Menopause: The Musical, Festival Of Trees, Christmas Holiday Extravaganza

It’s after Thanksgiving? Well no wonder the wreaths are up and Christmas songs are on the radio. New London Main Street has highlighted a number of holiday-themed events in its latest roundup of events as well.

These start on Saturday with the Festival of Trees, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Elks Lodge. Neff Productions, the Downtown New London Association, and area organizations have teamed up to decorate Christmas trees, and the festival will auction them off to raise money for the New London Community Meal Center; tickets are $12. The Garde Arts Center hosts a Christmas Holiday Extravaganza at 3 p.m. on Sunday, bringing in a musical production to benefit The Bulletin’s Tommy Toy Fund; tickets are $25.

If you’re thinking of including some artwork in your holiday shopping, The Gallery at Firehouse Square has “A Miniature Display” up until the end of the year; prices start as low as $25. And at the Spirit Gallery, an opening reception at 6 p.m. on Saturday debuts “Chromaphila,” a collection of works by Ashleigh Kay.

Creativity abounds in both city planning and poetry in a pair of events coming up today and tomorrow. The final “Beyond the Bridges” workshop will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at the Winthrop School and brainstorm ideas for the revitalization of Riverside Park and the Hodges Square neighborhood. Bean and Leaf’s regular poetry open mic invites people to share their verses from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday.

The Garde’s regular season continues with three performances of Menopause: The Musical over the weekend. The first one starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, the next ones at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for this comedic musical are $53.

Finally, you can battle the cold by taking a spin around the Rink at Parade Plaza. Regular hours are 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, with an hour break at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays; noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays; and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

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