Here are just two Christmas-themed events that cater especially to younger members of the family:
• Fill your holiday shopping lists and Santa’s stockings at the Christmas in the Manger juried craft fair, Saturday and Sunday at the Saanich Fairground.
More than 130 vendors will be on hand with handcrafted, homemade and homegrown wares.
The event features a live farm-animal display and a Gingerbread Playhouse staffed by CFAX Santas Anonymous volunteers.
Children will enjoy the colouring area or cosying up to the fireplace to read a book. Santa will be on hand to listen to Christmas wishes, and there will be photo opportunities with Santa or the Gingerbread Man.
Hot comfort foods and refreshments will be available.
Admission is $2, free for children 12 and under. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the main hall and RCMP barn at the Saanich Fairground, 1528 Stelly’s Cross Rd. There is lots of free parking. Please do not bring dogs.
For more information, go to saanichfair.ca or phone 250-652-3314.
• Enjoy festivities to mark the arrival of the holiday season — including the Light Up event — at the start of the month-long Oak Bay Christmas Festival, Sunday in Oak Bay Village.
Family fun includes a variety of crafts, activities, street food, entertainment, thousands of lights and a visit from Santa.
The Kiwanis Club of Oak Bay is hosting a Letters to Santa writing and decorating station, including a special direct-to-the-North-Pole mailbox.
Children can make a miniature door swag at Oak Bay Flower Shop or make a Christmas craft with Oak Bay United Church.
Oak Bay Recreation will be hosting street hockey and other games, as well as a craft station.
Planet Janet’s hoop jam offers an opportunity to try hula-hooping — learn the basics or try new tricks. Paul Kilshaw will be performing magic and balloon-twisting.
Theatre SKAM’s Pop Up Theatre features original short shows for all ages.
Live music includes jazz and Celtic Yuletide favourites with music director Daniel Lapp and performers Adrian Dolan, Adam Dobres and Sóley Lapp.
A Christmas market in the Ottavio Italian Bakery courtyard will feature a variety of local vendors, plus food- and drink-sampling.
The lights come on at 5 p.m. after the audience joins in a rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Santa will arrive right after on an Oak Bay fire truck, with photos with Santa in the RE/MAX Camosun office. Photo donations support the Oak Bay Fire Department’s non-essential equipment fund.
The Oak Bay Christmas Festival is presented by the Oak Bay Business Improvement Association. The event is free. It begins at 2 p.m., with live music from 3 to 6 p.m.
For more information, go to visitoakbayvillage.ca or facebook.com/oakbaybia.
Nativity story told by Sidney church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is presenting Come Let Us Adore Him, a community exhibit featuring the nativity story, starting Tuesday in Sidney.
This is the 11th year of the exhibit, which features a collection of more than 800 privately owned local and international crèches (a model or tableau representing the birth of Jesus Christ).
The crèches depict the birth through traditional and non-traditional displays from countries including Israel, Germany, Norway, Mexico, Japan, France, Italy, Africa, the U.S. and Canada.
Visitors can walk through a gym decorated as the market streets of Bethlehem; the White Room, featuring only white, crystal and glass nativities; the Whimsical Room, depicting both lighter and modern nativities; and the new Winter Wonderland, with hundreds of twinkling lights and soft music.
You can also watch a two-minute video presentation, with selected scenes from the nativity story accompanied by music provided by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and others.
Children can put on dress-up clothes to pose in the manger with stable animals for a Christmas photo.
In the craft room, the kids can make a nativity ornament to take home.
Photography is welcome. Admission is free. The event runs from 2 to 9 p.m. Nov. 26 to Dec. 4. The church is at 2210 Eastleigh Way, Sidney.
The children’s craft room is open from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The location is wheelchair-accessible and there is free parking.
For more information, go to sidneynativityexhibit.ca.
Seasonal trees display helps children’s hospital
A lush, enchanted conifer forest is filled with decorated Christmas trees at the annual Victoria Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation, which starts today and runs until Jan. 6 at the Bay Centre.
This is the 28th year of the annual event, which sees local businesses, organizations and individuals decorating trees for display in the shopping centre throughout the holiday season.
Design themes can range from the traditional to modern, with a style and look limited only by the creativity and imagination of the entrants.
Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to vote for their favourite tree in the People’s Choice Award.
You are encouraged include a donation with each vote, with the proceeds going to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation to support the health-care needs of children in the province.
With supporting events taking place at the same time in Nanaimo, Whistler and Kelowna, the foundation raised almost $388,000 last year. Every year, more than 15,000 votes are cast locally, making the festival the largest Vancouver Island fundraising event for the charity.
You can vote for your favourite trees in person or online.
The collection of decorated trees is free to view and will be on display at the Bay Centre starting Nov. 21.
The display can be seen from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday (with some holiday exceptions) until Jan. 6 at the Bay Centre, 1150 Douglas St. For more information, go to bcchf.ca.
Christ Church Cathedral celebrates music’s patron saint
A full day of music for the whole family, featuring bell ringers, accordions, choirs and a miniature organ, is on offer at the St. Cecilia’s Day Musical Open House at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday.
You can hear a new performance every half hour during the cathedral’s celebration in honour of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
Performers include the cathedral’s organists and bellringers, Victoria Children’s Choir and St. Christopher Singers.
You can start by climbing the 71 steps to the ringing chamber to watch the ringers launch the day with traditional bell music.
Next are the stirring sounds of Handel, J.S. Bach and others on the cathedral’s renowned Wolff organ.
Other performances include: the St. Christopher Singers with a capella music from the Renaissance; Cookeleidh; Quartetto Sorbetto; Anomaly and the Forager; KlaVIERhands; the Victoria Accordion Club Band; Jorge Carrizales, piano; Serena Jack, flute; music from Peru and the New Page Country Dance Orchestra.
Children can attend an organ-building workshop that integrates science, engineering and music as they collaboratively build a wooden tabletop organ.
The day’s activities come to an end following the Choral Evensong for St. Cecilia’s Day performance.
Admission is by donation, with proceeds to support music programs at the cathedral.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Christ Church Cathedral, 930 Burdett Ave.
The children’s workshops start at 1 and 2 p.m. These are small group sessions, so be sure to sign up at admin@christchurchcathedral.bc.ca.
Note: The Christ Church Cathedral Christmas Bazaar takes place next door at Christ Church Cathedral School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information on either event, go to christchurchcathedral.bc.ca.
Indigenous artists featured at market
The Royal B.C. Museum hosts its first Indigenous Winter Arts Market on Saturday.
Building on the success of the summer’s Indigenous Arts Studio, the market will see the return of many of the same Indigenous artists, including Tim Alfred, Virgil Sampson, Jesse Campbell, and Frances and Carolyn Memnook.
Artists will sell directly to the public.
The event is free to attend. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday in Clifford Carl Hall at the Royal B.C. Museum, 675 Belleville St.
For more information, go to royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
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