7 Days Out: Your guide to fun in the South Sound

It’s the weekend for local city tree lighting festivities. Here’s what’s happening around the South Sound.

▪ Lakewood will host its tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday (Dec. 4) at City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW. Enjoy free entertainment, fun Christmas crafts and pictures with Santa.

▪ Celebrate the holidays in Old Town Tacoma at its tree lighting and Santa visit from 1:30-3 p.m. Saturday. There will be refreshments and photos with Santa plus a food drive for St. Leo Food Connection. It will be at the Job Carr Cabin Museum, 2350 N. 30th St.

▪ Winter Fest in University Place is Saturday from 2-6 p.m. at the Civic Building, 3609 Market Square. Santa will arrive at 2 p.m. There will be live entertainment, crafts, food, an outdoor fireplace and holiday spirit.

▪ Head out to Skansie Brothers Park in downtown Gig Harbor for its tree lighting fun from 5-7 p.m. Sunday. Santa will arrive to light the tree. There will be entertainment provided by the Dickens Carolers and refreshments.

▪ The city of Fircrest is hosting its tree lighting at 7 p.m. Sunday. There will be entertainment by the Whittier fourth-grade choir and recorder group and Truman Middle School cheer, along with refreshments. It is at Alice Peers Park, Regents and Electron and at the Roy H. Murphy Community Center, 555 Contra Costra Ave.

Saturday—Sunday

Join this weekend in the annual tradition of Festival of Trees that supports Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. More than 60 beautifully decorated trees, created by local designers, make up an elaborate display at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma. It also features live community entertainment, games in the lobby and pictures with Santa. Public viewing is 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6, $2 students, free for children 11 and younger. They are available through Ticketmaster or at the door.

Seattle’s monthlong winter celebration, Winterfest, is open at Seattle Center with lots of activities for the entire family. Ongoing events include the Winter Train and Village, a turn-of-the-century village and train open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Dec. 31, closed Christmas. Winterfest Ice Rink is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays with cash only for admission, free skate rentals. Ice sculpting is noon-2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 26 outside Fisher Pavilion.

There will be lots of live entertainment including bands Global Heat, Xmas Maximus and The Bobs plus Klezkids interactive concert of Jewish music and Bailadores De Cronce Medican folklore dances, to name a few. Most activities are free or affordable.

Whether you join in activities or not, explore the Seattle Center both inside and out to enjoy the displays and holiday decorations. For a detailed list of activities and dates. go to seattlecenter.com/winterfest.

Make a holiday tradition that pays homage to our local past by hitching a ride on the Santa Express Steam Train Rides through the forest and foothills south of Mount Rainier. Trains depart Fridays-Sundays through Dec. 20 at 10 a.m., 12:45, and 3:30 p.m., plus there will be trips Dec. 21-22. Book advance reservations — $32 — online at mrsr.com.

Kick off the holidays classical style at the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra’s “Sounds of the Season” concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The performance features the Tacoma Youth Chorus under the direction of of Judy Herrington. The program is at Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma. Tickets are $19-$79. Get yours at 253-591-5894 or broadwaycenter.org.

Step into an old-fashioned holiday at 19th Century Christmas at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Point Defiance Park. With roots in the history of the Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, join in the arrival of the Yule log, join in parlor games, make ornaments and create pomanders in the tradition of an old-fashioned holiday. The event runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the park, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma. Admission is $5-$8, children 4 and younger free. For more information, go to bit.ly/21wfxY3.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "7 Days Out: Your guide to fun in the South Sound."