Even Scrooge Would Find This Mix Of Christmas Music Appealing
If you avoided the musical smorgasbord last weekend (Too busy? Too early for Christmas tunes?), you can make up for it this weekend. There are several quality performances that will not only knock your socks off, but will knock you right into that holiday mood.
Here’s the rundown:
The Whitworth College Choir is holding its last Christmas Festival concert, titled “Let Heaven and Earth Rejoice,” at 3 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church.
The concert features the Whitworth Choir accompanied by organ, brass, handbells and harp. Tickets, at $8, are available only through G&B (325-SEAT).
You’ve got two chances for Gonzaga University’s 109th annual Christmas Candlelight Concert, at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday in St. Aloysius Church.
Through narrative and music, the choir will recreate the wonder and warmth of the Christmas story, singing pieces that range from medieval processional music to familiar carols.
Advance tickets (also available through G&B) are $8.50, $6.50 for seniors and students. You’ll pay $12 and $10 at the door.
You could also head to Pullman for a Holiday Concert featuring the Washington State University Orchestra and the University Singers, Concert Choir and Brass Ensemble at 8 p.m. Saturday.
This concert, at Bryan Hall Auditorium, is open to the public without charge.
And finally, the last of the college performances this weekend, the recently formed Eastern Washington University Girls’ Chorus will perform their first Winter Concert at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Music Building Performance Hall at EWU. Admission is free.
Stefan Kozinski, former assistant conductor for the Spokane Symphony, is back in town to conduct “The Nutcracker” ballet and will entertain with a piano performance titled “Rediscovered Christmas Presents for the Piano.”
Kozinski will play at 7 p.m. Monday in the lobby of the Davenport Hotel. Admission is $20; there is a reception following.
Tickets are available by calling 624-3591 or 448-8304.
Traditional carols, spirituals and contemporary Christmas music will abound at the Eighth Annual Holiday Concert of the Inland Northwest Men’s Chorus.
The program includes such favorites as “I Wonder As I Wander,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Adeste Fidelis.”
The chorus will hold two performances; 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Both are at Westminster Congregational Church at Fourth and Washington.
Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. You can buy tickets ahead of time at the Sound Hole Music Store or Street Music or call 534-2283.
The 180-voice Spokane Area Children’s Chorus will perform a holiday concert called “Sounds of the Season” at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Shadle Park High School auditorium. The $3 general admission tickets are available at Street Music.
One-stop shopping
Just in time for the holidays, the Spokane Public Library is holding a special One Day Only New and Used Book Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
The sale will feature a select group of new children’s books for $3 each, special publications for various prices and paperbacks for 25 cents. Get there early for the best selection. It’s in meeting rooms 1A and 1B in the downtown branch at 906 W. Main.
Christmas dancing
There are two chances to don your holiday finery coming up, starting with the Spokane Folklore Society’s festive evening of old time traditional dancing from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Woman’s Club Hall, 1428 W. Ninth.
The music will be provided by the Gaberlunzie Band, churning out old-time and Celtic music. There will also be a dessert potluck, and bring an ornament to hang on the tree.
Beginners, singles, couples and families are welcome. All the dances are taught. Admission is $5 for Folklore members, $8 for everyone else. The event is smoke-, drug- and alcohol-free.
There’s probably no better place to celebrate Christmas than the Davenport Hotel, so mark your calendar for the Tenth Annual Christmas Elegance from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The Planet Lounge Orchestra will play near a 24-foot Christmas tree, hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be a no-host bar. Admission is free to members of The Friends of the Davenport. All other guests pay $10. For more information, call 838-8568.
The true meaning
For the 13th year, Shadle Park Presbyterian Church is holding Bethlehem Revisited, a walk-through dramatization of the city of Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth, at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.
From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and again from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, more than 60 characters and live animals will help visitors travel back in time. As guests enter the exhibit, they’ll meet craftsmen, vendors, Roman soldiers, a rabbi and even the Roman census taker.
Admission is free, but donations of non-perishable food items for the Spokane Food Bank are encouraged. The village is wheelchair-accessible.
Miscellaneous
Highlighting local traditional and contemporary work, members of the Colville Tribal Artists Co-operative will display and sell their work at the Cheney Cowles Museum’s Carriage House today from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The show marks the first time many of these Indian artists and craftspeople have shown their creations in Spokane. You’ll find handmade baskets, cornhusk bags, beadwork and more. Most of the artists will be present.
Admission is free.
While you’re there, you can pay to go in the museum for the opening of an exhibit titled “Recent Acquisitions.” The exhibition will showcase materials the museum has acquired in the past five years, many of which will be on public view for the first time.
Worden’s Winery is holding a Christmas Open House from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Local author Doreen Loiselle will be signing “Add Wine.” Local potter Heidi Knipprath will be selling her wine chillers and other wares. Admission is free.
, DataTimes