Mimes Tanya and Tim Chartier present "Miming in Advent" Sunday at St. Alban's Episcopal Church.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Several holiday concerts  are among the highlights of our calendar in the region this week, from the award-winning U.K.-based classical ensemble Stile Antico and the North Mecklenburg Community Chorus to a performance of Vivaldi’s “Gloria” at Davidson College Presbyterian Church and the annual Christmas concert at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.

The Grammy Award-winning classical singing group Stile Antico brings its U.S. tour to Davidson United Methodist Church Tuesday night.  The ensemble will perform works from its latest album “Puer natus est,” which features English Tudor music for Advent and Christmas seasons.

On Monday night, North Mecklenburg Community Chorus will be at Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Three different choral groups will combine for two performances of Vivalid’s “Gloria” at Davidson College Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning. And  Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Cornelius will hold its annual Christmas Concert on Sunday morning. Read the full story

Charlotte Children's Choir performs Sunday afternoon at St. Alban's.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

While Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind what season it is — is it winter or spring? — the coming weekend has plenty of opportunities to get into the holiday spirit. On Friday, Community School of Davidson hosts a “Gifts for the Greater Good” fair. On Sunday, teens at Davidson College Presbyterian Church re-enact the story of Christ’s birth at the annual White Gift Christmas Pageant. That’s followed by a soup and sandwich supper. Meanwhile, the 80-member Charlotte Children’s Choir will perform a concert of holiday carols Sunday afternoon in the Music at St. Alban’s series. In other holiday events, Davidson Day School’s early childhood, kindergarten and first-grade classes will showcase the holiday traditions from around the world during the school’s second-annual Season of Light on Saturday morning; the Cornelius Town Hall will hold a holiday program for special-needs people and their families on Saturday afternoon. And Santa Claus will make a breakfast appearance at Davidson’s Lake Norman Cottage on Sunday. Read the full story

Casey Jacobus (left, as Travis) and Virginia Darcey (as Athalee) lead Davidson Community Players' production of the holiday play "Retrieving the Lamb," which continues this weekend at Armour Street Theatre. (Bill Giduz photo)

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

It’s the first full week of December, and a week for holiday performances of all kinds. They range from Davidson Community Players‘  “Retrieving the Lamb” to music by the North Mecklenburg Community Chorus. Davidson College’s men’s basketball team will Black Out Belk Wednesday night against Vanderbilt, in a fundraiser for the David Burns Memorial Family Trust. And there’s plenty more … Read the full story

The North Mecklenburg Moravian Band will play Thursday night at Wooden Stone, as part of Christmas in Davidson. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Now that November’s behind us (and you’re tired of eating leftover Thanksgiving turkey), it’s on to December and thinking about a bigger holiday — Christmas! Well, there’s plenty going on this weekend in the area to get you in the right frame of mind – from Christmas in Davidson to the North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade to the Cornelius Holiday Celebration. Read the full story

Davidson College invites the public to a variety of events on campus in December and January, including artists’ talks, concerts, and this weekend’s Alternative Gifts Fair and Christmas Vespers events. Author Thomas Mallon, who is this year’s McGee Visiting Professor of Writing, gives a lecture in January, while Davidson Community Players teams with the college theater department in late January on a production of “Sleeping Beauty.” Read the full story

"Four Sheep Three Windows," by John Borden Evans. The painting promotes "Retrieving the Lamb" and is being raffled to support Davidson Community Players. Click for info on DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org

Davidson Community Players will celebrate the 2011 holiday season with a production of Travis Whitten’s “Retrieving the Lamb”  Dec. 1-18 at Armour Street Theatre.

Christmas comes but once a year, and for the folks in Whitten’s nativity play, that’s way too often. Mary, Joseph, and the angel are sick; winters’ chill is offset by the heat of a temperamental furnace; the music director rearranges the carols; and a powerful storm leaves the cast in darkness while the Christmas lamb is lost in the night. As a local farmer braves the elements to search for the lamb, the rest are left to search for love, compassion, understanding, and the spirit of the season that they have lost. Read the full story