Kick off the holiday season with the magic of The Nutcracker and celebrate Commonwealth Ballet's 35th Anniversary Season: Tradition & Transformation.

This beloved holiday tradition features beautiful dancing, stunning costumes, enchanting sets, and memorable performances for audiences of all ages. From playful mice and cheerful Polichinelles to sparkling Snowflakes and the breathtaking Waltz of the Flowers, The Nutcracker offers holiday wonder for families and arts lovers alike.

As Commonwealth Ballet marks 35 seasons of inspiring audiences through tradition, innovation, and artistic excellence, this year's performances are not to be missed. Learn more about the anniversary season here.
Performances: November 27-29 and December 18-20

Venue: Eleanor Welch Casey Theatre at Regis College, Weston, MA
Free Parking

Tickets are on sale now! Purchase tickets https://www.commonwealthballet.org/nutcracker and use promo code EB26 by October 1 for 20% Early Bird savings (excluding shortened sensory and family-friendly matinee on November 27th at 1pm). 

The Bedford Cultural District is sponsoring its second annual wreath decorating contest as part of the annual community Artisans Market and Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 5, on the Town Common. Individuals, families, and businesses are invited to decorate a wreath and spread holiday cheer to the community.

Twenty contest display spaces are available! Local scouts from Boy Scout Troop #114 will be selling the wreaths starting in mid-October, as well as online beginning on November 1. The cost is $17 for a plain wreath, and $21 for one with a bow. Wreaths may be reserved at https://forms.gle/vbtCRMPrXxiXX4zJ8, with a deadline of November 8, 6 pm, for ordering. Delivery will be on November 21 or 22.

Decorations are up to the creative imagination of each entrant. Finished wreaths should be dropped off at the Town Common on Saturday, December 5, from 11am to 1pm.

Artisans Market and Tree Lighting attendees can purchase raffle tickets on the Town Common on December 5 from 2pm to 6pm and vote for their favorite wreath—and get a chance to win that exact wreath! The wreaths will be raffled off at 6pm, and the Cultural District will award a prize to the decorators for the three wreaths that are voted most popular.

All contest proceeds will directly support the Bedford Food Pantry.
The registration deadline to enter the wreath contest is Monday, November 30. Registration is as simple as completing the form here: https://forms.gle/Snu5QNnLNrvfTabn9.

For further general information, contact Eric Salerno at esalerno@bedfordma.gov or call 781-918-4006. Call 617-312-3545 if you have questions about ordering the wreaths.

Sunday, December 6, 2026 | 2:00 PM
We’re inviting local businesses, organizations, community groups, and families to help fill the streets of downtown Maynard with holiday cheer!
Ways to participate:

• Enter a holiday-themed float or decorated vehicle.
• Bring an antique or classic car.
• March or walk with your organization, business, or group.
• Participate as a marching band, dance group, color guard, or other performance group.
• Represent your business or organization with a parade banner.

Whether your group is big or small, we’d love to have you join us!

 

There’s a Place for Everyone!

Whether you want to participate in the parade, set up a booth at the Holiday Village, showcase your business, become a sponsor, or support one of our fundraisers, we’d love to have you involved!
Or just come watch the parade, explore the Holiday Village, and enjoy the holiday magic with your friends and family! Every person who joins us helps make this community tradition more special.

Learn more and sign up at:
www.lightuptheholidaysmaynard.com

Thank you for helping us Light Up the Holidays in Maynard!
The Maynard Holiday Parade & Holiday Village Committee

Concord Women’s Chorus (CWC), fostering the power of women’s voices in song, presents its winter concert, “Sing We Noel: Songs of Peace and Joy,” on Saturday, December 5, 4 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord. Led by Artistic Director and Conductor Jane Ring Frank, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award from Choral Arts New England, the program features accompanist Simon Andrews and welcomes guest artist Kenneth Mok, violin. 

From a vast catalogue of traditional carols and anthems, CWC offers luxurious arrangements of some of the genre’s best and most beloved tunes. Mendelssohn’s exquisite writing for women’s voices (“Laudate Pueri” and “Veni Pueri”) leads the concert, giving way to sweeping arrangements of “Away in a Manger,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Sing We Now of Christmas” and more. Witty and harmonically rich arrangements are heard in Michele Weir’s jazz versions of “Winter Wonderland,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and others. Dan Forrest’s gorgeous “Shalom” completes the concert – a heartfelt audience favorite.

Guest artist Kenneth Mok, violinist, has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including Collegium Musicum Hong Kong, Boston Chamber Orchestra, UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra, and Hong Kong Baptist University Orchestra. Closing with a rousing carol sing-along, the program is sure to please and add joy and warmth to a chilly winter afternoon.

CWC is pleased to participate in the Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program, in collaboration with the Department of Transitional Assistance and hundreds of organizations, making cultural programming accessible to those for whom cost is a barrier. Therefore, CWC offers EBT cardholders the opportunity to purchase up to two tickets for $10 each.

Concord Women's Chorus is a 55-singer ensemble that draws singers from Concord and the greater Boston area. The ensemble performs a wide variety of choral music, ranging from early music to contemporary repertoire, with an emphasis on works written for women’s voices.  CWC will soon be releasing a professional recording of its commissioned works, produced by Grammy Award-winning studio SoundMirror.

Tickets to “Sing We Noel” are $30 per person, available at simpletix.com/e/sing-we-noel-songs-of-peace-and-joy-tickets-293491 and at the door, limited to capacity. For more information, performance details or to join Concord Women’s Chorus, email manager@concordwomenschorus.org, visit concordwomenschorus.org, or follow Concord Women’s Chorus on Facebook and Instagram.

Northboro Junior Woman’s Club, Boros Cares 4 Troops and the Vincent F. Picard American Legion Post 234 will host Wreaths Across America on December 19, 2026 at12:00 noon.

The Northboro Junior Woman’s Club, Boros Cares 4 Troops and The Vincent F. Picard American Legion Post 234 are beginning fundraising to support the Wreaths Across America being held in Northborough for the third time this year. We are hosting an event at the Howard Street Cemetery to bring awareness to the yearlong mission of the organization, which is to Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which was begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s yearlong mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

The wreaths are $17 each! If you would like to order one or more wreaths please go to: www/wreathsacrossamerica.org/MA0219.