Looking for fun events? Top 5 things to do around Tallahassee

It's the last weekend before holiday crunch time and celebrations are already gearing up. It's time to plan the pies and buy the turkey, Thanksgiving is upon us.

LeMoyne is opening it's holiday show ahead of Thanksgiving this year, with a dazzling display worthy of its 60th anniversary. The first "Nutcracker" is dancing onto the stage this weekend and it's holiday bazaar season for the St. John's Market.

It's official: the holidays are starting earlier than ever. Get a bluesy start when multi-instrumentalist Vanessa Collier takes the stage at the House of Music.

Here's a roundup of entertaining events around Tallahassee, culled from emails, the Council on Culture & Arts online listings and elsewhere.

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1. Bradley's 52nd Annual Fun Day

Get your holiday sausage and join in another pre-Thanksgiving tradition at Bradley's Country Store's 52nd Annual Fun Day, 10655 Centerville Road, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18

This family friendly event is held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. ​The event began in 1970 when Frank Bradley finished construction of the Packing House. With over 100 craft vendors, live entertainment, and plenty of food, this down-home event draws a crowd, so watch for crowded roads, parking and pedestrians.

There will be live music, clogging, cane grinding, syrup making, wagon rides, and a wide variety of food and arts and crafts. There's a special area for the kids with pony rides and a petting zoo. Free parking and free admission.

2. Vanessa Collier blazes into House of Music

Blues music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vanessa Collier, who has been celebrating her live album, "Live At Power Station," since it came out in fall 2022, lands at the House of Music, 2011 S. Monroe St., at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. Tickets are $15 to $35. Visit houseofmusictally.com. Special guest, singer/songwriter David Paul Zimmer opens the show.

Collier weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and with soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, she is blazing a trail. Her backing band provides a musical backdrop for her saxophone, sometimes guitar, and vocals. A 2013 graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Collier’s toured nationally and internationally and released four critically acclaimed albums. Collier has been nominated eight times for various Blues Music Awards and been a recipient of three, including the 2022 BMA Winner for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year.

3. The season's first 'Nutcracker'

Pas de Vie Ballet, a nonprofit ballet studio celebrating 35 years in Tallahassee, will present “The Nutcracker” the weekend before Thanksgiving. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at Lee Hall Auditorium on FAMU campus. An abbreviated children's performance will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Led and choreographed by Charles Hagan and Natalia Botha, the performances feature local dancers – both young and old – bringing the world of soldiers and sugar plum fairies to life. The company is making performances accessible to everyone through a pay-what-you-can pricing system, with tickets from $10-$30. To reserve your seat, visit pasdevieballet.com.

4. Come early for pilau at St. John's Holiday Bazaar

Get a jump on your Christmas shopping and support local charities at the same time at the annual St. John’s Episcopal Church Market from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at the church, 211 N. Monroe St. The old-fashioned church bazaar, which raises funds for activities of the parish and for local nonprofit organizations, has a preview party from 5-7 p.m. Friday with a silent auction and "the best chicken pilau in North Florida." Advance tickets are $10, $20 at the door.

Items include antiques and collectibles, home furnishings and housewares, artwork, gently-used children’s clothes and toys, baked goods and preserves, cakes and pies, – artisan craft items, plants, floral arrangements and gently-used books

No admission fee for market. Doors open promptly at 8 a.m. Chicken Pilau will be ready beginning at 10:30 a.m.; a chili lunch will be available for purchase at 11 a.m. Visit saint-john.org.

5. Henry Rollins: Good to See You at American Legion

American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor and comedian Henry Rollins makes a stop on his Good to See You Tour at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, at American Legion Hall, 229 Lake Ella Drive. Presented by Cow Haus Productions, The Good to See You Tour will recount the events of Rollins life since the last tour and when things got even stranger.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. General admission seated tickets are $39 advance, $44 day of show. VIP Meet & Greet add-on: $125 (you must also purchase an admission ticket separately.)

Rollins fronted the California hardcore band Black Flag in the early 1980s punk scene and had recurring dramatic roles in the second season of "Sons of Anarchy."

Bonus event: 60th Annual Holiday Show at LeMoyne Arts

A Diamond Jubilee, LeMoyne’s 60th Annual Holiday Show Opening Day runs from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, in the garden at LeMoyne, 125 N. Gadsden St. New to this year’s annual holiday show is a pop-up Garden Galleria in LeMoyne’s renovated gardens, featuring local artist booths, live entertainment, children’s activities, libations, and local food trucks. The show runs Nov. 18-Dec. 24, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 1-5 pm. Sunday.

Bonus event: Jazz Fest continues at Blue Tavern

Thursday launches the first night of Blue Tavern's long-awaited 2nd 3-day Jazz Festival, 1206 N. Monroe St. Seating is limited, and you'll want to get an advance ticket at bluetaverntallahassee.com. Tickets are $20 for each night (3 acts), or $50 for the entire weekend.

Friday's lineup features Sammy Hanson at 5 p.m. on jazz piano; Raga Bhakti at 7 p.m. with raga and soul-infused jazz; and Just One Sun at 9 p.m. with vocalist Sasha Tuck and friends. Saturday's lineup features Will Fulkerson at 5 p.m. on jazz piano, Therese Whichello at 7 p.m. with piano and vocals and Jack Straub & Foxfire at 9 p.m. with original compositions.

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OTHER EVENTS

Amazing Grace: Celebrating Tallahassee's 1970s underground newspaper. Event with Hayne Dyches, editor of Our Footprints Become the Road, an anthology celebrating the 50th anniversary of Amazing Grace from 6-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at Common Ground Books, 128 N. Bronough St. Short reading from anthology, followed by discussion of newspaper. Newly published abridged anthology will be available.

Blue Tavern: Happy hour with Grant Peeples, 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Tavern, 1206 N. Monroe St., followed at 8 p.m. by Tuesday is Bluesday and Boy Meets Girl. $5 cover. Rick Redmond plays happy hour from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, followed at 8 p.m. by Open Mic Night. Blue Tavern will be closed for the Thanksgiving weekend and will be back on Nov. 28.

Downtown Concert Series: The Brown Goose is on the loose for the free concert from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Adderley Amphitheater in Cascades Park. All The Things opens the show. BYOB, picnic blanket, chairs, and friends. The Brown Goose marks the final show in the Downtown Concert Series for the 2023 season.

Irish Repertory Theater: Staged readings of banned books take centerstage at the Irish Repertory Theater at Theatre Tallahassee, 1861 Thomasville Road, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17-18 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. Author and FSU Professor David Kirby will introduce nearly a dozen beloved books that have been banned, and Tallahassee actors will perform readings. Local bookstore Common Ground Books will sell books. Heavy hors-d’oeuvres by caterers Tally Arepas and Tasty K will be available for purchase as will wine, beer, and soft drinks. Tickets, $25-$100, are for sale at Tallahasseeirishrep.com.

Great Oaks Pub at Southwood: The Allie Cats perform from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Great Oaks Pub, 3750 Grove Park Drive. Featuring the powerhouse vocals of Allie McKay, the group will be performing the best of Americana and rock. Full restaurant and bar. Call 850-942-4653 for reservations, no cover.

Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra: Book launch for Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra's "T is for Tallahassee," noon-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, Hearth & Soul, 1410 Market St. Book is $24.95; event is free

Tallahassee Winds: Symphonic band that performs under the auspices of FSU’s College of Music will present its second concert of the 2023-2024 season at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 21, in FSU’s Opperman Music Hall. Admission is free.

Have an event coming up? Email details to limelight@tallahassee.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Top 5 fun things to do around Tallahassee before Thanksgiving weekend