Get cracking
Columbia Dance presents its Fort Vancouver history-inspired “Nutcracker” with beavers fighting fur trappers, dancing wapato plants and salmon swimming upstream. Showtimes are 6 p.m. Friday (sensory-friendly) and 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Buy tickets, $20 to $25, at box-office@columbiadance.org or call 360-737-1922. Northwest Performing Arts Alliance and Riverside Performing Arts present “A Tale of the Nutcracker” at noon and 5 p.m. Saturday at Fort Vancouver High School, 5700 E. 18th St., Vancouver. This 1950s-themed production blends acrobatics, classical ballet, jazz and tap with music by Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington. Tickets are $27.85 to $37.85 at northwestpaa.org/performances.
God bless us, every one
Ekklesia Theatre presents “Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big Vancouver Christmas Show” at North Creek Church, aka The Coffee Church, at 10311 N.E. Highway 99, Vancouver. This cheeky, family-friendly retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” features five actors playing more than 30 characters, with plenty of laughs and local references. The final two shows are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets, $15, are available at ekklesiatheatre.com/tickets.
Silver bells
Salmon Creek United Methodist Church, 12217 N.E. Highway 99, Vancouver, will host Portland’s Bells of the Cascades for the handbell choir’s “The Spirit of the Season” concert from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Hear new arrangements of familiar Christmas songs and other inspiring pieces. Tickets are available at the door. Adults are $20, students are $5 and children younger than 7 are free. Bring food or personal care items for Esther’s Pantry to receive a $5 discount on adult admission. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Learn more at bellsofthecascades.org.
Hearts and hands
The Clark County Historical Museum will host the Winter Native Art Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1511 Main St., Vancouver. The event will feature 16 Northwest Indigenous artists and vendors. Explore and purchase unique, handcrafted items, including arts, crafts, jewelry and other Indigenous-made goods. Native American flutist Sherrie Davis Morningstar will perform. The museum will be open and free to the public during the event. Visit www.cchmuseum.org or call 360-993-5679.
