Classical music performances; arts and crafts, and collectibles shows; and various holiday festivities and staged plays are among highlighted activities happening over the first weekend of December in the San Antonio area.

La Cantera holiday tree lighting

La Cantera Resort & Spa will hold its annual holiday tree lighting ceremony, welcoming Santa Claus, the Grinch and friends. Guests will enjoy a Vegas-style revue, live jazz music, refreshments, kids’ activities and photos with Santa. Proceeds will benefit the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas.

  • Nov. 30, 7-10:30 p.m.
  • Admission: $10 (adults), $5 (children)
  • 16641 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio
  • www.lacanteraresort.com

‘Las Nuevas Tamaleras’

A local comedy, “Las Nuevas Tamaleras” is about three women who try to make tamales for the first time while the spirits of two experienced “tamaleras” appear to compete with the trio to see who makes the perfect tamales.

  • Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 2, 5 and 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 3, 2:30 and 5 p.m.
  • Tickets: $23-$28
  • Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., San Antonio
  • https://tinyurl.com/4bh6xn8s

Americana Indian Show

Americana Indian Show attendees will get to shoot for authentic Native American jewelry and arts from several Native American artists around the Southwest U.S.

San Antonio Philharmonic concert



The San Antonio Philharmonic will present works by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Australian-British conductor Sarah Ioannides, who has led orchestras on six continents, will conduct the philharmonic. Pianist Gabriela Martinez, a semifinalist and jury award winner at the 12th Van Cliburn Piano Competition in 2005, will perform the Rachmaninoff concerto.

  • Dec. 1-2, 7:30 p.m.
  • Tickets: $35-$75 (adults), $10 (students)
  • First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 515 McCullough Ave., San Antonio
  • www.saphil.org

‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story’

Public Theater of San Antonio will present “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story,” with spoken word and American Sign Language performances of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale. Opening night activities include a champagne toast; there also will be “pay-what-you-will” shows.

  • Dec. 1-17; 7:30 p.m. (Fri.-Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sun.)
  • Tickets: $20-$50
  • 800 W. Ashby Place, San Antonio
  • www.thepublicsa.org
Winterfest

Baptist Health System will present a community festival with 50,000 pounds of snow, performances by area schools and troupes, photos with Santa Claus, a carnival, kids’ activities, refreshments, and holiday shopping opportunities. Some proceeds will benefit Brighton Center, a local nonprofit that serves children with disabilities and delays and their families.
  • Dec. 2, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
  • North Central Baptist Hospital, 520 Madison Oak Drive, San Antonio
  • Admission: $5-$10
  • www.winterfestivalsa.com

Pet adoptions

Spay-Neuter-Inject-Protect San Antonio will offer pet adoption opportunities.

Photos with The Grinch



Real estate agent Anthony White and his firm, The Perfect Team, will offer a chance for local children to take a free photo with The Grinch. Visitors may also enjoy light refreshments and are invited to donate a new, unwrapped toy for St. PJ's Children's Home in San Antonio.

Shavano Park holiday event

Shavano Park residents are invited to the city’s holiday festival, which will include snow, kids’ activities, shopping opportunities, a cookie contest, photos with Santa Claus, crafts and performances by Blattman Elementary School students. A tree-lighting ceremony will wrap up the day.

Photos and crafts with Santa Claus

The Hollywood Park Community Association will present an event featuring photo opportunities and craft-making with Santa Claus. Guests may also enjoy refreshments.

  • Dec. 2, 9-11 a.m.
  • Free admission
  • Memorial Park, Sunway and Mecca drives, Hollywood Park
  • www.hpcatx.com

San Antonio Collectors Expo

Several dealers will be selling, buying and trading sports and nonsports trading cards, comic books, toys and other memorabilia.

  • Dec. 2-3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Admission: $10 day pass, $15 weekend pass
  • San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, 901 N. Loop 1604 W., San Antonio
  • www.sacollectorsexpo.com

Art show and sale



Musical Bridges Around the World Art Gallery will host an opening event for “Tesoros,” a show and sale featuring small paintings, functional and sculptural ceramics, traditional jewelry, wearable sculptures, and other unique objects created by artists from around San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. The opening reception will include music and free refreshments. Advance registration is required. The exhibition will be viewable by appointment only during weekdays through Feb. 16.

Handel’s ‘Messiah’

The San Antonio Mastersingers will join the San Antonio Philharmonic in a performance of Handel’s “Messiah.”

Chamber music concert

Agarita, a local chamber ensemble that recently set up its new headquarters in Southtown, will bring its mobile concert hall—called the Humble Hall—to the With Museum to perform as part of the museum’s annual holiday market. Young instrumentalists with the local Tuesday Musical Club will open for Agarita.

Cowboy Christmas

The Briscoe Western Art Museum will have Cowboy Santa on hand for an event that will include opportunities for visitors to snap pictures with Cowboy Santa. There will also be a “12 Days of Christmas” scavenger hunt, Christmas crafts and a stroll through the museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden.

  • Dec. 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
  • Free (Bexar County residents), regular museum admission (nonresidents)
  • 210 W. Market St., San Antonio
  • www.briscoemuseum.org