Light Show & Concerts

Memories of Christmas past is the theme of this post, not ones from long ago, just in 2024, which now seems rather long ago. Does anyone else feel this year is going too fast?

This post came about after I looked through drafts after several bloggers commented about finding drafts they started but never posted. The same is true for myself, and is why this post dates back to last year's holiday season and was completed this week.

To recap, December was a stay-at-home month for us, not in the sense of staying in the apt, but staying local and enjoying nearby events. This included seeing holiday lights at an area winery and going to several concerts at the downtown Nashua Arts Center. The events were our holiday gifts to ourselves — it's all about experiences!

Holiday light show at LaBelle Winery, Derry, NH

We've been to some holiday light displays in past years, but this was our first successful visit to one at the LaBelle Winery in Derry, NH. Plans to attend last year were upended when a wine storm blew down many of the displays.

We went on a very warm evening in early December. The light display, set up on the winery's golf course, featured over a million lights in various holiday displays. It started a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving 2024 and ran through the first week in January 2025.

Our Crazy Hats at LaBelle Lights

LaBelle Lights featured several theme weeks, including holiday card week, holiday pajama week, Santa costume week, crazy holiday hat week, ugly holiday sweater week, find the hidden elf week and ‘80s ski week.

 We attended during crazy hats week. My barely visible hat was penguin-themed and Patrick sported a Santa cap.

It took just under a half hour to walk through the display which was not a timed event so that there was no rush to get through it. 

This event could be a pricey family outing for the holidays. General admission tickets were $18 for adults, $12 for seniors age 65+, $8 for children age 4 to 12 and free admission for children 3 and under. But, the way to reduce the admission cost was to attend on Twinkle Tuesdays when all tickets were 50 percent off — and that's when we went with two friends.

This event was a one-and-done for us. It was a nice holiday season outing last year, but we're good without a return visit. Maybe you've gone to events and felt the same afterwards?

Nashua Center for the Arts on Main Street, Nashua, NH

In December, we attended several concerts at the local arts center which is within walking distance of our mill apartment. Here's a few photos with some brief info about the performers.

Sara Evans

Sara Lynn Evans is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and author. She's sold over 6 million albums with five number one hits on the Billboard country song chart and is well-regarded for her singing, songwriting and record production. 

Canadian Brass

Canadian Brass is a brass quintet that was formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario. The group is known for the use of humor in their live performances and an irreverent attitude that includes their signature attire of formal black suits and white running shoes. They've recorded over 170 CDs and DVDs and performed internationally. Canadian Brass made its American debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in 1975. 

The Tenors

The Tenors (formerly The Canadian Tenors) are an international vocal group consisting of Victor Micallef, Clifton Murray, Alberto Urso and Mark Masri. They perform operatic pop music that's a mixture of classical and pop. They have performed in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Israeli Opera House, and in Las Vegas.

About these images — A point and shoot digital camera was used to take photos of the outdoor holiday lights. An iPhone was used for the indoor concert images. Admittedly, I had better results with the indoor photos than the outdoor night ones, which were handheld. 

As for taking photos of the performers, at all of these shows, the only announced restriction was for no flash photography or audio recordings. I did neither.

How about you — Do you have posts in draft form that you will someday complete ?

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A fellow blogger, Jon, The Lone Wolf Concerto, (a link on my sidebar) is going through very rough times (an understatement) and remains hospitalized for various medical issues. While there's little that can be done as far as fellow bloggers helping physically, kindness can include leaving a positive comment or sending a card: He's posted his address, if you want to snail-mail a message or card: Jon Varga, Signature HealthCare, 208 N. Duncan St., Room 601, Jamestown, TN 38556.