5 fun things to do this mid-December weekend

See the lights, take in a play or concert and go skating

Image | Carolyn Aiken's house in Warren Grove, PEI

Caption: See inside four beautifully decorated Charlottteown-area homes Saturday as part of a fundraising house tour. (warrengrovegarden.blogspot.ca)

Take a break from Christmas decorating and shopping to enjoy some Islander entertainment, which is so plentiful this time of year.
Here are a few suggestions.

1. Christmas House Tour

Grab a friend and check out the interiors of four beautifully decorated homes in Warren Grove, Lewis Point, Charlottetown and Stratford on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Carolyn Aiken's Warren Grove home by itself is worth the price of the tour — she's gardener and avid antique collector and decorates with a sophisticated, shabby chic style. Check out her blog at warrengrovegarden.blogspot.ca(external link) for a taste of what you'll see.
The event is a fundraiser for Fitzroy Centre, a support centre for adults with mental health challenges.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at Fitzroy Centre — it opens Saturday at 8 a.m.
More information on the tour's Facebook page(external link).

2. Le Trio BBQ

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Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside, P.E.I., is staging a bilingual holiday performance featuring nine musicians, including Le Trio BBQ from Quebec and the all-female barbershop quartet VoxA4 on back vocals. The groups are on a Canada 150-sponsored tour of theatres in the region.
They'll play Christmas classics in a fun, upbeat "new old-fashioned way," the theatre's website(external link) states, with a mixture of gypsy and Latin rhythms and a bit of rock 'n' roll.
Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased here(external link).

3. Concert in Georgetown

Image | Kendall Docherty, left, and Don Fraser

Caption: Kendall Docherty, left, and Don Fraser are part of the ensemble putting on Home for the Holidays in Georgetown and Summerside. (Angela Walker/CBC)

Also Saturday night at 7:30, the King's Playhouse in Georgetown, P.E.I, presents Home for the Holidays, a concert featuring Kendall Docherty, Catherine O'Brien and Caroline Bernard singing classic and contemporary holiday favourites backed up by The Reindeer Express (Deryl Gallant, Alan White, Don Fraser and Perry Williams).
"The icing on this special Christmas cake will be the reading of well-known Island entertainer, Marlane O'Brien, featuring Island Christmas stories," the event's Facebook page(external link) states.
This show promises to be "as warm and cozy as a good glass of egg-nog in front of a crackling fireplace."
Tickets are $23.48 and can be purchased here(external link).
If you miss it this week, Home for the Holidays will play again at Summerside's Harbourfront Theatre(external link) next Friday.

4. Check out the lights

Image | Christmas lights

Caption: Take a drive to Johnston's River to check out an outdoor sequenced Christmas light show. (Gary's Christmas sequenced lights and music show/Facebook)

Check out the Christmas lights set to music at Gary Woodhouse's home at 19 Campbell Rd. in Johnston's River, P.E.I. — just a 10-minute drive from Charlottetown. Take a left off the Hillsborough Bridge to Stratford and go through Mermaid.
The light displays flash in sequence with music — tune into 90.1 fm on your vehicle's radio.
The show runs until Dec. 31 — from to 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and every other night until until 10 p.m.
"Bring the family and enjoy the show free of charge but donations in aid of Santa's Angels are gratefully accepted," the event's Facebook page(external link) states.

5. Go skating

Image | kitchener-waterloo skating club

Caption: There's a free skate Sunday at Credit Union Place in Summerside from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Melanie Ferrier/CBC)

Get your skates sharpened for a free Sunday skate from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Summerside's Credit Union Place.
It's sponsored by Go!PEI to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, and promises music and hot beverages.
More info on the event's Facebook page here.(external link)