It's the first weekend in December, and there's a lot happening in the Queen City to keep folks busy. There's a performance by a Grammy-nominated Charlotte native. A holiday classic on stage, a dog parade and the touring company of a show that's currently on Broadway. Joining Gwendolyn Glenn to talk about these and other arts and entertainment events is Tim Miner, co-founder of Charlotte is Creative.
Gwendolyn Glenn: Welcome, Tim.
Tim Miner: Hi, Gwen.
Glenn: So let's start with a bit of music from the Christmas classic, "The Nutcracker." Tim, tell us where The Nutcracker will be on stage here and a bit about it?
Miner: So it's a Charlotte Ballet production and people will experience the music of Tchaikovsky performed live by the Charlotte Symphony. And the choreography, as always, is by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. And there are so many performances of "The Nutcracker" in Charlotte. But this is an absolute classic.
Glenn: And how long will this show run?
Miner: The Charlotte Ballet's Nutcracker begins Friday and it runs through the 23rd of December. And it's going to be performed at Belk Theater, at Blumenthal Performing Arts.
Glenn: Great. So plenty of opportunities to catch some performances there. Another musical performance this weekend is "Jersey Boys," the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. And probably a lot of younger listeners haven't heard of them, but they recorded major hits like this one, "Big Girls Don't Cry."
Miner: Well, that's an absolute classic for the group. Luckily, I had a dad who played this music for me, so I grew up really into it. But as for the musical "Jersey Boys," it's in town this weekend at Oven's Auditorium. And as the story goes, they were just four guys from Jersey that hit it big. So the musical follows the ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations that the guys had to endure on their way to stardom. And being in the starlight.
Glenn: This should be a great show in terms of the music, too, because it will feature, of course, many of their top 10 hits like "Sherry" and "December, Oh What A Night." So Tim, how many shows when "Jersey Boys" kicks off tomorrow night?
Miner: There'll be several performances on Saturday and again on Sunday.
Glenn: OK. And moving on, there's something called “Poptopia Local Artisan Pop-up Shop.” What's happening there?
Miner: So, you know, we had Cyber Monday earlier this week. This is a great place to get local holiday gifts. It's at 101 North Tryon St., and it's a local market that's managed by Jordan Dollard. You'll know her by Front Porch Sundays, which is another local market that happens throughout the year. And lots of great small gifts for the holidays by artisans like Jordan McDowell Illustration, CLT Boutique, CLT Find, Johnny Fly and Michael Lopez designs and more. And it'll actually be taking place through Saturday.
Glenn: Also on Saturday for all of the animal lovers out there, there is an event called Reindog Paradeat the Mistletoe Market. And I take it, it involves dogs?
Miner: Absolutely. So there's a lot going on at the Mistletoe Market. This is their second year that they're doing it up at Camp North End. But the highlight has got to be the dog parade, where people get their pets all dressed up, all gussied up and ready to go out. If you have a dog that loves people and loves to get gussied up, this is the event. And they have lots of prizes. My favorite one is the Best Holiday Card, which is for dogs and their owners that have matching outfits. There's also one for pop culture -- so this is a dog that really is on the cutting edge of haute couture.
Glenn: Sounds like a lot of fun. And then finally Thursday night, there's a big hip hop concert in town featuring Charlotte native DaBaby. Where's he going to be performing?
Miner: So DaBaby will be performing some of his smash hits like Suge, BOP, Baby Sitter and more at Power 98’s Winter Block Party. So that's tonight at Bojangles' Coliseum. Meg Thee Stallion is also performing and she's been named a 2020 hip hop artist to watch by Billboard. So if you want to see some of the biggest hip-hop acts out there this year, this is a show you want to be at.
Glenn: Sounds like it. Thanks, Tim, for joining us on this edition of Weekend In Entertainment.
Miner: Thanks, Gwen.
Glenn: Tim Miner is the co-founder of Charlotte is Creative.
