TODAY
Holidays
Samba, hip-hop, belly dance and salsa take their place aside traditional ballet in Dance with Georgia’s “Brown Sugar Nutcracker,” a reimagining of the classic ballet, at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday at Junkyard Social Club (2525 Frontier Ave., Suit A, Boulder; $25) and 6 p.m. Sunday at the Dairy Arts Center (2590 Walnut St., Boulder; $15). Visit dancewithgeorgia.wellattended.com for more information.
If you’re looking for an antidote to the plethora of sentimental holiday fare this time of year, something that revels in its raunchy irreverence, visit the area’s newest performing arts center and check out “The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical” – filled with colorful characters living in a Florida trailer park – playing Thursdays through Sundays, through Dec. 31, at Miners Alley Playhouse, 1103 Arapahoe St., Golden; $27-$51 (rated R); minersalley.com.
WEEKEND
Stories and songs
Actors perform favorite holiday stories and songs, along with a capella group Off Kilter, during Stories on Stage’s annual “Making Merry” show at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Ave., Boulder; $26; storiesonstage.org.
Members of the Boulder Chorale and Boulder Children’s Chorale bring some light and warmth into the darkest and coldest time of the year with their A Season of Light concert at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St., Boulder; free-$50; boulderchorale.org.
Join with others for the 39th-annual Boulder Messiah Sing-Along, singing Handel’s “Messiah,” along with a 25-piece orchestra, at 5 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine St., Boulder; $15-$20; messiahsingalong.org.
FUTURE
Tower of London
For this year’s midwinter production the Rocky Mountain Revels visit English traditions of dance, song and story when “Tower of London” takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday and Dec. 22, and 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 23, at the Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder; $24-$30; thedairy.org.
FREE
Trekkin’
Join with others for a moderate 2.5-mile hike and learn of the biodiversity in the Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday. Sponsored by Boulder Country, the Winter Solstice at the Preserve event is free, but registration is required. Visit bouldercounty.gov for more info.
KIDS
Christmas ornaments
Kids ages 5 and older and their caregivers can craft their own unique Christmas ornaments during the Family Ornament Making time at 9:30 and 11 a.m., and 1 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont; $10; longmontcolorado.gov.
