Seizin’ the season

This story has been updated to correct certain contact and location information. 

Like an out-of-control sleigh, careening through the porcelain Christmas village that is the last month of the year, the blitzkrieg of holiday happenings continues to assail us with holiday cheer. For those who can’t get enough of the Noel season, there appears to be no end to the festivities taking place in the Mesilla Valley. What follows is yet another abbreviated breakdown of weekly offerings.

Friday kicks it all off with a smorgasbord of events, beginning with Luminarias Light Up the Desert at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park, from 5-7:30 p.m., which is just what it sounds like: luminarias lining pathways under the bright canopy of stars. For more information, call 575-524-3334. Across town, the Las Cruces Railroad Museum hosts Holiday at the Depot from 5-8 p.m., with festive displays, lots of lights, and a visit with the jolly dude from up north. More information at 575-528-3444. Meanwhile, a few miles north (though not nearly that far), Truth or Consequences’ Old Fashioned Christmas brings back traditional family fun from 6-9 p.m. Get more information at TorCMainstreet.org.

Musically, Friday has got you covered, too, with The Casual Fridays Rockin’ Holiday Extravaganza, starting at 7 p.m. at Pecan Grill and Brewery. Find out more by calling 575-521-1099. Or you could sashay on down the road to El Paso to catch A Drag Queen Christmas, starting at 8 p.m. at the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Center. More information at 915-231-1100.

Performances also abound, as Borderlands Ballet presents its version of The Nutcracker at 7 p.m. Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday, at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts, 1000 E. University Avenue. Find out more at 575-525-5670. For even more family entertainment, Toad Hall Theater will present A Child’s Christmas in Wales at 7 p.m., Friday night, and 2 p.m. Saturday, at the First Christian Church Chapel Theater. More information at KMForestal@yahoo.com

On Saturday, the fun continues with La Posada Winter Celebration – a tradition that goes back centuries with its message of hope and redemption – from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church. Call 575-522-7119 for more information. Over at the old Doña Ana Courthouse on Amador, the folks at Southwest Expeditions present Ghosts of Christmas Past… An Ebenezer Scrooge Evening, bringing Dickens’ classic tale to life right before your eyes, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Info at 877-808-6877. Or you can drive up to the lake for the spectacularly beautiful Luminaria Beachwalk, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Elephant Butte Lake State Park. Find out more by calling 520-471-0134.

Sunday continues the holiday onslaught with Mesilla Valley Chorale’s Holiday Concert Someday at Christmas, featuring all of your favorite carols and tunes, starting at 3 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre. More information at 575-541-2290. Also beginning Sunday, you can check out the Taylor Family Collection of Nacimiento’s/Nativities, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Reynolds Store Visitor Center on the Mesilla Plaza. The display runs Wednesday through Sunday until January 5 and features dozens of the holiday displays from all corners of the globe. Find out more at 575-202-1638.

And as if all of that weren’t enough for one week, you’ll have yet another opportunity to enjoy luminarias on Tuesday, December 17, when Iluminado Las Montañas lights up the night from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Dripping Springs Visitor Center. Find out more at 575-522-1219.