish Church on Saturday at 7 p.m.; Con Tutti’s Here We Come A-Wassailing at South Church in Portsmouth on Saturday from 7:30-9 p.m.; and the Rock 4 Xmas benefit concert at Wally’s in Hampton on Saturday at 9 p.m.
Thanks to Gravity at 3S
Among the foremost bands in Portsmouth’s bustling music scene of the 1990s was Thanks to Gravity. Helmed by songwriter Andy Happel, they blended progressive rock with classical to produce a unique and memorable sound that even landed them a contract with Capitol Records. In recent years, the band’s gigs have been few and far between, but they’ll perform at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12-$15; for more information, click here.
For a complete calendar of local events, click here.