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Arts & Entertainment

Ride Through A Tunnel Of Lights At 'Winterfest' in East Windsor

Also, enrich your life with 'A Christmas Carol' at Hartford Stage or 'Pops' at the Bushnell.

Ride a trolley car or in an open-air "electric sleigh" on a magical 3-mile ride through a tunnel of lights as the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor welcomes one and all for its annual Winterfest. Join the motormen in singing traditional Christmas carols. Back at the visitor center, enjoy hot cocoa amid the festive decorations and seasonal model train displays.

Winterfest runs Thursdays through Sundays until Dec. 19, then resumes Dec. 26 through 30. Hours are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission costs $10 adults, $6 children ages 2 to 12, children under 2 free, and $7 seniors. The museum is at 58 North Road, East Windsor. For reservations and more information, visit www.ct-trolley.org or call 860-627-6540.

Hartford Stage's Peerless Christmas Carol

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If you see no other versions of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol this season, please make certain you see the one at Hartford Stage. Artistic director Michael Wilson's production, long a staple of the Hartford holiday season, is billed as "A Ghost Story of Christmas." Filled with swirling clocks, chain-rattling apparitions, Christmas carols, and sumptuous holiday pageantry, this is a glorious adaptation of the beloved holiday tale. The cast is led by returning favorite Bill Raymond, who manages to be hilarious, miserly and deeply touching all at the same time. Wall Street Journal theater critic Terry Teachout calls the show, "Outstandingly well-performed." The production is a delight for all ages, a spooky, funny, heart-warming Carol that captures the true spirit of Christmas.

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas runs through Dec. 31 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. For tickets or more information, visit www.hartfordstage.org or call 860-527-5151.

Find out what's happening in Windsor Locks-East Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pops! Go the Holiday Favorites

It will be anything but a silent night when the Hartford Symphony Pops, the Hartford Chorale and the Connecticut Children's Chorus come together to perform a Holiday Pops Spectacular. Holiday chestnuts including White Christmas, Let It Snow, Winter Wonderland, Silent Night, A Holly Jolly Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and selections from The Nutcracker are included in the program. Featured soloist is soprano Tessa Romano. Dancers are Akemi Hisa, Emily Zaturski, and Elizabeth Grande. 

Performances are Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Tickets range from $30 to $62. Student tickets are available for $10. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit www.hartfordsymphony.org or call 860-244-2999.

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