Davidson College has hired Lia Newman as director of the William H. Van Every/Edward M. Smith Galleries at Belk Visual Arts Center in downtown Davidson. She starts her job Jan. 2, and comes to Davidson from Artspace Inc., in Raleigh, where she has been director of programs and exhibitions since 2002.

Ms. Newman is a permanent replacement for previous director Brad Thomas, who left last January for a job at the Mint Museum. Read the full story

Holiday plays, live music, cocoa with Santa in Cornelius and a display of luminaria in Davidson neighborhoods are on the schedule in the area this weekend. Concerts include a free performance by the Davidson College Jazz Combo and Saxophone Quartet, on Thursday, and Sunday’s appearance by the N.C. Baroque Orchestra in the Music at St. Alban’s series. Sunday also brings Davidson College’s annual Christmas Vespers as well as the Jewish Council of Lake Norman’s Community Hanukkah Celebration in Mooresville. Meanwhile, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman hosts a charity fishing tournament on Lake Norman Saturday, with a related dinner Friday night. Read on for the details.

Our Town Cinemas in Davidson will have “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Playing for Keeps,” along with “Skyfall,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Killing Them Softly,” “Flight” and “Rise of the Guardians.” And fans can get ready for upcoming release of “The Hobbit” with a “Lord of the Rings” marathon on Saturday. Check the showtimes at right on this page. Read the full story

Things will slow down around the holidays at Davidson College, but public events this month and next will include jazz, organ and piano concerts, Christmas vespers (this Sunday), a two-day opera theater workshop, and a children’s theater production of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Read the full story

Meetings, holiday parties and visits with Santa, the Davidson Wildcats’ annual Black Out Belk game vs. UNC Charlotte, and lots of live music are on the schedule this week across the area. Preschoolers can have cocoa with Santa on Friday morning at Cornelius Arts Center, while Davidson neighborhoods will light up streets and sidewalks Saturday in the annual “Noel for Neighbors” luminaria display to raise money for Davidson Housing Coalition. Offerings on local stages include “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Beyond the Fringe” and “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of ‘A Christmas Carol’.” There’s a free concert Thursday at the college with the Jazz Combo and Saxophone Quartet, and the N.C. Baroque Orchestra plays in Sunday’s Music at St. Alban’s concert. Read the full story

Davidson College English professor Cynthia Lewis and Davidson students Mary Holt Smith and Sara Freeman will be guests Monday, Nov. 26, on the public radio show “Charlotte Talks” on WFAE-FM, 90.7, in Charlotte, discussing southern debutantes. Read the full story

Josh Putnam, visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Davidson College, will speak on “Continuity & Change: The 2012 Presidential Election in Context” at the next Davidson Senior Scholars meeting Wednesday, Nov. 14. Read the full story