Christmas in Halifax: Parades, Concerts, Holiday Theatre & Other Events

22nd Annual Chronicle Herald Holiday Parade of Lights and Red Nose Run. The Chronicle Herald Holiday Parade of Lights presented by Eastlink is the kick-off to the holiday season with festive floats, marching bands, dancers, and a visit from Santa Claus!  Details

Join for Bedford’d Santa Claus Parade. Usher in the holiday season and raise money for charitable organizations. Organised by The Bedford Lions Club!  Details

Annual tree lighting event. Entertainment include: Live music, and the event finishes with a bang as Santa comes on stage to help light the Halifax Christmas tree and ignite an amazing fireworks show! Enjoy Christina Martin Band, Bob the Builder Live Show, Special Appearance by PAW Patrol Chase. Details

 Longest running Santa Claus Parade east of Montreal – 44th Annual Spryfield Santa Claus Parade. Presented by the Spryfield and District Business Commission.  Details

Come down to Downtown Halifax for some holiday magic. Bright lights, holiday shopping, family fun, warm drinks, delicious food and festive entertainment await. Join us! Details

Santa will stop at the community centre after for cookies and hot chocolate!! Details

Join us for the 11th Annual Sackville Christmas Tree Lighting. Every year, Sackville community organizations come together to provide live music, treats, a visit from Santa and the lighting of the Christmas Trees.  Details

Bundle up the kids and come out for a great community event. There will be activities throughout the community before and after the parade. We will be collecting non-perishable food items and toys for our local food bank. Bring your Santa letters!! Details

Annual Christmas Tree Lighting event. Events include Enjoy a free ride on the Kiwanis Santa Claus Express Trains, Carollers, Fireworks and more! Details

Annual Santa Claus Parade – Santa will greet all visitors at Enfield Legion. Join us at the Enfield Vol. Fire Department following the parade for a Community Christmas Party.
Music, Refreshments and Santa too! Details

Join the Lake Charlotte community as we gather to watch Santa and his helpers light the natural tree at the corner of Highway #7 and Clam Harbour Beach Road. Visit with Santa beforehand in the Clam Factory at Memory Lane, then walk down to the tree for the lighting and fireworks. Return to the Clam Factory for carols and hot chocolate. Details

ABBA Revisited

North America’s #1 tribute to ABBA; presented by VaughnCo Entertainment. Details

Ah, Bach!

Johann Sebastian Bach is Baroque music’s superstar, and one of the most influential composers in the history of classical music. And Alexander Weimann is perhaps Canada’s top harpsichordist/conductor Experience these two creative forces with Symphony Nova Scotia in this beautiful all-Bach concert, featuring the majestic Brandenburg Concerto No. 3and a virtuoso Concerto for Harpsichord. Then, in a special treat, Symphony Nova Scotia’s own principal flutist Patricia Creighton shines in Bach’s colourful, high-spirited Suite No. 2. Details

Beethoven and the Beautiful Blue Danube

Featuring: Kathryn Wagner, piano (NSYO Concerto Competition winner); Dinuk Wijeratne, conductor. Details

A Beary Merry Christmas 

A Beary Merry Christmas with The Stadacona Band, for The Salvation Army. Details

Lorrie Morgans Enchanted Christmas

Share the wonder and warmth of a down-home Christmas with country superstar Lorrie Morgan’s Enchanted Christmas. Join us for an enchanted journey through Christmases past and present. Experience this award-winning vocalist up close and personal for a cozy Christmas you’ll always treasure. Details

Holly Jolly Storytime & Sing-Along

Celebrate the season, and join Library staff for holiday songs and stories on the main floor. Afterwards, head outside to Acadia Park for the Annual Sackville Tree Lighting! Details

A Celtic Tenors Christmas

Celebrate the spectacular sounds of Christmas. From classic carols like O Holy Night to beloved Celtic holiday favourites, this beautiful blend of Irish roots, classical training, and polished, magnificent music is the can’t-miss concert of the holiday season. Details

John Gracie Swing into Christmas

Swing into Christmas with John Gracie as he continues to bring new life into his classic Christmas traditions.  Gracie has been touring his Christmas Memories tour for over 25 years all over Canada and in the US.  It is hugely popular because he engages the audience to sing along to their favourite Christmas carols that evoke memories of Christmas past. Details

Symphonic Celebrations

Presented by Fountain School of Performing Arts. Details

Serena Ryder Christmas

It might have taken four-and-a-half years for this celebrated Toronto singer/songwriter to gift us with a follow-up to 2012’s expectation-defying critical and commercial hit, Harmony, but a lack of new material was definitely not the hold-up.

No, just as she did for the last record, the prolific Ryder amassed something like 65 or 70 songs during the run-up to her star-solidifying new platter, Utopia. 19+. Details

Swing into the Holidays 

Produced by acclaimed jazz percussionist, Artie Irwin, and proudly supported by John Riley, Swing Into The Holidays is an exciting lineup of seasonal music from an eclectic array of bands including, NEW this year, Halifax Klezmer sensation, Der Heisser. Along with area favourites, The Tuesday Night Band, Kitty & the Katz, George Hebert & Standard Time, and The Back Alley Big Band, ft. Doris Mason. Irwin brings decades of experience as a jazz drummer as well as many years producing shows for television and radio, dance bands, and a wide variety of musical productions. Details

Tis The Season 12

Starring Bette MacDonald & Maynard Morrison. Details

A Very Merry Villages Christmas

Cape Breton Island’s Villages touch down in Halifax for a special Xmas show at The Carleton on Thursday, December 13th. The guys will be playing a mix of their (excellent) trad-based original tunes along with some jolly seasonal fare. Details

Holiday Concert

7th Annual Holiday Concert of Second Chances Community Band of Nova Scotia. Conductors: Stephanie McKeown and Chris Ward. Details

Reeny’s Family Christmas

Powerhouse singer/songwriter Reeny Smith has always been nurtured and inspired by her musical family and friends growing up in North Preston. On December 16, Reeny’s Family Christmas will bring those traditions to The Carleton stage in a powerful, rockin’ celebration of the season for the whole family. Details

A King’s Christmas

With guest narrator Don Connolly, former host of CBC’s Information Morning. University of King’s College Chapel Choir, directed by Paul Halley. Details

An East Coast Christmas

Barra MacNeils in concert: An East Coast Christmas; presented by Brookes Diamond Productions. Details

A Gunning & Cormier Christmas

Two of the busiest solo musicians in the country, Multi Award Winning & 2018 Canadian Folk Music Award Nominees Dave Gunning & JP Cormier are coming together at The Carleton on Wednesday, December 19th to bring us a one-of-a-kind show for the holiday season – A Gunning & Cormier Christmas!

New & Old song favorites for some great times and good laughs. A show not to be missed! Details

To Bethlehem with Kings 

Beautiful carols, ancient and modern with the Maritime Brass Quintet and Paul Halley (organ). Details

Handel’s “Dublin” Messiah

Experience the beauty and joy of Handel’s great oratorio in its original “Dublin” version, premiered in Ireland to great acclaim in 1742. Conducted by Irish-Canadian baroque specialist Kevin Mallon, “Canada’s crown prince of period performance” (WholeNote), and featuring four guest vocal soloists and the 80-voice Symphony Chorus, Symphony Nova Scotia presents an energetic, entertaining, authentic interpretation of Handel’s glorious holiday favourite. Details

 

 

Christmas in Killarney

Come celebrate the holidays with the Connolly family as they welcome their long-lost Irish relatives to Nova Scotia for a heel-kickin, fiddle-wailin’ good time! Details

Cirque Musica Holiday presents Wonderland

Journey into the visual world of Wonderland with amazing acrobats and aerialists, hilarious hijnks, and heartfelt holiday cheer. The show blends the spellbinding grace and daredevil athleticism of today’s greatest circus performers with the sensory majesty of Halifax’s own symphony orchestra performing the greatest holiday music of all time. Details

Sleeping Beauty

Annual  Family Pantomime. Bad fairies, good fairies, princesses and princes, and falling asleep with a bit of time travel thrown in for good measure.  Details

Cinderella

Based on the age-old tale of Cinderella, our own artistic director, Jeremy Webb has created an original holiday musical comedy that’s fun for the whole family based on British pantomime. Full of up-to-the-minute pop songs, belly-laughs and fun for the entire family. Suitable for ages 4 and up.  Details

Dicken’s A Christmas Carol

The classic family holiday show is brought lovingly to life in this very special holiday experience. Hilarious and sometimes spooky; Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has been lovingly recreated for the whole family. Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and three seasonal spirits will fill your family with holiday joy. Details

Alice in Wonderland

Details

It’s a Central Cryogenic Christmas

Long ago the great, great grandmother of Dr. Vivian Von Vance secretly discovered the scientific technique of preserving, splicing and reanimating genetic materials. When news of her scientific achievement leaked out, movie studios, governments, record labels and museums began to send her pieces of genetic material in hopes that special people could have influence years into the future. A holiday show with a little scientific twist. Details

The Nutcracker

Symphony Nova Scotia’s The Nutcracker is Halifax’s favourite holiday tradition! When a little girl’s toy comes to life, she’s whisked away to an enchanted world where she meets magical creatures, colourful new friends, and the ferocious Mouse Queen. Complete with larger-than-life puppets, spirited dancing, and Tchaikovsky’s hauntingly beautiful music, this tale of magic and wonder is a seasonal adventure for all ages. Details

Tales Of A Charlie Brown Christmas

Featuring jazz legend Jerry Granelli, and the Jerry Granelli Trio. Experience this beloved music with the musician who was a part of its inception! Esteemed jazz percussionist Jerry Granelli was a member of the Vince Guaraldi Trio when the band scored and performed the original recording of A Charlie Brown Christmas more than a half century ago. The soundtrack featured the Guaraldi Trio’s cutting edge contemporary jazz, which was unusual at the time for children’s programming. Since the television special’s debut in 1965, the music has gone on to become an iconic soundtrack for the holiday season. Details

The Celtic Christmas Show

This is a holiday treat for the whole family that will be sure to put you in the Christmas spirit. This year’s cast features the RCMP Pipes and Drums and dancers, the Diaga Irish Dancers, Acadian Step dancers, Scaip na Cleiti dancers, and a band led by Shannon Quinn, and more. Join us for an evening of tradition, culture, and celebration at the 2018 Celtic Christmas Show. Details

Traditional 1940s Christmas Dinners

An authentic 1940s Christmas dinner served by lamplight in our 1940s decorated Cookhouse. No turkey!  Details

Your Very Happy Holiday Party!

Join us in kicking off the holiday season at Pondside Amphitheatre in The Village Shops at Dartmouth Crossing! Enjoy magical visits with Santa, giveaways from the elves, jolly holiday games, free cake while quantities last, *unlimited* hot chocolate, coffee and lattes from Tim Hortons, Santa’s Petting Zoo, and rides on the North Pole Express train!!  Details

Oh What A Night!” Christmas

Presented by Rocklands Entertainment. Details

Nautical Rope Wreath Workshop

Take away something beautiful from one of the Christmas workshops at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax this holiday season.

Have you ever worked with rope? It’s surprisingly easy, once you let your hands get to work. Details

Festival of Trees

Join the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia for the Compass Group Canada Festival of Trees.  Details

Kids Christmas Movie Night for a Wish

Polar express. We will have Christmas cookie decorating and each kiddo gets a loot bag. We hope you will come on out and have some holiday fun while supporting a great cause.  Details

Holiday Card-Making Workshop

with Artist Estelle Thomson. Get creative this year and design your own holiday cards. Using watercolours and ink, have fun creating 5 different designs. Join us for this afternoon of painting and fun! Details

Victorian Christmas at the Halifax Citadel

Make your way to the Halifax Citadel as the historic fort takes on a festive air with Victorian carols, crafts, games and, of course, Father Christmas. Enjoy some hot cider and don’t miss the Parks Canada Victorian photo booth – it’s the perfect way to capture some holiday magic to share with family and friends. Details

Walk Through Bethlehem

The Heritage Village will be transformed into the biblical scenes of the nativity, from the census taking of the soldiers of Caesar Augustus, to the “no vacancy” inn, to the marketplace of Bethlehem, to the birthplace of Jesus in the stable with the animals watching. Details

Dress for Success Holiday Magic

Join us for a family-friendly evening of song and dance.  Our cast of performers shine a light on the world-class talent we have here in Atlantic Canada, coming together to support the inspirational work done by Dress for Success Halifax. This year’s show features the singing talents of Nova Scotia’s own Suzanne Balcom and Trina.  Starring the internationally acclaimed Richard Wood, Holiday Magic will bring you to your feet as Nova Scotia artist Holly Carr creates Holiday Magic on our stage.  Details

Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa 2018. Santa and Mrs Claus will be there! Don’t forget to include your full name and address if you leave a letter for Santa! Details

Santa Shuffle Fun Run & Elf Walk

This merry event helps The Salvation Army to assist families and individuals in need during the Christmas season and throughout the year. The funds raised from this year’s Santa Shuffle will go towards community initiatives, families in need at Christmas, overnight stays in a shelter and many other programs. All funds raised from the Halifax Santa Shuffle stay local for initiatives specifically in HRM. Details

Festive Lunch Buffet

The Holidays taste so good!  Details

Hal-Con’s Annual Yule Ball

You are cordially invited to attend our Fifth Annual Yule Ball! Join us for a celebration of the season, inspired by Harry Potter. It’s time to dust off those dress robes, dig out your favourite cosplay or get dressed to the nines for a night of fun and revelry. There will be DJ Skills of True North DJs will be there for for dancing, a cash bar for refreshments and of course appetizers to nibble on. 19+.  Details

Holiday Hoopla

Holiday hoopla, for one and all.

Sing carols, watch a holiday puppet show, play games, make a craft, and meet Santa. There may even be a present waiting for you under the Library tree. Details

Holiday Pet Costume Parade

Bring your pets out on December 8th to dress up in holiday themed costumes and clothes and get photographed with Santa!

4th Annual Yule Ball

Whether you love Harry Potter, the holidays, or just feel like dancing, this is the event for you.

We’ll have a magical pop-up escape room by Captured Escape Rooms, music for dancing the night away by DJ Interrobang, Honeydukes candy, digital photo booth, Olivanders wand-making, Potterful prizes, and more.

Formal wear or Harry Potter themed attire is encouraged but not mandatory. Madame Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions will be on-site to loan formal clothing. Ages 12+. Details

Gay Ol’ Christmas Comedy Show

This is our one year anniversary show!!!!! Can you believe it’s been a whole year of Adam and Lindsay Present shows? Ya, we can’t either. Time flies when you’re barely paying attention, letting life pass you by.

Come hear some jokes, surrounded by tacky Dollarama decorations, in the basement of a bar. We truly cannot think of anything cozier this time of year. Ho ho ho.

While the name suggests otherwise, this show is less about being gay and celebrating Christmas and more about hanging out with some of Halifax’s funniest people! Can you believe some of the comics on the show aren’t even gay? Or Christians? Details

That 90s Night XMAS Party

Halifax’s longest running and often imitated but never duplicated all 90s dance party is throwing an epic Christmas party for everyone.

What are you in for at That 90s Night? All the pop, dance, hip-hop, and even some surprise 90s hits you could ever imagine.

Britney. Christina. Destiny’s Child. J-Lo. Backstreet Boys. Nsync. Aqua. Ja Rule. Blackstreet. Mariah. Ice Cube, Notorious BIG, Montell Jordan, TLC AND SO MUCH MORE. Details

Reel Family Movie Night 

The Polar Express. Kids, wear your PJ’s and dont forget t bring your blanket and pillow to get cozy. Presented by Scotia Bank. Details

Christmas Eve Sleigh Ride

Christmas Eve sleigh or wagon ride. The perfect holiday outing with family and friends! We will be serving hot chocolate to take away the chill after your ride. Details

Christmas Day Grand Buffet

It’s back – join us for our annual grand Christmas Grand Buffet overlooking the Halifax Harbour. Treat your family and friends to all-you-can-eat festive fare . Details

Home for the Holidays Party

Why wait for New Year’s Eve? Glam it up and dance the night away at the season’s fabulous Home for the Holidays Party at the Westin Nova Scotian featuring Halifax’s favourite party band Big Fish and RS Smooth! Featuring BIG FISH. 19+. Details