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Explore: Legislature tree light-up, holiday fun at museum and more

Join Canadians assembled at provincial capitals across the country for Christmas Lights Across Canada, 6 p.m. today at the legislature buildings.
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The sequoia tree at the B.C. legislature will be lit up with festive lights at 6:30 tonight.

Join Canadians assembled at provincial capitals across the country for Christmas Lights Across Canada, 6 p.m. today at the legislature buildings.

The program, now in its 32nd year, was created to illuminate the country from coast to coast to coast, symbolically linking Canadians with a multicoloured ribbon of light — and kicking off the holiday season.

“Celebrating with all of Canada’s capital cities is a delightful way to light up our country at this joyous time of year and celebrate the spirit of this festive season,” said Linda Reid, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Every year, each province and territory decorates its capital city and holds its own lighting ceremony to contribute to this nationwide initiative.

In Victoria, up to 500 people typically show up to witness the light-up of 2,500 festive lights on the large sequoia tree on the grounds, with the legislative-building lights acting as a backdrop.

After the 6:30 p.m. light-up ceremony, celebrations continue indoors with refreshments, cookies and a chance to admire the indoor decorations, including a nine-metre Christmas tree.

Visitors will be treated to festive choral performances by student and adult choirs, including the SingYourJoy Young Adult Chorus, Daniel Lapp Joy of Life Choir and the Reynolds Secondary School Carol Band. Attendees can also join in a public sing-along.

Visitors will have a chance to interact with characters from British Columbia’s early history or shop for items in the parliamentary gift shop at a special 15 per cent discount.

The event is free to attend. Activities begin at 6 and run until 8 p.m. at the legislature, 501 Belleville St. For more information, go to leg.bc.ca.

 

Holiday fun at the museum

 

Although it may be lacking

a partridge or a pear tree in its collection (neither are native to British Columbia), the Royal B.C. Museum does offer visitors at least 12 days of family fun

as Christmas nears.

Holiday-season offerings include the sights and sounds of Christmas in Old Town. A visit to a Christmas from long, long ago includes a kindly Father Christmas. Children can share their wish lists and have a photo taken (by donation) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Dec. 18 in Old Town.

Visit the oldest house in British Columbia and experience what Christmas would have been like more than 100 years ago at Helmcken House Old-Fashioned Christmas. The decorated house is open from noon to 4 p.m.

Dec. 17 to 31.

Additionally, Celebrate the Season with Stories at Helmcken House runs at 2 to 3 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. Dec. 17. Regular admission or by donation.

Find out more about Hanukkah, Christmas and Solstice at Wonder Sunday: A Season of Celebration,

1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 11 and 18.

Too much Christmas? Take the whole family for a hands-on, outdoor learning opportunity with museum researchers at Fieldtrippers: In-seine Sailfins, Shrimps and Sea Slugs!, an evening beach seine at Willows Beach, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Dec. 12. Attendance is by donation.

December is also the last opportunity to see Lyuba, the mummified baby mammoth on loan from Russia for the Mammoths! Giants of the Ice Age exhibit. Lyuba will head home when the exhibition closes on Dec. 31.

Send off Lyuba and celebrate the last night of 2016 at the family-friendly Early Shift: Going away party for Mammoths! Tickets are $24 for adults and $16 for youth. The event runs 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 31.

The Royal B.C. Museum is open every day of the holidays except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Enjoy food and drinks at the Food Truck Festival, open daily except from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1.

For more information, go to royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.

 

Let a singing tree lift your spirits

 

Get in the spirit of the season with a choir performance of the Singing Christmas Tree, presented by Generations Church, Friday to Sunday in Nanaimo.

The show, in its 24th year, features a Christmas tree filled with 50 choir members singing old and new Christmas songs. There will also be a dramatic presentation and light show.

This year’s performance, Two from Galilee, tells the story of Mary, a teenage girl, and Joseph, a young carpenter, whose lives were touched by God.

Tickets are free — but you need to get one to guarantee a seat. Performances are at 7 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Generations Church, 1300 Princess Royal Ave., Nanaimo. Tickets are available at the church, The Buzz Coffee House, 1861 Dufferin Cres., Christian Book and Music Centre, 2-1200 Princess Royal Ave., and online at eventbrite.ca.

For more information, go to generations.ca

 

Find a unique gift and help those in need

 

Find a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special, support local artisans and help those in need at the Artisan’s Advent Market, Friday and Saturday at Lighthouse Community Hall in Qualicum Bay.

The two-day event features unique, handcrafted gifts from more than 50 area artisans.

A variety of food vendors will be on hand, along with musicians.

Admission is by a donation of cash or canned food for the food bank. Proceeds benefit the Lighthouse Community Hall’s Soupy Café.

The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Lighthouse Community Hall, 240 Lions Way, Qualicum Bay. Details at facebook.com/events/1842862005951337.3

 

Celebrate our winter wonderland

 

Get outside this weekend on two nature programs with CRD Parks.

Take the whole family to make a festive wreath at Wreathmaking, a program offered by CRD Parks at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park on Saturday.

At this drop-in event, suitable for all ages, CRD Regional Parks naturalists will help participants create their own wreaths with natural materials.

Participants are asked to bring a mug for hot apple cider, and a pair of clippers if available.

Admission is free. Drop in anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Meet at the Nature House Centre off the main parking lot of Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park, Saanich. This program is suitable for mobility challenged individuals.

On Sunday, introduce your young children to the wonders of winter at Wee Winter Ones, a program for kids five years old and under at Francis/King Regional Park.

Children will celebrate winter, using their senses to look for creatures in the winter woods under the tutelage of a CRD Regional Parks naturalist.

The program is free, but pre-registration is required. The one-hour program starts at 10 a.m. Sunday at Francis/King Regional Park.

Participants are asked to arrive 10 minutes before the start of the program and leave pets at home. Details at crd.bc.ca/parks.

 

Have a zen moment at the art gallery

 

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is a peaceful oasis over the holiday season.

The gallery is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of Japanese art in Canada, as well as historical Canadian, international and contemporary art.

It offers several drop-in tours of exhibitions during December:

Dec. 10 and 18 at 2 p.m.: It’s in the Making — artists investigate new relationships between ideas, materials and ways of making things.

Dec. 11, 2 p.m.: Emily Carr and the Young Generation — a new vision of the iconic artist as both a mentor and teacher.

Dec. 17 and 22 at 2 p.m.: Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive — A reconstruction of the life of this genre-blurring, fictional artist in the 1930s to 1940s.

Dec. 29, 7 p.m.: Millennia: Asian Art Through the Ages — featuring 70 of the most stunning, interesting and rare examples in the gallery’s collection.

This month’s Family Sunday is inspired by the It’s in the Making exhibition. Enjoy an afternoon of art-making for the whole family from 2 to 4 p.m., Dec. 18. Cost is included with membership or admission.

Art lovers can rent or purchase works by local artists at the Winter Small Works Show and Sale, at the gallery’s Massey Gallery, now until Dec. 29.

The gallery is open at 10 a.m. Monday to Saturday, Sunday at noon. Closing time is 5 p.m. every day except Thursday, when it closes at 9 p.m. The gallery will be closed Dec. 24 to 26, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

For more information, go to aggv.ca or call 250-384-4171.