Events
1Was there any doubt that the big Christmas tree would make it to Sundance Square in time for the big lighting and the Chesapeake Energy Parade of Lights? The parade has been extended by three blocks this year, so maybe it won't feel quite so crowded. Three food and beverage areas will be open two hours prior to the parade.
6 p.m. Friday. Downtown Fort Worth (begins at Throckmorton and Belknap streets). Free. www.fortworthparadeoflights.org
2The Radio City Christmas Spectacular returns, moving with the kind of synchronicity that every dance company in the world should envy. Of course, the Rockettes really just have to high-kick in unison. But it's still mighty impressive.
Friday through Dec. 8. Verizon Theater at Grand Prairie. $19.95-$125. 800-745-3000; www.ticketmaster.com
3The Red-Headed Stranger in the cozy setting of the Arlington Music Hall? Yep, Willie Nelson headlines the venerable country-music venue Friday night. It doesn't get much more Texas than this.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Arlington Music Hall, 224 N. Center St., Arlington. $75-$90. 817-226-4400; www.arlingtonmusichall.com
4Canadian prog-rock fans, rejoice. Not only was your favorite band, Rush, nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, but it's still on the road putting on one of the best shows in the business. Closer to the heart, indeed.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Lane, Dallas. $46.50-$126.50. 800-745-3000; www.ticketmaster.com
Local arts
5It's not the holidays without seeing It's a Wonderful Life at least once. Now, Addison's WaterTower Theatre is presenting It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, a re-enactment of the beloved Christmas story as set in a 1940s radio studio. Every time a bell rings, a stage manager is calling "places!" That the way it goes?
Saturday through Dec. 16. WaterTower Theatre, 15650 Addison Road, Addison. $20-$40. 972-450-6232; www.watertowertheater.org
6The guys behind Reduced Shakespeare Company have taken on Shakespeare, American history, great movies, sports and the Bible with their "(Abridged)" shows, so why not Christmas and the holidays? Which is exactly what they will do with The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged).
Wednesday through Dec. 2. McDavid Studio, 301 E. Fifth St., Fort Worth. $27.50-$38.50. 817-212-4280; www.basshall.com
7The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday show, "Home for the Holidays," has music, Santa, a family sing-along, a bell choir and some fake, foamy snow at the end. Gotta love it.
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Bass Hall, Fort Worth. $27-$79. 817-665-6000; www.fwsymphony.org
Family
8Prairie Lights 2012 in Grand Prairie, powered by Gexa Energy, features a two-mile driving path with 4 million lights. Hundreds of displays line the path and arch over it. Halfway through the drive, you can get out of your car for a stop at Holiday Village, where you will find food, gifts, Santa and two Holiday Magic attractions: the Light Show Theater ($3-$5) and the Lighted Walk-Through Forest ($2-$3). Combo passes are $4-$7. The show's finale is billed as the "world's largest" light tunnel. Allow an extra hour for the drive on weekends, when it's extra-busy.
6-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 6-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 6-10 p.m. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Through Dec. 31 at Lynn Creek Park, 5700 Lake Ridge Parkway, Grand Prairie. 817-467-2104. Cars are $20-$30; limos are $50-$55; shuttle vans/buses (9-30 people) are $45-$50; commercial buses (31 or more people) are $75-$80. www.prairielights.org
9Among the children's productions beginning this week and running through the holidays are A Snow White Christmas, at Artisan Center Theater in Hurst, in which Santa appears onstage with news that the Wicked Queen hates Christmas and is planning to trick Snow White because she brings the winter snow, and Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells at Dallas Children's Theater, which features the sassy first-grader and her friends in a humorous and joyous holiday tale.
Artie's Playhouse show through Dec. 22: 10 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 19-20 and Dec. 22; 12:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 21. $5. Artisan Center Theater Belaire Plaza, 420 E. Pipeline Road, Hurst. 817-284-1200; www.artisanct.com
DCT show through Dec. 22: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Dec. 21, 1:30 & 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 1:30 p.m. Dec. 18-20. $14-$27. Dallas Children's Theater, 5938 Skillman St., Dallas. 214-740-0051; www.dct.org
10Gift of Lights at Texas Motor Speedway is a holiday show featuring more than 2 million LED lights in more than 600 displays. Tickets are available at the gate or at Walgreens locations. The event benefits Goodwill and the Tarrant Area Food Bank.
Through Jan. 6. Texas Motor Speedway, 3545 Lone Star Circle, Fort Worth. $15 per car, 5:30-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; $20 per car, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and holidays, and 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday. 704-367-5363; www.texasgiftoflights.com
-- Compiled by Mark Lowry, Kathy Hailey and Cary Darling
