December 2005
Ongoing Holiday Events
18th Annual Victorian Country Christmas. Experience Christmas the way it was meant to be: strolling musicians, merchants and crafters in Victorian storefronts, carolers, a living nativity and more. New this year is the Sugar Plum village, especially for kids. 10am-9pm Dec. 1 through 3; 10am-6pm Dec. 4. $9 adults, $7.50 students, K-12, free ages 5 and younger. Western Washington Fairgrounds, Puyallup. 253-770-0777. www.avictoriancountrychristmas.com.
Northwest Trek Santa Breakfasts. Dine next to a crackling fire, visit with Santa, make a winter craft, and board a heated tram to tour the park’s 435-acre free-roaming area. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own cameras for picture taking with Santa. All ages. 8:30-11am Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18. $20 adults, $13 ages 12 and younger. Reservations required. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, 11610 Trek Dr. E, Eatonville. 360-832-7166. www.nwtrek.org.
Christmas at Meeker Mansion. Tour this 1890 Puyallup mansion, adorned for the holidays with Victorian decorations. Features 17 rooms, ballroom, widow’s walk, six fireplaces with European mantels, hand-stenciled ceiling artwork, elegant woodwork and stained glass. Readings from Ezra Meeker’s short stories for children, entertainment and refreshments. 10am-4pm weekends, through Dec. 21. $5 adults, $3 children. Meeker Mansion, 312 Spring St., Puyallup. 253-848-1770. www.meekermansion.org.
The 2005 Singing Christmas Tree. Various times from Dec. 2 through 18. Ticket prices begin at $11. Life Center, 1717 S Union Ave., Tacoma. 253-761-2147. www.life-center.org.
Music and Theater
Heavenly Holidays. The combined musicians of the Bremerton Symphony and the Bremerton Symphony Concert Chorale will present Beethoven's Symphony #4 and Mozart's Mass in C minor, subtitled The Great. 7:30pm Dec. 11. Doors open at 6:30pm for a pre-concert chat by Maestra Stoyanovich. $22 adults, $10 youth. Bremerton Performing Arts Center, 1500 14th St., Bremerton. 360-373-1722. www.bremertonsymphony.org.
Alice’s Looking Glass. Inspired by the vanitas hand-mirrors in the exhibition, Karen LaMonte: Absence Adorned, this original production picks up where Lewis Carroll's classic stories, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, left off. Alice, now a mother of three and the wife of a not-so-successful inventor, has long forgotten the curiosities of her childhood. On Christmas Eve, Alice peers into the looking glass again and rediscovers the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. All ages. Various performances, through Dec. 18. Call for schedule. Included with admission. $10 adults, $4 ages 6 to 12, free, younger than age 6. Museum of Glass, 1801 E Dock St., Tacoma. 253-284-4750. www.museumofglass.org.
Annie. 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, Dec. 9 through 18. $12-$18. Pay-what-you-can performance 8pm Dec. 15. Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood. 253-588-0042. www.lakewoodplayhouse.org.
The Secret Garden. Mary, orphaned by a cholera epidemic in India, is sent to live at Misselthwaite Manor, the home of the wealthy and disagreeable Uncle Archibald Craven and her petulant, demanding, bedridden cousin, Colin. Life seems unbearably grim until a robin leads Mary to a neglected secret garden. All ages. 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, through Dec. 11. ASL performance Dec. 9. (See Dec. 12 for special event after performance.) $18 adults, $16 students, $14 ages 12 and under. Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N I St., Tacoma. 253-272-2281. www.tacomalittletheatre.com.
The Nutcracker (Gig Harbor). An entertaining holiday story for all ages. 7:30pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, Dec. 9 through 23. Call for ticket prices. Encore! Theater, Burton Park Theater, 6615 38th Ave. NW, Gig Harbor. 253-858-2282. www.encoretheater.org.
The Nutcracker (Olympia). Ballet Northwest presents this magical holiday classic ballet by Tchaikovsky in eight performances Dec. 9 through 18. $22 adults, $19 students. Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Downtown Olympia. 360-753-8586. www.washingtoncenter.org.
The Nutcracker (Tacoma). Presented by Tacoma City Ballet. 1 and 5pm Dec. 10, 17 and 18. 1pm Dec. 11. 7:30pm Dec. 23. Sugar Plum Teas at 3pm for all performances except Dec. 23. $28-$40. Pantages Theater, Ninth and Broadway, Tacoma. 253-591-5894. www.broadwaycenter.org.
Radio City’s A Christmas Carol. A holiday musical theater extravaganza. 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, through Dec. 18. $21 adults, $19 students, $14 ages 12 and younger. Tacoma Musical Playhouse, 7116 Sixth Ave., Tacoma. 253-565-6867. www.TMP.org.
Light Displays
Fantasy Lights. This holiday 2.5-mile drive-through features more than 290 illuminated displays at Spanaway Park. 5-9pm, through Jan. 1. $13 per car or van. Spanaway Park, Tacoma. 253-798-4753.
ZooLights 2005. Now in its 18th year, this holiday light display dazzles with half a million lights depicting zoo animals, local landmarks and more. Enjoy hot beverages, live and recorded music, and unique holiday shopping. 5-9pm, through Jan. 1; closed Dec. 24 and 25. $5. Tickets purchased at the gate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will cost $7. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N Pearl St., Tacoma. 253-591-5337. www.pdza.org.
Enchanted Village’s Holiday with Lights. Experience the illuminated beauty of millions of twinkling lights in a festive holiday setting while riding through the sky on the Wild Thing roller coaster. Call for dates and ticket prices. Enchanted Village, Federal Way. 253-925-8000. www.sixflags.com/parks/enchantedvillage.
The Lights of Christmas. Features one million lights, a larger-than-life nativity, live music, crafts, pony and train rides, a petting farm, plus dinner theater, and bed and breakfast options. 5-10pm. Dec. 1 through 4, 8 through 11, 15 through 23, 26 through 28. $10 adults, $7 ages 4 to 12, free ages 3 and under. Warm Beach Christian Camp, 20800 Marine Dr., Stanwood. 360-652-7575. www.warmbeach.com.
Holiday Trains
Camp 6 Santa Train. A favorite Tacoma tradition for 41 years, The Camp 6 Logging Museum offers train rides with Santa on its logging rails 10am-4pm Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 24. Train leaves approximately every half hour. Santa visits with each child during the trip and cheerfully accommodates parent-photographers. After the ride, passengers are invited into the museum for hot chocolate, cider and cookies. All ages. $1. Warm clothing recommended for the open-air cars. Camp 6 Logging Museum in Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park. 253-752-0047. www.camp-6-museum.org/c6.html.
Mt. Rainier Snowball Express. Take a nostalgic trip with Santa in heated coaches pulled by a steam engine. 10am, noon, and 2pm the first three weekends in December. Call for fares and reservations. Mt. Rainier Railroad, Elbe. 1-888-783-2611. www.mrsr.com.
Northwest Railway Museum’s Santa Train. Enjoy a Northwest holiday tradition. The 37th annual Santa Train features a train ride, a visit with Santa in an historic depot, cookies hot from a railway kitchen car’s coal-fired ovens, steaming cocoa and coffee, and a small gift for children to take home. All ages. Seven hourly train departures beginning at 9am Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11 and 17. $11 ages 2 and older; advance purchase required. Northwest Railway Museum, 38625 SE King St., Snoqualmie. 425-888-2906. www.trainmuseum.org.
Model Train Festival. All aboard! Make plans to attend the 2005 Model Train Festival. This popular annual event, now in its 10th year, features model trains throughout the museum. Special exhibits for children include the Lego® Christmas Train Display by TrainBuilder Productions, Kids’ Play Scale, and Mary’s Big Circus. 10am-5pm daily, Dec. 26 to Jan. 2. $8 adults, $6 ages 6 to 17, 5 and younger, free. Free admission for everyone 5-8pm Thursday, Dec. 30. Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma. 1-888-238-4373. www.washingtonhistory.org.
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