Weekend Features A Cornucopia Of Holiday Events

Sarah Fierek signs while Aubrey Jannene meets with performers at the 2021 Cocoa With The Clauses event. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee’s holiday events continue this weekend, with a brand new reimagining of Milwaukee Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker debuting as well as the eighth annual return of Black Nativity. Amorphic Beer is celebrating its second birthday with an all-day party, and the Milwaukee Public Museum is hosting a special “European Village Alive!” exhibit that will run for two days and educate attendees on European holiday traditions.

December 7-10: ‘Black Nativity’ 

Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is celebrating its eighth year and will run for four days at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Vogel Hall. Black Nativity is a holiday musical that tells the story of the Nativity through an African-American lens and features an all-Black cast from the Milwaukee area. This year’s production is led by Artistic Director Wanyah L. Frazier and promises a familiar take on the holiday classic. For additional information and to purchase tickets visit the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts website.

December 8-26: ‘The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium’

Join Milwaukee Ballet for the debut of Michael Pink’s highly anticipated reworking of the holiday classic The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium will feature updated choreography, new costumes and intricate sets. The show will take place at Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Performing Arts Center and will run through December 26. For ticket pricing and showtimes, visit the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s website.

December 8-9: Milwaukee Public Museum’s ‘European Village Alive!’

The Milwaukee Public Museum will come to life for the “European Village Alive!” event. Explore the museum’s European Village exhibit while learning about centuries-old holiday traditions from costumed guides. Learn about holiday cards from all over the world, and learn about the old tradition of exchanging New Year’s cards instead of holiday cards. On top of that, you’ll get a close-up look at unique vintage holiday cards from the Museum’s History collections. On Saturday, the event will be accompanied by traditional holiday music from the Madrigal Singers of Crystal Lake Central High School. For more information, visit the Milwaukee Public Museum’s website.

December 9-10: Saint Kate Holiday Marketplace

The only thing better than buying unique, locally-sourced handmade gifts for loved ones is doing so in an artsy hotel decked out with lighting and a massive tree for the holidays. The Saint Kate Arts Hotel is hosting a holiday marketplace featuring over 70 Milwaukee artists set up throughout the hotel. The market will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

December 9: Amorphic Beer Two-Year Birthday Party

Amorphic Beer opened its doors two years ago when some engineers gave up designing nuclear submarine components and started creating tasty, unique beers. The brewery prides itself on rarely making the same beer twice, and, since opening, has made 120 batches of beer with only a few repeats. For Amorphic Beer’s two-year anniversary, the taproom, brewery and woodshed will be open all day with special beer releases on draft. The party will also host several food trucks from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and live music will take place between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Amorphic Beer will be celebrating its birthday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. To learn more about the brewery’s story, check out Urban Milwaukee’s coverage.

December 9: Cocoa with the Clauses

This year, instead of just leaving cookies out for Santa this year, you can enjoy a hot cocoa with him in person. Cocoa with the Clauses is a family-friendly event giving kids the opportunity to take photos with Mr. and Mrs. Claus while sipping on hot cocoa and enjoying the holiday lights courtesy of the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival. Cocoa with the Clauses will take place at Cathedral Square Park and will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

December 10: Casserole Call

Milwaukee Record is hosting a new fundraising event that will have Milwaukee competing for the title of “Best Casserole.” From noon to 5 p.m. at Central Waters Milwaukee Taproom, a variety of Milwaukee restaurants, including Beans & Barley, Crafty Cow, Flour Girl & Flame and more, will be providing samples of their casseroles while Central Waters provides the beer. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the event. Each ticket includes three sample vouchers, and additional sample vouchers can be purchased for $1. Portions of the proceeds will be donated to Kinship Community Food Center. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Brown Paper Tickets website.