Last week – just a holiday preview. The landscape gets a little more crowded as the Old Globe adds a second festive production and another big attraction rings in the season this San Diego weekend. And oh, nelly, just wait until next week – then the holiday floodgates really open.
Head out to Santee Trolley Square on Mission Gorge Road at 5:30 p.m. Friday for a free holiday kickoff with live music, carriage rides, sledding and more, capped by the 6:15 p.m. lighting of the community tree. The Bayou Brothers Family Band provides the tunes.
A classic tale of selfless love at Christmas, The Gift of the Magi, continues through Sunday, performed by the Theatre School at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. Admission costs $20, with shows at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
‘Tis time for Scrooge. The Old Globe Theatre offers a parody of the Charles Dickens classic, Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show, beginning in previews Friday. Set in San Diego, and written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen and directed by Greenberg. the engagement, officially opening Tuesday, continues through Dec. 26. Bill Buell stars as the miserly man himself. Tickets start at $37.
“Holidays” at Legoland California Resort in Carlsbad returns Saturday, with a 30-foot Lego tree as the centerpiece. See live entertainment and meet favorites like Santa, the Toy Soldier and the Gingerbread Man for pics. There’s a Lego Santa too, at work in his sleigh. Admission starts at $90.
Encinitas hosts the free Holiday Street Fair, a two-day fest with 450 arts, food and craft vendors, opening at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Entertainment on multiple stages begins at noon. There will be no parking along Highway 101 for the fair, and bicycle use is encouraged, with valet stations in place.
On the non-holiday front, there’s a bit of theater, a virtual parade and a new San Diego ride:
- She the People at San Diego Rep – The play, by the Second City comedy troupe, aims to explode “the myths and misrepresentations surrounding bachelorettes, Beyoncé and much more.” Continues Friday through Dec. 5. Tickets start at $25.
- San Diego Trolley’s Mid-Coast Extension opens – celebrate your new transit option at 11 a.m. Sunday at UC San Diego’s Warren Field. Sure, there will be speechifying, but also, free food, giveaways and a kids’ zone, including a rock-climbing wall. Grab free trolley rides all day too.
- Mother Goose Parade: El Cajon hosts the 75th annual edition of the parade at 1 p.m. Sunday, but ONLY via live broadcast, with floats, balloons and equestrians. Follow along online or at CW6.