Entertainment

If lush settings were plums and costumes were nuts, we’d all have fruitcake for Christmas. And we could enjoy it watching the lovely looking but dramatically flat and emotionally sterile “The Christmas Candle,” a pretty period piece of a holiday fable that lacks only the wit, decent story and better dialogue that might have made it a classic.

1 “The Fantasticks” Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Eastern Washington University, EWU Theatre, Cheney. The narrator, El Gallo, asks the audience to use imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic. The boy and the girl fall in love, grow apart, and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo’s words that “without a hurt, the heart is hollow.” (509) 359-2459. Admission: $10 2 Spokane Symphony Mini “Nutcracker”  Performance 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and Nov. 30-Dec. 1, River Park Square, 808 W. Main Ave., Nordstrom corridor. Musicians from the Spokane Symphony will help usher in the holiday season with music from “The Nutcracker.” (509) 363-0304.

1 ‘American Idiot’ Broadway show brings Green Day’s Grammy-winning album “American Idiot” to life as a rock opera, as adapted by the band’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong. Features the hits “Holiday,” “21 Guns” and the title track.

• Tickets to see the following shows are on sale at 10 a.m. Friday: Arcade Fire, Aug. 8 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash. $39.65, $63.50 and $85.15 through LiveNation.com or Ticketmaster.

On the Beastie Boys’ 1986 track “Time to Get Ill,” rapper Mike D brags about his drinking abilities: “I can drink a quart of monkey and still stand still.” If you only half-listen, it sounds like he could be saying “quarter monkey.” For the Spokane rock trio Quarter Monkey, the meaning of their name has had different interpretations over the years, but the kind-of Beastie Boys reference is their go-to explanation.

1 KPBX Kids Concert 1-2 p.m., Saturday, Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. “Happy Days are Here Again!” with the music of Tin Pan Alley with Spokane area youth choirs. Enjoy the catchy melodies and witty lyrics from music by George M. Cohen, Irving Berlin, The Gershwins and others. (509) 328-5729. Admission: FREE 2 Idaho Family Reading Week Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, Coeur d’Alene Library, 702 E. Front Ave. Three events mark family reading week, with free books for kids given away at all three. They include: “Dragons, Fairies, Knights and Princesses” puppet show and crafts, 6:30 p.m. Monday; “What’s in the Box” build-a-book activity, 4 p.m. Wednesday; and “Graphic Novels: Not Just for Superheroes Anymore,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday. (208) 769-2315, ext. 438. Admission: FREE

1 Yuletide at the MAC Annual fine arts and crafts fair to benefit Spokane Art School education programs, sponsored by Tinman Gallery. Selection includes seasonal holiday items as well as ceramics, paintings, mixed media, jewelry, photography, woodwork and fiber arts.

The Bartlett, Spokane’s newest all-ages concert venue, is finally set to open its doors this weekend. Owners Caleb and Karli Ingersoll have experienced a number of false starts in the past month. Several artists scheduled to play there in October had to be moved to neighboring venues, and a weekendlong grand opening celebration was canceled early last week and postponed until sometime in January.

Take a deep breath. Santa is coming to area malls this weekend. THIS WEEKEND. Talk about holiday encroachment.

Dear Mr. Dad: My fiancé and I have been engaged for a year. Four months ago, I moved in with him and became an instant stepmom. His kids are 8 and 4, and I understand that they’re a priority for him. But even though we do a lot of stuff with the kids, my fiancé and I have no date nights, and basically no quality time together at all. To make things worse, there’s some tension between the kids and me, which I think is because their mother has never gotten over the divorce and wants to punish the man I’m engaged to. Unfortunately, he blames the tension on me and says I’m not doing enough to bond with the kids. I love him and the kids, but I’m not feeling loved or appreciated and it seems like my needs aren’t important to him at all. I try to talk to him about this but he won’t budge. What should I do? A: In all honesty, I think you should move out. Your fiancé has some serious issues to deal with, and he needs to do that on his own. But it sounds like you really love him, so I’m guessing that you want to find a way to make your relationship work.

Jingle Bell Run/Walk Seventh annual event to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. Chip-timed 5K run, fun run or walk or 1K run with the elves for children age 8 and younger. Costume contest. Pets welcome. Register at www.SpokaneJingleBellRun.org. Saturday, Riverfront Park, Gondola Meadow, 507 N. Howard St. $35/with timing chip, $30/5K fun run/walk; kids 1K run: $10/T-shirt, free/no shirt for 1K. (509) 315-9862. Turkey Trot 5K Fun Run Hosted by UI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. All proceeds will go toward Christmas for Kids, providing Christmas gifts for low-income children in the Latah County area. Register online at www.govandals.com. Saturday, 8 a.m., University of Idaho Kibbie Dome, ASUI Kibbie-Activity Center, 1000 Stadium Drive, Moscow, Idaho. $25/advance, $35/day of race.

1 Yuletide at the MAC Annual fine arts and crafts fair to benefit Spokane Art School education programs, sponsored by Tinman Gallery. Selection includes seasonal holiday items as well as ceramics, paintings, mixed media, jewelry, photography, woodwork and fiber arts.