Herald in the holidays with The Christmas Ballet. With its signature mix of tap, jazz, ballet and swing in classical and contemporary dances numbers, Smuin Ballet returns to Walnut Creek this weekend spreading yuletide cheer. November 19-20, Lesher Center for the Arts, smuinballet.org.

Shop for handmade holiday gifts from student artists. California College of the Arts celebrates 100 years in Oakland with a holiday arts and craft fair this Saturday. After shopping for handmade goods, explore the campus and student artworks. November 20, 11am to 5pm, 5212 Broadway, Oakland.

Celebrate the return of live theater to Walnut Creek. Brimming with music and dance, love and laughter, and spectacular special effects, Center REPertory Company opens its long awaited 2021-2022 theater season at the Lesher Center for the Arts with A Christmas Carol.  Be among the many who make this part of their holiday tradition. December 9 – 23, lesherartscenter.org. 

Experience a magical new interpretation of Dicken’s timeless classic. Winner of five Tony Awards, this New York Times Critic’s Pick of A Christmas Carol welcomes theatergoers of all ages back to San Francisco for an evening of dazzling staging, singing, and storytelling. November 26-December 26, broadwaysf.com. 

Visit a luxe European-style winter wonderland in Napa. The Meritage Resort has transformed its lawn into an ice rink complete with fire pits, private Veuve Clicquot igloos, Santa visits, and food trucks. Through December 19.

Revel in the music of a Broadway classic. Great theater returns to San Francisco with a new production of the legendary musical My Fair Lady boasting classic songs like “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “The Rain in Spain.” Through November 28. broadwaysf.com.

Explore the work of a fashion icon. In a tribute to the remarkable career of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990), famous for his sophisticated silhouettes, the De Young Museum presents “Runway of Love” featuring 80 ensembles from his fashion shows.

Shop small and shop local at a free outdoor market. Bringing together artisan makers and vintage curators from across the Bay Area, start the weekend shopping for holiday treasures at Artisans and Fleas on Fourth Street in Berkeley. Saturdays, 11am-5pm, through December.

 View art created from pieces of a historic oak tree. The Bedford Gallery's new exhibit, “If a Tree Falls: Art of the Boundary Oak,” pays tribute to Walnut Creek’s 325-year-old Valley Oak that tragically fell in 2019. Over 60 artists incorporated pieces of the tree into works of art, including Jane Fisher’s oil painting, “Bessie Penniman and Her American Bulldog.” Through February 13, bedfordgallery.org.

See the first solo museum exhibition by Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo. Known for his combination of brushwork with finger strokes, as well as Black joy in his art, the Museum of the African Diaspora remerges with “Soul of Black Folks.” Through February 27, moadsf.org.

Experience the life and work of Leonard Cohen. A new exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum reveals the late singer-songwriter’s life in a series of audiovisual installations and paintings. Through February 13, thecjm.org.

Berkeley Rep returns to stage. With a wink to Magritte, a nod to Shakespeare, and a toast to the Greeks, the theater company reunites for a performance of Charles Mee’s Wintertime. A hyper-kinetic voyage through the human heart that reminds us love, like life, is eternal and messy. Through December 19, berkeleyrep.org.

Get tickets to a an exhilarating acrobatics show. Performed by an international cast of world-class acrobats, Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story at the newly-renovated Club Fugazi, takes audiences on heart-stopping romp through the City by the Bay. Now through March, 2022, clubfugazisf.com.