Continues thru Jan. 5

Santa’s Adventures on the Oklahoma River, actually, is not intended for the Red-Suited One. Families are invited to Oklahoma City’s Boathouse district near downtown for all kinds of activities. Children can join the Polar Paddle (ages 3-9) and kayak in the reflecting pool at the Chesapeake Boathouse or be part of the Holiday Bounce inflatables or hop aboard the SandRidge Santa Zip. Children (and brave adults) zip across a 200-foot zip line and drop a wrapped package into a chimney target along the way. There’s also the Candy Cane Rock Wall indoor rock wall climb, Rudolph’s Launch (a harnessed jump launcher that can send you up to 20 feet into the air) and snowfall at 6 p.m. every night. How’s that for a Christmas promise? Passes are $10 and $20, and can be purchased online at oklahomariverevents.org. The Boathouse District is located at 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., in the southwest corner of the junction of Interstates 40 and 235. Go online for more details.

Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 22-23

Tulsa Ballet’s dazzling pageant of magic and splendor continues its run at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Chapman Music Hall, but not for long. The Nutcracker, set to Tchaikovsky’s beloved composition and set in Paris of the 1920s, is a vision of Christmas Eve envisioned by Marcello Angelini, the ballet’s artistic director. With fresh choreography, a larger children’s cast and the return of a favorite character from the past – Mother Ginger – Tulsa Ballet’s The Nutcracker is every bit the classical tale of a child’s dreamtime adventure with the added polish and glamour unique to the renowned dance company and Tulsa. Tulsa Symphony joins Tulsa Ballet at the PAC, 101 E. Third St., for the final weekend of performances – 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Go to www.myticketoffice.com
 for tickets.

Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21-22

Many people enjoy a good mystery, and it has to be true with sports fans, too. So, as columnists wonder how such an awesome team as the Oklahoma City Barons hockey team can pick up loss after loss, you suddenly envision rows of furrowed brows behind puck-proof glass. Ending a three-week road trip with two losses to San Antonio Rampage on Dec. 8-9 and feeling another tumble on Dec. 11 to the Peoria Rivermen at home, the Barons went into the weekend ready to hand back-to-back defeats to the Rampage on Dec. 14 and 15 in OKC and to the Houston Aeros on Dec. 16 away from home.
What they got was pressure to turn around the season. The Barons play the Texas Stars at the Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, Oklahoma City. Games are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $13.75-$42.25. For more, go to www.okcbarons.com.
 

Ends Saturday, Dec. 22

When Living Arts of Tulsa began its Four Elements art exhibit show four years ago, the vibrant emergence of downtown’s Brady Arts District was still a glint of hope in the collective eye of entrepreneurs, artists and community leaders with plans for an area then largely comprised of parking lots and forgotten brick buildings. Sprinkled with art galleries, restaurants, historic music venues and a handful of specialty shops, the Brady was cool already. Since Living Arts moved to the district from its East Village locale, it has helped shape the culture. The Four Elements – with its expression in natural materials of clay, fiber, metal and wood by well-known artists – invites visitors to Brady Arts District to explore the possibilities of art and make it a part of their lives. Look for pieces by Cathryn Thomas, Sharyl Landis, Nancy Hamill, Ron Fleming and Linda Stilley to admire or take home. The work in the exhibit is for sale. Check it out at Living Arts, 307 E. Brady St., and learn why art is the best thing to happen to the district. www.livingarts.org.
 

Concludes Sunday, Dec. 23

Cirque du Soleil: Dralion concludes its run in Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., on Sunday. With inspired sets, characters and music, the event blending Eastern acrobatics and beauty with Western theatrics and bravado brings a spectacle of stunts and entertainment to a breathtaking close. Tickets are $35-$145, available at www.chesapeakearena.com. Go online for times and other details.
 

The Week

We’re headed straight into the biggest holiday weekend of the year for many of us, and that means holiday vacation time and people on the road to see relatives. Whether you’re en route to your destination or plan to stick closer to home, you can’t help but notice the hundreds of lighting displays in towns big and small. Why not take a drive to some of the state’s biggest holiday lights displays? It’s a great way to spend an evening with family and loved ones, and you might even get in a carol or two.

Festival of Light in Chickasha: South of Oklahoma City, the city of Chickasha dazzles visitors with a giant Christmas tree that can be seen for miles as well as animated light shows synchronized to music. Take a carriage ride, buy some sweet roasted nuts and other goodies, and you’ll want to wander the Shannon Springs Park grounds for hours. www.chickashafestivaloflight.com

Crystal Christmas in Woodward: If you’re destination is the Oklahoma Panhandle, head to the town of Woodward for a light display x 2 – Crystal Christmas is located on Crystal Beach Lake where the waters reflect two million lights against the big sky over high plains country. Look for special activities on family nights and Santa visits. www.woodwardok.com

Garden of Lights in Muskogee: Honor Heights Park in Muskogee did the impossible with its light display – it took an already beautiful garden-flecked park and made it even prettier with thousands of lights temporarily replacing the azalea blooms lost to winter. More than 120 acres of parkland is decorated, and you can drive or walk through the experience. www.cityofmuskogee.com

Kingfisher in Lights: You’ll want to take a horse-drawn carriage for this one. Kingfisher in Lights not only cheers the heart with its welcoming, playful displays, it melts it, too. This small town stop on the Chisholm Trail plugs in Oklahoma Park illuminating history and culture as well as a 100-year-old swinging bridge drenched in glow. www.kingfisherinlights.com

Ardmore Festival of Lights:  If you’re southbound on Interstate 35, steer that car onto Exit 33 and make your way to Ardmore Regional Park for the popular drive-thru display that serves up the sights as well as hot cocoa. chamber.ardmore.org

Holiday Lights Spectacular in Midwest City: As one of the largest lights displays in Oklahoma, Midwest City’s Holiday Lights Spectacular is aptly named. The 118-foot Christmas tree, carriage rides, a “dancing forest” display – all set in a quiet woods at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park – makes this feature one to see whether it’s just the two of you or with the little ones in tow. midwestcityok.org/holiday-lights

Christmas in the Park in Yukon: You can never have too many lights. And if you saw the display at the fabulous winter wonderland in lights in Yukon’s city parks, you’d agree. Look for this elaborate arrangement of scenes at Yukon City Park Freedom Trail and at Chisholm Trail Parks. www.cityofyukonok.gov

Rhema Christmas Lights in Broken Arrow: Visitors new to Rhema Bible Church’s campus will soon learn what residents have known for three decades – two million lights in a variety of colors and arrangements have a tendency to attract attention. The ever-growing display features amazing attractions all set to music along with concessions and Santa on stand-by for photos. The attraction is free, but Rhema accepts donations to make next year’s event even better. www.rhemabiblechurch.com

Christmas in the Park in Elk City: Along Historic Route 66, the westward drive takes you to Elk City, about 40 miles away from the Texas border, and Ackley Park where the trees are outlined in thousands of twinkling lights against the winter sky. And, there’s more: Catch a ride on the candy cane express train, a carriage, the double-decker bus or the centennial carousel and enjoy everything this attraction has to offer. visitelkcity.com
 

Sunday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m.

Everyone’s favorite psychedelic cowboys play a big show for a “small” audience. The Red Dirt Rangers Kids Christmas Show will take place Sunday afternoon at the Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. The Rangers get out the holiday songbook to play old Christmas favorites with a distinctive Okie twang and style that everybody in the family will enjoy. And because this one’s mainly for the kiddos, you can bet there will be plenty more fun and activities happening in OKC’s favorite listening room. Tickets are $5 each, available at www.bluedoorokc.com. Go online for more.
 

This week

Cirque du Soleil: Dralion continues its promenade through Oklahoma’s fine arts stages as it winds down its showing in Tulsa and prepares to open in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Chinese acrobatic arts and Eastern philosophy are the inspiration for this spectacular production of physical feats and artistry in the traditions of East with West. Dralion concludes its run at the BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave., on Sunday. Then, it opens for performances Dec. 19-23 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., Oklahoma City. Tickets for the Tulsa shows are $37-$147, available at www.bokcenter.com. OKC show tickets are $35-$145, available at www.chesapeakearena.com.
 

Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m.

As the best-selling solo piano artist today, Jim Brickman knows that much is expected of him. Behind hits like Valentine, The Gift and Simple Things as well as numerous collaborations with Martina McBride and Lady Antebellum among many others, fans look to the composer for a sound inspiring romance and lifting up the soul. During his On a Winter’s Night tour, which stops at Midwest City’s Rose State Performing Arts Theatre in Midwest City, we’ll get it all. The platinum-selling artists is still golden with tickets to his show running $32-$65. Go online at www.okcciviccenter.com for details or to purchase seats.
 

Opens Thursday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m.

Tinsel and cocoa aren’t for everyone. Take one Jeff Goode, a playwright who wrote The Eight: Reindeer Monologues about scandal … a sex scandal … in the North Pole. The darkly comic play gets stage time from Tulsa’s Theatre Pops, which presents evidence and the testimony from Santa’s flying reindeer, each with a tale to tell that could spell disaster for Saint Nick. With a take on media sensationalism and faux celebrity-dom, The Eight roasts Christmas with near the aplomb of a Dean Martin or a Bob Hope – wit and insult lavishly wreathed tongue-in-cheek upon a revered institution. Or maybe that’s just how we remember it. Tickets are $15 each. The show runs Dec. 13-16 and 20-23 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Liddy Doenges Theatre, 110 E. Second St. For tickets, go to www.myticketoffice.com.