There’s no dearth of festive entertainments this holiday season, and the list of events available to attend includes some fun ones on the east side of the River. Rick Adam’s Holiday Parade is presented as a part of the Family Festival Series at Dutchess Community College on Saturday, December 12 at 11 a.m. Appropriate for families with kids 4 through 12 years, the show will be an entertaining vaudeville-type act highlighted with songs and stories of snow, sledding, winter and the holiday season. All Family Festival programs are held in the James & Betty Hall Theatre at 11 a.m. Admission is free. For more info call (845) 431-8000 or visit: www.sunydutchess.edu. DCC is located at 53 Pendell Road in Poughkeepsie.
At the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, CenterStage Production presents its premiere performance of a fairytale ballet based on Tchaikovsky’s classic The Nutcracker. Sugar Plums and Nutcrackers is directed and choreographed by Michele Ribble, featuring a company of area favorites. Children of all ages will thrill to this production. Performances take place on Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12 at 8 p.m., and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and children. The Center is offering a special family package for Sugar Plums and Nutcrackers for advance purchases. Call the box office at (845) 876-3080 for details. The Center for Performing Arts is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. Visit Centerforperformingarts.org for more information.
The Cocoon Theatre at 6384 Mill Street in Rhinebeck will stage a holiday extravaganza for the whole family. This Night to Remember: Magical Adventures on Christmas Eve is billed as a “contrived rite of passage of Lyndonderry School, designed by the headmaster to break through the despondent attitudes of its students.” With live music by Zachary Seman, the show is performed by a cast of local youth and adults. Don’t miss this fun-filled romp through an enchanted swamp. Tickets are $15; $10 for children under age 6. Pay at the door by cash or check, but reserve a seat now. With three performances only – Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 20 at 3 p.m. – seating is going fast. For further information call (845) 876-6470 or visit www.cocoontheatre.org.
For a hilarious twist on all the holiday classics by Michael Carleton, Jim FitzGerald and John K. Alvarez, see Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) presented by Fourth Wall Productions and the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center. Directed by Christine Vittorini, this is an entirely non-traditional holiday theater offering with music and folderol enough to satisfy even the scroogiest among us. Friday and Saturday performances on December 11, 12, 18 and 19 take place at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. on December 13 and 20. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. The Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center is located at 12 Vassar Street in Poughkeepsie. Visit www.4thwallproductions.net and www.cunneenhackett.org, or call (845) 486-4571 for more info.