Nutcrackers, Messiah, Jags-Ravens, Lewis Black: Top 5 things to do this weekend
Shopping is done, lights are up and there's nothing left to do but wait for Christmas to arrive, right? Not likely, but if you can find a spare couple of minutes this weekend, there are tons of fun things to do in the Jacksonville area.
Holiday events
Don’t look now, but Christmas Eve is next weekend. But first, we have to make it through this one, and it’s jam-packed with holiday events:
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is showing “Elf” for free at 7 p.m. Friday. They’ll also have hot chocolate, popcorn and a visit from Santa. Info: theamp.com
The Jacksonville Symphony and Symphony Chorus performs Handel’s “Messiah” at 7:30 p.m Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Jacoby Symphony Hall. Info: jaxsymphony.org
The Florida Ballet’s Nutcracker is at the UNF Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Info: floridaballet.org
The Jacksonville Symphony is joined by professional dancers for the First Coast Nutcracker at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Moran Theater. Info: jaxsymphony.org
The St. Augustine Ballet’s Nutcracker is at Flagler College’s Lewis Auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Info: saintaugustineballet.org
The Florida Theatre is showing “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free with a donation of canned or nonperishable food that will be given to Feeding Northeast Florida. Info: floridatheatre.com
More holiday events: Parades, light shows, festivals, concerts and Nutcrackers
Free, family fun: 13 Jacksonville-area holiday events your family can do for free in 2023
Concerts
None of these acts are known for doing holiday songs, but we can’t guarantee they won’t slip in a “Jingle Bells” somewhere:
The Mountain Goats are at Intuition Ale Works at 8 p.m. Friday. $45. Info: intuitionaleworks.com
The Steve Miller Band is at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with Samantha Fish opening. $54-$184. Info: theamp.com
Punk icons Agnostic Front and Murphy’s Law are at Jack Rabbits at 8 p.m. Saturday. $27. Info: jaxlive.com
Sports
The Jaguars look to right the ship when they welcome the Baltimore Ravens to EverBank Stadium for a “Sunday Night Football” clash; kickoff is 8:20 p.m. But sports fans can also catch professional wrestling when WWE: NXT comes to the Jacksonville Armory at 7:30 p.m. Friday with Carmelo Hayes, Tiffany Stratton and Dragon Lee ($10-$20), or the Icemen play the South Carolina Stingrays on an Ugly Sweater night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday ($15-$45).
Comedy
The Florida Theatre has back-to-back funny men this weekend, with Lewis Black at 8 p.m. Friday ($35-$75) and Tony Hinchcliffe of the “Kill Tony” podcast at 7 p.m. Saturday ($29.75-$139.75).
Pretty lights
There are plenty of homes in the area decorated with elaborate light displays, but if you want to see how the pros do it, you have several options:
Dazzling Nights Jacksonville is at the Jacksonville Arboretum through Dec. 29. It’s a walk-through display and timed tickets are only sold online. $22-$27.
Nights of Lights is in St. Augustine’s historic district through Jan. 28 with tons of activities. Free.
Deck the Chairs displays decorated lifeguard chairs at Seawalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach with a nightly light show through Jan. 1. Ten of the chairs are also in downtown Jacksonville’s James Weldon Johnson Park.
Colors of the Wild is at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens through February. It’s not necessarily a holiday show, but the Grinch, Santa and others will be around through Christmas. $25-$30.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fun things to do this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida
