Weekend Plans: Hanukkah events, Polar Express screenings, art museum party, more

After the last couple of absolutely packed weekends full of community festivals, Christmas parades and more, it's starting to get a little bit quieter so we all can start hunkering down for Christmas. But there's still plenty of activities to keep busy.

Posted 1:59 a.m. Dec 18, 2014 — Updated 4:07 p.m. Dec 18, 2014

After the last couple of absolutely packed weekends full of community festivals, Christmas parades and more, it’s starting to get a little bit quieter so we all can start hunkering down for Christmas. But there are still plenty of activities to keep busy.

As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar and our Winter Break Guide for more activity ideas.

And I’ll link directly to some of the season’s more popular posts about:

The region’s major holiday light shows

Various performances of The Nutcracker

Storybook Theatre’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts in Raleigh. (Don't forget about our ticket deal!).

Santa at the mall

Also, Disney on Ice presents Frozen has moved to the Crown Center of Cumberland County with shows through Sunday.

Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah began Tuesday evening and runs through the evening of Dec. 24. We have several community Hanukkah events planned including a Chanukah Wonderland in Apex that starts Sunday and a Jewish Cultural Festival in Cary on Monday.

The N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh will hold its annual family holiday event from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday. It’s free. The evening will have a pirate theme with games, art making, treats, music, entertainment by the Motley Tones and visits with Santa. A walk through the exhibit “Small Treasures” is free for kids with a paying adult.

The Raleigh Little Theatre’s production of “Cinderella” is sold out this weekend. But there are tickets available for Theater in the Park’s “A Christmas Carol,” now in its 40th year. It will be at the Durham Performing Arts Center this weekend.

The Museum of Life and Science’s Santa Train in Durham runs Wednesday through Sunday. There are limited tickets left for this very popular event, which includes thousands of twinkling lights, a train ride, “ice skating” in your socks, hot chocolate, crafts and more. Tickets are $15 for Wednesday and Thursday nights and $20 for Friday to Sunday evenings. The trains leave every 20 minutes from 5:20 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.

Polarpalooza is at the Polar Ice House in Garner from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday. For $5, you can enjoy a visit from Santa, a gourmet hot chocolate bar, holiday crafts, face painting and other activities, including skate rental.

We also have ice skating at Raleigh’s downtown Winterfest rink and The Ice Factory at American Tobacco in Durham.

Belle, Rapunzel and Captain Jack Sparrow will host a breakfast at Chick-fil-A at Cameron Village from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday, in Raleigh. Kids can decorate cookies and write letters to Santa. The Santa Cow also will make a visit.

Lafayette Village in north Raleigh will host a free outdoor screening of “The Polar Express” at 6 p.m., Friday.(Update: It was moved from Saturday to Friday because of the threat of rain on Saturday). Be sure to dress warm and bring your blankets and chairs. Some of the merchants will be serving cookies, hot chocolate and other treats.

The Cary downtown theater will screen "The Polar Express" at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Thursday, and 2 p.m., Sunday. The theater also will offer a sing-a-long version of "White Christmas" at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday. I'm told the White Christmas tickets are going fast so be sure to get those before you go. Tickets for each of these showings are $5.

And Marbles Kids Museum also is showing the 2D version of "The Polar Express" on its IMAX screen this Saturday through Dec. 24. Tickets are $14 for adults and $11 for kids under 12.

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