[What follows is one of the many merry articles in the Mercury's Winter Guide 2025. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you're feeling generous this holiday season, support us here.—eds.]
During the holiday months, Christmas overwhelms all things. But Portland still maintains a few weird and lovely events that are just FUN to experience. So, here’s a list of trads and rads—you be the classifier. Some are Christmas, some are just wholesome, some are pointing out that the Nativity is actually a situation of alien visitation. Enjoy!
Rebound Kiki Ball Three-Year AnniversaryAt its heart, ball culture is about family, so it seems like a wonderful synergy that Rebound PDX should be honoring the roots of ballroom at its three-year anniversary Rebound Kiki Ball. With a theme of “remember the time,” all categories of competition are tasked with harkening back to moments from previous balls—”whether it’s an homage to a legend, an iconic moment, or a Black/queer cultural reference reimagined in your own unique way,” writes local ball culture figure Daniel Giron. It sounds like a beautiful way to remember founders of the form, local inspirations, and chosen community. (Stage 772, 722 SE 10th, Fri Nov 21, 9 pm, $23.18, tickets and info at reboundpdx.com, 21+)
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Stirred Thanksgiving at Rum Club
Whether you Thanksgiving’d, Friendsgiving’d, and/or Stranger Thingsgiving’d, you’ve got some stuff to talk about or silently drink about. In keeping with their longtime practice, Southeast Portland cocktail bar Rum Club will be open and serving up an “all digestive-y menu featuring brown liquor, bitters, and Amari.” Their holiday drink menu of hot buttered rum, mulled wine, and egg nog variant the Tom & Jerry kicks off November 21, so even if you have to hang sober with your fam (BORING) there’s plenty of time to celebrate seasonal hard nog. (Rum Club, 720 SE Sandy, Thurs Nov27, 8 pm-1 am, 21+)
Grinch SkateIce skaters of all ages are invited to join America’s favorite weird li’l guy at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink for an event aptly titled, “Skate with the Grinch and Cindy and Friends.” The chain-store-free Lloyd Center is now one of Portland’s premier holiday shopping locations, especially for customers hoping to buy locally. A portion of each skate fee from this event will benefit the Salvation Army. Don’t forget your costume! (Lloyd Center, 2201 Lloyd Center, Sat Nov 29, 2-4 pm, holiday skate admission $20, skate rental $5, more info at lloydcenter.com, all ages)
A Christmas CarolIn 2013, Portland Playhouse laid claim to the area’s best staging of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and they never really let up. In the company’s theater—built in the bones of a former neighborhood church—the timeless story of a miserable miser who learns the True Meaning of Christmas unfolds with original songs and lyrics by Rick Lombardo and Anna Lackaff. This year’s set-up has a lot of spark, as local theater force La’Tevin Alexander takes a turn at the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. (This alone is a reason to go!) Plus, the production’s new music director DeReau K. Farrar has promised some changes to orchestrations and instruments, keeping an already great performance lively and vibrant. (Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott, Nov 29-Dec 31, $59.95, Arts for All and CARE tickets available, tickets and info at portlandplayhouse.org, all ages)
View this post on InstagramCirque Nutcracker
It won’t just be sugarplums dancing at Oregon Symphony’s performance of this iconic ballet score. This year, the symphony’s famed classical musicians have partnered with acrobatics from Troupe Vertigo for a performance dubbed Cirque Nutcracker. Attendees can expect a series of fantastic physical feats accompanied by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s memorable earworms. (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Nov 29-Nov 30, $35 and up, tickets and info at oregonsymphony.org, all ages)
A John Waters ChristmasThe seasonal sojourns of America’s favorite cult movie maker, sicko author, and filth elder John Waters have always been fun—he’s funny, irreverent, and unexpected. But during the Trump administration’s first run, Waters’ holiday stand-up shows became sort of beautiful and sustaining. Like, he’s still a pervert. But there’s something about someone shining—so brightly—their filthy light upon the world that gets at the holiday spirit. (Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, Tues Dec 2, 8 pm, SOLD OUT, aladdin-theater.com, 21+)
Krampuslauf PDX
For 16 years, fine, fierce, festive folks have been dressing up like half-goat half-demon monsters from Alpine folklore and marching down SE Hawthorne in procession. The story of Krampus changes with different cultures, but the general gist is this old-world beast knows if you’ve been bad and is going to remind you of it somehow. In practice, Krampuslauf means a lot of people wearing horns and carousing. (Meet up at Sewell Crest Park, SE 31st and SE Market, Fri Dec 5, sunset, FREE, all ages)
George Balanchine’s The NutcrackerIf you can’t tell a plié from a pirouette, the name George Balanchine might not mean much. But the famed choreographer held court for nearly 30 years in New York City, establishing the iconic steps and positions that define traditional ballet to this day. His legacy lives on in Portland as the Oregon Ballet Theatre presents The Nutcracker. Attendees can expect to see what makes this ballet so timeless, as a trained troupe of dancers translate the whimsy and intrigue of a young girl’s visit to a magical kingdom into a stunning wintertime display. (Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay, Dec 5-Dec 24, $35 and up, tickets and info at portland5.com, all ages)
Festivale Cool NutzLocal hip-hop legend Cool Nutz always finds ways to give back to his community, and the second year of Festivale Cool Nutz is just that—a gift. Curated every year by the icon himself, the two night line-up at Alberta Street Pub boasts a baller bill of local talent. Cool Nutz opens the fest on Friday, headlining a bill of Mikey Vegaz, Maniac Lok, Northside Tego, and DJ Fatboy on the 1s and 2s. Saturday night sees Vary, DBOI LTD, King Wess, and Bobby Barrz hit the stage, with DJ Danny Merkury holding it all together. Like music columnist Jenni Moore wrote about the first year, “you had me at Festivale Cool Nutz.” (Alberta Street Pub, 1036 NE Alberta, Dec 12-Dec 13, 10 pm, tickets and info, 21+)
Ntvty Sculpture GardenFrom 2010-2020, Matt Henderson’s Nativity installations were an annual must-see for art scene weirdos. It was their own little Peacock Lane without the mundane, popping up in a now-defunct artistic space called Xhurch. Henderson is now director of Virtua Gallery in Lloyd Center Mall and has continued to call in holy symbols of virtual design and alien visitations with Virtua’s Ntvty sculpture gardens—lighting up the EOY dark days with technology-influenced, neon and blacklight aesthetic celebration. Come one, come all—behold the miracle of this creation. (Virtua Gallery, 2201 Lloyd Center, Dec 21-Jan 4, hours and info at virtua.gallery, all ages)
A sculpture from a previous Ntvty Sculpture Garden. Matt Handerson
The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday ShowAfter eight years of extravagant holiday shows from drag queen icon besties Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme, I think it’s time to ask: Is this just The Nutcracker now? Do we still need The Nutcracker? In this theatrical tradition, the pair interview sentient snacks before being kidnapped and held for ransom by holiday traditions. Imagine if that lay on the shoulders of a junior high drama department. Well, it’s not a canon work yet; it changes every year. Don’t miss the singing-dancing sweetness of these two very different queens serving Christmas—because I’ll be telling your kids this is The Nutcracker. (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Mon Dec 22, 7 pm, $54.50+, portland5.com, all ages)
A Charlie Brown ChristmasCharlie Brown didn’t have a SAD lamp to brighten his winter nights, but he’s been warming the hearts of audiences everywhere in the 60 years since the Peanuts animated special first graced our TV screens. In this staged adaptation, Charlie Brown attempts to enliven the holidays with a toothpick-thin Christmas tree and a plan to stage a holiday pageant starring Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Theatregoers beware, no one will believe that’s just an icicle dripping down your cheeks when you reach the finale of this holiday classic. (Keller Auditorium, 222 Southwest Clay, Sun Dec 27, 3 pm, $45.68-$97.83, tickets and info at portland5.com, all ages)
