Arbor Annie’s Weekend Roundup – December 20-22

Winter break starts after school on Friday. With Hanukkah starting at sundown on Sunday and Christmas on Wednesday, there are lots of holiday events this weekend including Randazzo Dance Company’s Nutcracker who sponsored Arbor Annie’s picks this weekend. Plus, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opened Thursday night.

Arbor Annie’s Weekend Picks

This weekend’s events are heavily slanted to holiday events.

As mentioned above, it’s your last chance to see a Nutcracker ballet in 2019 with the Randazzo Dance Company’s performances at the Power Center. You can also check out Theatre Nova’s DJ Whittington’s Kook Kat: A Hip-Hop Panto.

Check out our Santa Sightings list for any kids who want to fit in a last minute visit to Santa – hopefully not to add something to their wish list. My daughter’s birthday is a couple of weeks after Christmas, so at least I can defer last minute requests to her birthday. This weekend Santa Clay, a black Santa will be at Ypsilanti Co-Op if you are looking for a black Santa.

Also, it’s a great time to make sure your child is signed up for a Winter Break Camp. There are lots of options especially for the first week of January. There are also a few options for both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.

Top Weekend Event Picks

Friday Picks

4:30pm-5:30pm Decorate A Nutcracker at Pittsfield Branch Library

5:30pm-7:30pm Cookie Decorating Contest at Cultivate Coffee & TapHouse

6:00pm-8:00pm Festive Friday at The Creature Conservancy

6:00pm-10:00pm Knockerball Open Play at Knockerball Saline

6:30pm-10:00pm Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

7:00pm-10:00pm Polar Express Pajama Party at Kensington Hotel

Saturday Picks

10:00am-2:00pm Santa Visits Yankee Air Museum at Yankee Air Museum

11:00am-4:00pm Giant Pine Cone Decorating at Turner’s Garden Center

11:00am-2:00pm Santa Clay at Ypsilanti Food Co-Op

12:00pm-3:00pm Cookie Decorating and Wood Tray or Apron Workshop at AR Workshop

12:00pm-2:00pm Santa is Coming to Salt Springs at Salt Springs Brewery

1:00pm-3:00pm Frosty Top Hat Painting at Painting with a Twist

1:30pm-4:00pm Stenciled Holiday Plates at Ann Arbor Art Center

2:00pm-4:00pm Randazzo Dance Company's The Nutcracker at Power Center

2:00pm-3:00pm Star Wars Crafts at Malletts Creek Branch Library

6:00pm-10:00pm Illuminate: An Experiential Festival of Lights at Beth Israel Congregation

6:30pm-10:00pm Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

7:00pm-9:00pm Randazzo Dance Company's The Nutcracker at Power Center

7:30pm-9:30pm Family Mewvie Night at Tiny Lions Lounge & Adoption Center

Sunday Picks

12:00pm-4:00pm Family Bowl with Santa at Maplewood Lanes

12:00pm-3:00pm Santa Visits at Kerrytown Market & Shops

12:30pm-1:30pm Winter Wonderland at Gym America

1:00pm-2:30pm DIY Felt Paw Print Ornaments at Malletts Creek Branch Library

1:30pm It's a Wonderful Life - Holiday Classic Film Series at Michigan Theater

2:00pm-3:30pm Electronics Lab: Intro to Soldering at Downtown Branch of AADL

2:00pm Flashback Cinema: It's A Wonderful Life at Quality 16

2:00pm-3:00pm Penguin Awareness Day Craft at Westgate Branch of AADL

2:00pm-4:00pm Randazzo Dance Company's The Nutcracker at Power Center

2:00pm-4:00pm Winter Symmetry Painting at Paint and Pour

6:30pm-10:00pm Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village

7:00pm Flashback Cinema: It's A Wonderful Life at Quality 16

Hanukah begins at sundown. Be sure to check our list of Hanukah events.

Movies

The big movie news this weekend is the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – the conclusion of the latest trilogy – and the conclusion of the trilogy of trilogies. We have tickets for Saturday afternoon and will have a review after that. If you want to see it, I suggest buying your tickets in right away. We bought our tickets a couple of weeks ago and seats were already limited.

Cats also opens this weekend. I loved the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber and loved seeing Cats on Broadway about 20 years ago. However, I am in the camp that did not like the trailer and styling of the cats.

Family friendly films in the theater include:

• Frozen 2
• Jumanji: The Next Level (PG-13)
• Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Ford v. Ferrari (PG-13)

Other upcoming Family Friendly movies through next spring:

• March 6 – Onward
• March 27 – Mulan
• March 27 – The Queen’s Corgi
• April 3 – The New Mutants
• April 3 – Peter Rabbit 2
• April 17 – Trolls World Tour
• May 1 – Black Widow
• May 15 – Scoob
• May 22 – The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
• May 29 – Artemis Fowl
• June 5 – Wonder Woman 1984
• June 19 – Soul
• July 3 – Minions: The Rise of Gru
• July 10 – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
• July 24 – Jungle Cruise
• August 14 – The One and Only Ivan
• August 21 – Bill & Ted Face the Music
• September 4 – Monster Hunter
• October 2 – Venom 2
• October 9 – The Witches
• November 6 – Eternals
• November 13 – Clifford the Big Red Dog
• November 20 – Godzilla vs. Kong
• November 25 – Raya and the Last Dragon
• December 18 – Dune
• December 18 – West Side Story
• December 25 – The Croods 2
• December 25 – Tom and Jerry

Upcoming Sponsored Events

Thank you to our advertisers for sponsoring these event listings:

Looking Forward to Next Week

With Winter Break and the holidays next week, Arbor Annie will share a Weekly Roundup article on Monday

All Weekend Events