Holiday Markets, Ballet, Holiday Concerts, Jewelry Making, Santa and the Grinch Will Be Featured Among the Winter Events in Silver Spring

The winter special events of the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District will include:

• Maryland Youth Ballet is performing The Mini Nut as an abbreviated Nutcracker holiday show for families. Saturday, Dec. 2, Sunday, Dec. 3, and Saturday, Dec. 9. 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
• Reflections Holiday Concert, Saturday, Dec. 2. 4 p.m. NIH Community Orchestra Chorus present selections from Copland’s Rodeo to the reflective choral work Fern Hill by John Corigliano, then selections from the beloved Handel’s Messiah. Delight in the holiday splendor with full orchestra and chorus at the Silver Spring United Methodist Church.
• Sounds of the Season. Saturday, Dec. 2, to Saturday, Dec. 23. Downtown Silver Spring is offering holiday performances by a variety of local bands with hot cocoa and s’mores stations. Times vary.
• Meet Santa or the Grinch at Downtown Silver Spring’s Turn Up the Cheer. Saturdays Dec. 2, 9, 16. Noon-3 p.m. Enjoy cheer stations and take a selfie with special guests: Santa (Dec. 2 and 16) and the Grinch (Dec. 9).
• Block Print Holiday Cards (Adult Class) at Create Arts Center. Saturday, Dec. 3. 1-4 p.m. In this three-hour printmaking workshop, participants will compose a design, carve their design into an easy cut block and print their design onto folded greeting card.
• Silver Spring Holiday Market and Craft Show at the Silver Spring Civic Building. Saturday, Dec. 3. Noon-4 p.m. More than 80 artisans, crafters and independent businesses will showcase arts and crafts, jewelry and baked goods.
• Ceramic Holiday Ornament Making Workshop (Adult Class) at Create Arts Center. Wednesdays, Dec. 6 and 13. 6-8 p.m. Create beautiful and personalized ceramic ornaments to give as gifts, display for the holidays or hang in your home.
• Collage Holiday Ornament Making Workshop (Families) at Create Arts Center. Saturday, Dec. 9. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Create collaged holiday ornaments. Choose from a selection of colorful, textured papers to layer onto papier-mâché forms that will be transformed into your designs.
• Mosaic Jewelry Making Workshop at Arts on the Block. Saturday, Dec. 9. Noon-2:30 p.m. Make a holiday gift or a piece of mosaic necklace and one pair of mosaic earrings. With hands-on help, sketch out a design, learn basic glass-cutting and puzzling techniques and get to work on the mosaic jewelry.
• Kids Winter Wreath Making Workshop at Create Arts Center. Sunday, Dec. 10. 1 p.m. During the 90-minute workshop, participants will adorn and personalize grapevine wreaths suitable for holidays, special occasions, year-round decorations and more.
• Breakfast with Santa at Dave and Busters, Silver Spring, Sunday, Dec. 10. 9 a.m. Meet Santa at a breakfast buffet that will include a $10 Power Card® with Unlimited Video Game Play, kid-friendly crafts and a personal photo with Santa.
• EWI’s 10th Annual Women Owned Holiday Market. Saturday, Dec. 16. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Latino Economic Development Center continues to support women entrepreneurs throughout the region with a holiday market with majority Black and Latina and immigrant-owned businesses at the Silver Spring Civic Building.
• Artisan Holiday Market. Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Eat, drink and shop at a Holiday Artisan Market along Ellsworth Drive between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street.
• Nutcracker Night and Mini Nutcracker. Saturday, Dec. 16. 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Akhmedova Ballet Academy will perform the best-known dances from The Nutcracker at the Mini Nutcracker and the full-length ballet at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center.
• A Gospel Big Band Christmas at Jesus House, Dec. 23. 7-9 p.m. A Gospel Big Band Christmas is a soulful celebration of Christmas through the rendition of traditional Christmas carols.
• Photos with Santa. Ellsworth Place is offering visits and photos with Santa through Dec. 24. Times vary.
• The Majestic Theater is showing holiday movie favorite Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and other holiday classics from Dec. 2-23. Showtimes vary.
• Holiday Classics at the AFI Silver. Enjoy perennial Christmas classics A Christmas Story, White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Little Women and 1980s favorites Die Hard and The Muppet Christmas Carol and more. Screenings from Dec. 5-24.
• Create Arts Center is offering a series of Winter Break Art Camp days for ages 6-12 as well as Counselors in Training. Dec. 26, 27, 28, 29 and Jan. 15. Parents can choose the days that work best for their schedule, with activities from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. with before- and after-care available.
• Silver Spring Ice Skating, the outdoor ice skating rink at Veterans Plaza is open daily, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Skating sessions are for two hours. Reservations are available up to two weeks in advance. To purchase tickets, visit the website or purchase on-site. The rink has more than 400 pairs of skates available to rent, sized from toddler to adult.

Designated as an Arts and Entertainment District by the State of Maryland in 2001, the Silver Spring Arts and Entertainment District is a hub of performance venues, restaurants and nightlife, festivals and community celebrations and family friendly fun. An Arts and Entertainment District helps develop and promote community involvement, tourism and business revitalization through tax-related incentives that attract artists, arts organizations and other creative enterprises.

For more information and an events calendar, visit the official Silver Spring website.”