Tuba Christmas, Luminaria, Nutcrackers and more: Top 5 things to do this weekend
If you can't find something fun to do in Jacksonville this weekend, you're just not trying very hard. There are tons of holiday festivals, Nutcracker performances and concerts to choose from, plus the return of a Halloween favorite. So our suggestions for five fun activities this weekend is really more like 16 things.
Holiday events
'Tis December, thus the season for holiday events. Check out the drive-through Living Nativity, which runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Westside Baptist Church; the Jacksonville Historical Society's Gingerbread Extravaganza, which runs through Dec. 27 at Old St. Andrew's Church; the Hometown Holiday in the Park festival from 5-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Clarke House Park in Orange Park; Tuba Christmas, which starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at Seawalk Pavilion; the Dickens on Centre holiday fest, which runs through Sunday in downtown Fernandina Beach; or the annual Luminaria display in Riverside and Avondale, which opens at dusk on Sunday.
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Holiday concerts
Northeast Florida is certainly embracing the sounds of the season this weekend. Broadway megastar Sarah Brightman brings her Christmas Symphony Tour to the Moran Theater at 8 p.m. Friday ($66-$1,300); the Ritz Voices perform their Spirit of the Season show at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ritz Theatre ($25); the Jacksonville Symphony plays its annual Holiday Pops concerts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Jacoby Symphony Hall ($30-$84); and the Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville plays free holiday shows at St. Paul's By the Sea Episcopal Church in Jacksonville Beach at 5 p.m. Saturday and at the Ritz Theatre at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Nutcrackers
Need a sugarplum fairy fix? Nutcracker season kicks off this weekend with the 32nd annual Community Nutcracker (7:30 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Florida Theatre, $36-$64) and the Florida Ballet Nutcracker (4:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park, $28-$58).
Krampus
What's a holiday season without a little terror? 13th Floor Jacksonville, the folks who scare thousands every Halloween season, are opening a holiday-themed haunt for two nights. Krampus: The Fright Before Christmas is at 9230 Arlington Expressway and opens at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are sold online and on a timed basis. $29.99-$49.99.
Live music
We can't promise they won't sneak "Jingle Bells" into their setlist, but these non-holiday concerts are coming to town this weekend. Andy Summers, who released 13 solo albums in addition to his work with the Police, is at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Friday ($49.50-$79.50); bluesman Albert Castiglia is at Cafe Eleven in St. Augustine at 8 p.m. Friday ($20-$30); obsessive Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra is at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre at 6:30 p.m. Saturday ($37.50-$49.50); and the Outlaws play the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Sunday with former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle opening ($49.50-$139.50).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Things to do in Jacksonville
