Holiday Happenings

• Lehman College’s Center for the Performing Arts hosts Christmas from Dublin, starring the Three Irish Tenors, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. (tickets are from $20 to $35; $10 for ages 12 and under); and Asalto Navideño, combining music and dance from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Lehman is located at 250 Bedford Park Blvd. W. For more information, call (718) 960-8833.

 

• The Bronx Symphony Orchestra and Contemporary Ballet Theatre present The Nutcracker at Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture on Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12, $7 for students, seniors with ID and for groups of 10 or more. The concert will be followed by a benefit buffet dinner for both organizations at 5 p.m. in the second floor reception room. Tickets are $100 each and include admission to the performance. For reservations, call (718) 860-6400 or (718) 601-9151. Hostos is located at 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street. For more information, call the box office at (718) 518-4455.

 

• Los Nutcrackers: A Christmas Carajo, a Latino comedic Christmas play about a gay couple, interweaving the stories of “The Nutcracker” and “A Christmas Carol,” will be at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance on Nov. 29 and 30, Dec. 6 to 8 and 13 to 15, at 8 p.m. BAAD is located at 841 Barretto St. in the south Bronx. Tickets are $15. For reservations, call (718) 842-5223.

 

• Handel’s Messiah Part I, will be performed at Fordham United Methodist Church, 2543 Marion Ave., on Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. Donation of $50 include the performance and gala reception. For more information, call (718) 367-9347.

 

• Christmas Doo-Wop Concert, featuring the Valentinos of the Bronx, is at the Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road, on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

 

• “A Christmas Carol,” presented by the Traveling Lantern Theatre Company, will be held at the Jerome Park Library, 118 Eames Pl., Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. For more information, call (718) 549-5200.

 

• The New York Botanical Garden is full of holiday cheer through Jan. 13, with the yearly Holiday Train Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with city and suburban scenes all made of plant parts and large-gauge model railway trains and trolleys. Holiday Nights at the Garden, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, and 26-31, includes lights, caroling performances, cider, hot chocolate and gingerbread. In addition, children can have Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden where they can smell, touch, and taste the ingredients of a gingerbread recipe and decorate their own gingersnap cookies, followed by Winter Wonderland of Gingerbread Houses, a display of elaborate gingerbread creations by renowned bakers. There’s also a Holiday Tree Lighting & Sing-Along, near the Leon Levy Visitor Center, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. For more information, call (718) 817-8700.

Onstage

• Indian Music and Dance, presented by the Kalavant Center, is at the Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. Also at the Center is Dominican Folk Dancing, performed by members of Conjunto Folklorico, Dec. 8 at 2:30 p.m. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

 

• The Mosholu Library hosts Jazz Guitar Standards, featuring Don Witter, Jr., Dec. 10 at 3:30 p.m. The library is located at 285 E. 205th St. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

 

• American Bandstand: A Century of Jazz, featuring music of Louie Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others is at the hands of the Lehman College Big Band in a free concert on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in Lehman’s Music Building’s Hearth Room. Another free concert of classical music by the Lehman College and Community Chorus will be held at Lehman’s Concert Hall on Dec. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Complimentary tickets will be available at the box office from 1 p.m. on the day of the performance. For more information, call (718) 960-8247.

 

• Classics to Ragtime, a solo piano performance by renowned pianist Mas Ikemiya, is at the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, 4450 Fieldston Rd. on Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door, $12 for advance purchase made before Dec. 7 and $7.50 for children under 12. For more information, call (718) 548-4445.

 

• From Arabia, Simon Shaheen performs on the ‘ud, a string instrument that is the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the flamenco guitar, on Dec. 9 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Wave Hill House, followed by a conversation with the performer. Tickets are $24, $21 for students with ID and seniors ages 65 and older and $15 for members, and includes admission to grounds. Wave Hill is located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue in Riverdale. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 ext. 385 or visit www.wavehill.org.

 

• “The Little Engine That Could,” in puppets, joins the host of holiday activities at the New York Botanical Garden in the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall Saturdays and Sundays Dec. 1 through 23 and daily Dec. 26 through 31 at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. For more information, call (718) 817-8700.

Events

 

• Seasonal Tastings will be offered at Wave Hill’s Shop in the Perkins Visitor Center from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends throughout the holiday season. Taste the seasonal spices in Wave Hill’s holiday tea and jam Nov. 30-Dec. 2; and enjoy maple mustard pretzel dipping Dec. 7-9. Wave Hill is located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue in Riverdale. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 ext. 385 or visit www.wavehill.org.

 

• The Bronx Culture Trolley, a replica of a 20th-century trolley, transports visitors on the first Wednesday of every month (except January and September), to Bronx hot spots. A reception is held at the Hostos Art Gallery, 450 Grand Concourse (at 149th St.) at 5 p.m., followed by three trolley departures at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. It’s free. On Dec. 5, enjoy “Hostos Celebrates Kwanzaa” at the Hostos Repertory Theatre with music and dance featuring drummer Bobby Sanabria; traditional holiday music from Puerto Rico at the Pregones Theatre; Yankee Tavern for blues and jazz; ending at J. Maxson’s Bar & Grill to wind down with food, drink and more jazz. For more information call (718) 931-9500 ext. 33 or visit www.bronxarts.org.

Exhibits

• Lehman College’s Art Gallery hosts Beatrice Coron: The Secret Life of Cities, through Dec. 15 in the Edith Altschul Lehman Wing. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 250 Bedford Park Blvd. W. For more information, call (718) 960-8731.

 

• At Wave Hill, artists install works based on the writings of two authors who lived briefly in the Bronx – Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain. Artists Simon Leung, Allison Smith and Amy Yoes, create special projects, including sculpture, video and architecture, each in a separate room of Wave Hill’s Glyndor Gallery, through Dec. 2. Also, there is a solo exhibition by New York-area emerging artist Joianne Bittle Knight in the sun room through Dec. 2. Ornamental Instincts will be on exhibit through Feb. 10, 2008 at the Wave Hill House and Perkins Visitor Center. Meet the artists on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. Wave Hill is at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue in Riverdale. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.

 

• The Bronx Museum of the Arts hosts Quisqueya Henríquez: Outside Traditional Art in the artist’s first major appearance in the United States, through Jan. 27, 2008. The exhibition is a selection of her work examining the sensory qualities of urban life, including a daily visual dispatch from Santo Domingo, where she currently lives. The museum, located at 1040 Grand Concourse at West 165th Street, is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., except for Friday, when it is open until 8 p.m. Suggested admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors and is free on Fridays for members and for children under 12. For more information, call (718) 681-6000 or visit www.bronxmuseum.org.

 

• The Longwood Arts Project, the contemporary art center of the Bronx Council on the Arts, presents Material Culture at the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, from Dec. 5 through Feb. 7. The opening reception is Dec. 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. The artists in this exhibit present works in a selection of wood, clay, metal, glass, fiber works and mixed media art, rather than simply paint and canvas. For more information, call (718) 931-9500 ext. 21 or (718) 518-6728.

Learning

• Wave Hill presents two family art projects: Seasons Greetings, Dec. 1 and 2, to make live-action holiday cards; and Snow and Mountains, Dec. 8 and 9, where Chinese brush and mixed media techniques make winter landscapes. Both are in Wave Hill’s Kerlin Learning Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Wave Hill is at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue in Riverdale. For more information, call (718) 549-3200 or visit wavehill.org.

 

• The Bronx Library Center has events for all ages:

For children ages 5 to 12, there’s a video on Dec. 5 and 12 at 4 p.m. and Mighty Action Racket Theatre Workshop, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. There are crafts workshops for ages 7 to 12 (which require pre-registration): Pencil Holder Making on Nov. 29, Sled Ornament Making, Dec. 6, and Beyond Cat’s Cradle, using string figures, Dec. 10, all at 4 p.m.
Young adults can Play Chess! in a workshop with Ramon A. Hernandez, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m.; Learn To Break!, a break dancing workshop with Rokafella, Kwikstep and Full Circle Productions, on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m.; and join Anything Goes!, a clay workshop, Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m.
Adults can attend “New Year Baby,” a film of the personal documentary of a Cambodian American woman, Dec. 1 at 2:30 p.m.; Make Crochet Gifts for the Holidays, a workshop on Dec. 3 and 10 at 4 p.m.; Healthcare Proxy, a lecture led by Dr. Purnima Naik, Dec. 3 at 6 .m.; and Toy Safety, a lecture on Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.
The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org.

• Toddler Time, picture book stories and songs for toddlers ages 18 to 36 months with parent or caregiver, requires pre-registration, and will be held at the Mosholu Library, 285 E. 205th St. on Dec. 6 at 10:30 a.m. Also at the library is a special children’s program, Gadgets and Gizmos: Springs, to create a spool, dowel, and spring catapult to test out potential and kinetic energy, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. For more information, call (718) 882-8239.

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY CHANUKAH TO ALL OUR JEWISH READERS!

NOTE: Items for consideration should be received in our office by Dec. 3 for the next publication date of Dec. 13.