Festivals, concerts, plays and more, there are lots of events in the area to keep your calendar booked.
Cirque Joyeux [Through Jan. 4]
Cirque Joyeux Dinner and Show guests will enjoy a holiday buffet dinner and a one-hour Christmas spectacular featuring soaring acrobatics, gravity defying feats, amazing aerialists, mesmerizing illusions, hilarious comedy and much more. New this year are matinée performances on select afternoons at a lower cost. Dinner is not served at the matinées.
6:30 p.m. Jan. 1-4; 3:30 p.m. Dec. 30-31; Moody Gardens Convention Center, 7 Hope Blvd., Galveston; www.moodychristmasshow.com
Magical Winter Lights [Through Jan. 6]
The festival will feature eight themed sections, a Holiday Market Square, nightly acrobatic performances, authentic arts and crafts created by Chinese artisans, amusement rides and games, live entertainment and an expanded dinosaur exhibit complete with dinosaur rides.
5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 6; Gulf Greyhound Park, 1000 FM 2004, La Marque; www.magicalwinterlights.com
Ice Land: Pole to Pole [Through Jan. 6]
A skilled team of master ice carvers has taken 2 million pounds of ice to create a festive journey from the North to South Pole. See polar bears, penguins, humpback whales, snowy owls, walrus and, of course, reindeer. Glide down the giant glacier slide and enjoy a drink inside an igloo at Shiver’s Ice Bar.
Through Jan. 6; Moody Gardens, 1 Hope Blvd., Galveston; 800.582.4673 or www.moodygardens.com
Festival of Lights [Through Jan. 6]
As one of the largest holiday celebrations in the region, Festival of Lights has become a holiday tradition for families and groups alike. Enjoy more than 1 million lights within 100 sound-enhanced animated light displays and nightly live entertainment.
Through Jan. 6, Moody Gardens, 1 Hope Blvd., Galveston, 800.582.4673 or www.moodygardens.com
Grand birthday [Jan. 3]
The Grand 1894 Opera House will celebrate its 124th birthday with an open house featuring complimentary tours of the theater, cake and refreshments.
Noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 3, The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; 409.765.1894 or www.thegrand.com
12th Night of Christmas [Jan. 6]
Celebrate the 12th Night of Christmas at Moody Mansion with King Cake, wassail and music in the traditional finale to the Christmas season.
6 p.m. Jan. 6; Moody Mansion, 2618 Broadway, Galveston; www.moodymansion.org
Galveston Symphony Orchestra [Jan. 6]
Conducted by Trond Saeverud, this ensemble of highly skilled amateur and professional musicians will perform a New Year Concert featuring Russian capriccios.
7 p.m. Jan. 6; The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; www.galvestonsymphony.org
‘Verdict’ [Jan. 11-27]
In this Agatha Christie play, a popular college professor with an invalid wife and an attractive live-in cousin comes under police suspicion when his spouse dies under mysterious circumstances. The question is not who did it, but who is going to pay for the crime?
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays from Jan. 11-27; Clear Creek Community Theatre, 18091 Upper Bay Road, Nassau Bay; 281.335.5228 or clearcreekcommunitytheatre.com
‘The Other Mozart’ [Jan. 12]
Sylvia Milo’s award-winning drama is the true, untold story of Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Amadeus. She was a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer, who performed throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work and her story faded away, lost to history.
8 p.m. Jan. 12; The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; 409.765.1894 or www.thegrand.com

Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Yaga’s Chili Quest & Beer Fest [Jan. 19]
The 10th annual festival spices up downtown Galveston with a cook-off, beer fest, live music, vendors, 5K fun run, Strand merchant walk-about and various contests.
Jan. 19; Saengerfest Park, 2300 Strand, Galveston; www.yagaschiliquest.com
ArtWalk [Jan. 19]
Stroll the streets of downtown Galveston and check out works by local artists and artisans in a wide variety of media.
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 19; Galveston Arts Center, 2127 Strand, and other galleries, Galveston; www.contemporaryartgalveston.org
Nature Walk-About [Jan. 19]
Start the new year with nature and family-friendly outdoor activities at the Galveston Island State Park. During this free event, kids will receive Prairie Passports they can get stamped for each activity they do. Face painting, making and throwing seed balls, arts and crafts, mini monsters, skins and skulls, tracks and scat, the roll of fire, and a prairie walk-about are just a few of the activities.
8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Galveston Island State Park, 14901 FM 3005, Galveston; 409.737.1222 or www.texasstateparks.org
The Oak Ridge Boys [Jan. 19-20]
Few country music groups have had the enduring popularity, cultural significance or crossover success of The Oak Ridge Boys. The 1981 stratospheric rise of “Elvira” to the top of the country and pop charts brought the group one of five Grammy Awards, went double-platinum and cemented The Oak Ridge Boys in country music history.
7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 and 3 p.m. Jan. 20; The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; 409.765.1894 or www.thegrand.com
Serious Fun: ‘Diary of a Worm, a Spider and a Fly’ [Jan. 24]
Dallas Children’s Theatre presents “Diary of a Worm, a Spider and a Fly,” a rock-n-roll romp in a bug’s world, capturing all the droll humor and whimsy of the wildly popular books. Recommended for grades kindergarten and up.
10 a.m. Jan. 24; The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; 409.765.1894 or www.thegrand.com
‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ [Jan. 24 to Feb. 10]
Charles Schulz’s beloved comic comes to life in this classic musical.
8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays from Jan. 24 to Feb. 10; College of the Mainland Community Theatre, 1200 Amburn Road, Texas City; 409.933.8345 or www.com.edu
WORKSHOP: WRITE A GREAT BIO [Jan. 26]
If you sell, teach or judge creative endeavors — painting, sculpting, photography, crafts — you need a bio for marketing yourself in print and online. Journalist and marketing specialist Mary Vinnedge will teach “The Write Stuff: Create Your Bio” at a Galveston Art League workshop. Participants will learn do’s and don’ts, draft a bio and then Vinnedge will edit it. Bring a laptop or pen/pencil and lined paper.
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 26; Galveston Art League, 2117A Postoffice St., Galveston; gallery2117@gmail.com or GalvestonArtLeague.com/workshops
‘Something Rotten’ [Jan. 26]
Set in 1595, this hilarious Broadway smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s first musical.
3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 26; The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., Galveston; 409.765.1894 or www.thegrand.com
In case of cancellations or changes to events, check with venues for updates. To submit an event, send pertinent information to calendar@coastmonthly.com.
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