BY KATY SHANER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 2, 2015

With all there is to do on Whidbey Island this holiday season, you may find it a challenge to choose. But go for it… And enjoy! It’s the holidays!

Turn that page on your calendar and start filling it in. The first week in December is the true meaning of abundance.

Want a Christmas tree or a wreath? Every day, from 11a.m. – 6 p.m. through Dec. 20, you can choose a tree and/or wreath at the Rotary Club of Whidbey-Westside lot at Bayview Rd. and SR 525, Langley. The proceeds help support the South Whidbey High School girls’ basketball team.

Friday–Sunday, Dec. 4-6

Start your weekend from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 with a “Holiday Hoedown” at Greenbank Farm, a Barn dance with the live music of PETE. And don’t forget “First Friday” from 5 to 7 p.m. as all farm businesses stay open late for visitors. Plus check out the special Santa events for the kids. http://greenbankfarm.biz/calendar-2015/.

“A Dickens’ Christmas Carol (A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts)” will be presented at Whidbey Playhouse in Oak Harbor from 7:30 to 10 p.m. on weekends, Friday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 20. Matinee Sundays are at 2:30 p.m. In this play within a play, the “Stykes-Upon-Thump Repertory Co. Inc.” rolls into town to perform Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for the umpteenth time on their road show tour. Led by Sir Selsdon Piddock, they find their way through snowstorms and battling divas to the grand finale to bring their audience a Merry Christmas Caper that will lighten hearts and warm the spirit.

Whidbey Island Community Orchestra, led by conductor Cynthia Morrow, will perform a Holiday concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 at St. Augustine’s-in-the-Woods on Honeymoon Bay Rd. in Freeland. Admission is free (but donations to support the orchestra are accepted). Bring a non-perishable food donation for the Food Bank to help those less fortunate this holiday season.

Join the Whidbey Community Chorus in celebrating the advent of Christmas at their annual holiday concerts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6 at the First United Methodist Church on SE Ireland Street, Oak Harbor. Admission is free, but donations are very gratefully accepted.

5K Run or a Walk?

You have two opportunities during the first weekend of December.

Head over to Camp Casey and Fort Casey State Park on Saturday, Dec. 5 for the Jingle Trail 5k Fun Run and Walk from 9 a.m. to noon. The race begins at 10 a.m. Be sure to join in the warm-up exercises with Harada Physical Therapy. Snacks will be available following the race.

On Sunday, Dec. 6, (with a check-in time at 9 a.m. and start-time at 10 a.m.), join the Elf Chase 5k Run and Walk at SW Parks and Recreation’s Community Park on Maxwelton Rd. Join in a morning of running, walking (dogs on leash are welcome), and elf chasing!

Do you enjoy shopping locally?

There are markets providing produce, baked goods, hot foods, crafted items and artwork. Visit Bayview Winter Market in Bayview Community Hall, Langley from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Dec. 19. And stop in the Hummingbird Farm–Oak Harbor Winter Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through Dec. 19. The market is located at the intersection of Zylstra and Ft. Nugent Roads in Oak Harbor, within Hummingbird Farm’s covered and snug greenhouse solariums. If weather permits, play a game of bocce ball, picnic and stroll about the Farm.

Plus, don’t forget the “Holiday Market on Pioneer” in Oak Harbor from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5—with arts, crafts, food and more. Shop for gifts made by local vendors. Watch for the special appearances from Santa.

Here come the parades!

Langley’s Holly Jolly Parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. Musicians, service and youth groups, pets, families and floats will march up and down First and Second St. Later in the afternoon, many businesses will be open late for a festive evening’s “Holiday Shop and Stroll,” as locals and visitors alike shop while enjoying Langley’s First Saturday Art Walk from 5 to 7 p.m.

Further up the island, the Greening of Coupeville Christmas Lights Parade, Tree Lighting and Carol Singing will begin at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. Santa arrives in Coupeville, bringing music and floats along with him. Be sure to stick around for Oak Harbor Yacht Club’s Christmas Boat Parade of Lights along the Harbor.

Enjoy music?

The Saratoga Orchestra’s Holiday Concert “Peter and the Wolf,” Prokofiev’s timeless classic, will be held at the Coupeville High School Commons from 1 – 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, in conjunction with the Greening of Coupeville. This is a free family friendly event! Participate in the Saratoga Orchestra’s fun and unique “Instrument Petting Zoo,” where the young and young-at-heart have a chance to get up-close- and-personal with the instruments of the orchestra.

Feel like some comedy and laughs? Try Comedy Island’s Holiday Improv Show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Black Box Theater, located at Langley’s Island County Fairgrounds. Exercise your funny bone as Tony Caldwell, Marian Myszkowski, Erick Westphal and LuAnn Wolfe make up scenes and sketches based on audience suggestions.

And all of that is just the first week in December! There’s more to come as we head into week two! So remember all the events that continue on through this week, but add in these new events.

Friday-Sunday, Dec. 11-13

‘Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime – Songs Of The Season will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11 at Langley United Methodist Church with Mathew Habib, tenor and Sheila Weidendorf, piano. Celebrate the season with this concert that includes selections from Handel’s “Messiah,” “He Shall Feed His Flock” and “Every Valley” and perennial Christmas favorites such as “I Wonder as I Wander” and “What Child is This?” Nothing heralds Christmastide quite like music!

Whidbey Island Dance Theatre’s dazzling production of “The Nutcracker” is an Island holiday favorite. Friday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 13 and Dec. 18 through Dec.19, with evening shows starting at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget; it’s all about “the excitement of watching twinkling lights rise ever higher on a magical tree. The thrill of being swept away by snowflakes to a faraway land. No holiday season is complete without a trip to the Land of Enchantment!”

Decorating sugar cookies and ginger bread is a tradition this time of year. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13, Sweet Mona’s Chocolate Boutique is holding Gingerbread and Sugar Cookie Decorating Classes. Reserve a space and be creative as you decorate a tasty treat.

Whidbey Institute Holiday Concert – “May Peace Be” is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. This musical celebration of the winter holidays and the return of the light features the Open Circle Community Choir, Randy Hudson and the Heggeness Valley Boys, poet Judith Adams and the SW5 A Cappella Group in Thomas Berry Hall.

Friday-Sunday, Dec. 18-20

Weekend three is here, Dec. 18 – 20, and brings us to the last week of events to share. It’s almost the Solstice Yule and Christmas and two concerts are scheduled.

Joyeux Noël – Celebrate a French Christmas with Island Consort will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at Langley United Methodist Church. Celebrate “un Noël Francais” with this concert of French early music, including instrumental works by Boismortier and Couperin, a trio sonata by Michel Corrette with flutist Kimberly Breilein, a Lully chaconne, a Campra cantate with soprano Fumi Tagata, and featuring Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël with the Island Consort Singers, conducted by Dr. Dianne Vars.

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts will present – Solstice Concert: Duo Flamenco – Eric and Encarnación – Flamenco En Navidad from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20. Poet Judith Adams will be a special guest. This is a one-of-a-kind holiday concert with Eric and Encarnación, the internationally renowned flamenco duo known for the deep connection and intense energy that permeates their live performances.

Gather together, reach out and welcome into your lives the many Holiday Happenings available this season on Whidbey Island.

Katy Shaner is the volunteer coordinator and manager of the Visitor Information Kiosk. Shaner writes the weekly “What’s Happening” and monthly “Gallery Watch” for the WLM “Flash.” For greater detail on each of the events mentioned in this article, go to the December weekly “What’s Happening.”

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