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‘A Celtic Family Christmas’ concert cancelled in Surrey, but other Christmas events fill calendar

An expanded guide to Christmas-themed events in the Surrey area
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Fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy during a “A Celtic Family Christmas” concert a few years ago. (Black Press Media file photo: Hamish Burgess)

“Scheduling difficulties” have cancelled the Surrey date of the “Celtic Family Christmas” concert starring Maritime fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy.

Live Nation Entertainment had booked Bell Performing Arts Centre for the show on Friday, Nov. 25. Refunds will be issued automatically from the point of purchase, says a post on the venue website.

The tour’s Nov. 24 concert at The Centre in Vancouver will go ahead, the post adds, and tickets for that show are available on ticketmaster.ca.

The “intimate and unique show sold out everywhere prior to the pandemic,” Live Nation said when announcing the B.C. tour in September.

Other Christmas-related shows planned at the Bell include “A Wonderheads Christmas Carol” returns Dec. 6 with “glowing ghosts, 10-foot-tall puppets and more in a magical holiday masterpiece,” in a theatrical re-imagining of the Charles Dickens classic.

A week later, on Dec. 12, Zachary Stevenson will star in “Buddy’s Holly Jolly Christmas,” a tribute concert presented by The Original Legends of Rock ‘n’ Roll, with Ben Klein as Elvis, Cassandra Jean as Brenda Lee and The Legends All-Star Band.

Also scheduled at the Sullivan-area theatre is “Following A Star,” Crescendo Operatic Society’s production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, and “The Three Kings,” featuring carols sung with the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. On Dec. 2, “this Christmas show is extremely family-friendly and the perfect start to the season,” says an event post on bellperformingartscentre.com.

Later, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra returns to the Bell with two “A Traditional Christmas” concerts, on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 4 and also 7:30 p.m., with carols and stories told by Christopher Gaze.

At Surrey Arts Centre, Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir returns Dec. 6 with another “Holly Jolly Christmas” concert, the latest for the choir in its 30 years of performing at the Bear Creek Park theatre. Seats are sold at tickets.surrey.ca, or call 604-501-5566.

November and December is pantomime time, with Royal Canadian Theatre Company presenting “The Snow Queen: A Frozen Adventure” at Surrey Arts Centre’s Main Stage. The eight-show run, from Dec. 16-26, promises fun music, corny jokes and Disney-ish delights this year. Kerri Norris directs the panto, written by Crystal Weltzin. More show details are posted on rctheatreco.com.

Starting Nov. 23, the arts centre will also be a stage for Fraser Valley Musical Theatre’s “Sleeping Beauty: The Musical Panto,” until Dec. 4, with nine shows during the run of fun, family-friendly performances.

In Fraser Heights, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” will be performed by Surrey City Orchestra on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 26 at Chandos Pattison Auditorium, featuring dancers from local schools and companies and also Surrey Children’s Choir. Tickets range from $20-30 via the website surreycityorchestra.org.

Another staging of “The Nutracker” will take place at Surrey Arts Centre on Dec. 10-11, in four shows produced by Royal City Youth Ballet.

Other Christmas-y events happening in Surrey include Lumagica, which returns to Cloverdale Fairgrounds from Nov. 25 to Dec. 30, featuring “the brightest light festival in British Columbia” with live music, food, vendors, Santa and more. Info on lumagica.ca.

Also in Cloverdale, the Surrey Santa Parade of Lights returns on Sunday, Dec. 4, starting at 5 p.m. in Cloverdale and ending at Central City mall in North Surrey with a related event called Big Rigs for Kids. The parade route and other details are found on surreysantaparade.com.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, Surrey’s Tree Lighting Festival will return to Surrey Civic Plaza, at city hall, from noon to 8 p.m. A highlight will be the lighting of a 60-feet tree at 6:30 p.m. Event details are found on surreytreelighting.ca.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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