By Janette Turner

Remember the old chestnut “Grandma Got Run-Over by a Reindeer”? A 1982 version was a hit by the Irish Rovers, a group that has traveled the world bringing a bit of Celtic pluck and now the group plays the Edmonds Center for the Arts on Thursday at 7 p.m. You can find tickets here, and if you are looking for more holiday events in town, read on.

Thursday – Sunday:  The Driftwood Players  perform “The Music Man”

The Driftwood Players perform the American classic, “The Music Man,” at Wade James Theatre this holiday season, but three performances are nearly sold out: Nov. 30, Dec. 2, and Dec. 9. To check ticket availability and show times, see Driftwood Players.

Friday and Saturday: Meadowdale High plays tragedy and comedy

The Meadowdale Players present a double feature of “Long Ago and Far Away,” by David Ives and “The Real Inspector Hound,” by Tom Stoppard, on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Meadowdale High School Black Box Theater. Tickets are $7 and sold at the door with a $2 discount for ASB card holders. As always, live theater by your neighborhood youths is a better deal than a DVD. More information here.

Friday: Demetris WoodStone Taverna’s 2^nd anniversary

Come celebrate Demetris WoodStone Taverna’s 2^nd anniversary on Friday night with drink specials and a complimentary tapa, then stick around for Kaos Karaoke at 9 p.m. with Tiger Budbill. For details see Demetris Facebook page.

Saturday: Celebrate the Edmonds Bookshop

Some folks believe you don’t live in a real town unless it has a bookshop. And now it’s your turn to give thanks to owner Mary Kay Sneeringer for giving Edmonds the edge over strip mall clusters known as “not-towns.” Stop by on Saturday at noon to wish your bookshop family a happy 40^th birthday and make sure to buy a few presents. The gift-wrapping is free.

Saturday: ECA hosts “Quodilbet” on World AIDS Day

On Saturday Edmonds Center for the Arts will host “Quodilbet: Music to Rejoice, Reflect and Remember,” in honor of World AIDS Day. The event will feature the West Coast premier of Robert Maggio’s epic for concert and band chorus titled “Quilt Panels: for my love, for my grief, for my letting go,” along with The Esoterics, a Seattle-based vocal ensemble and the Rainbow City Band. To find out more, we checked in with RCB bassoonist Todd Timmcke.

My Edmonds News: How did you begin playing with Rainbow City Band?

T.T.: I joined the band over 10 years ago. I had studied bassoon in college for a few years and then put it away to gather dust in the closet as career and life concerns took over. After 20 years, I realized something was missing in my life. I missed playing, the wonderful sound of my bassoon, and the joy of creating music with other musicians. I began “relearning” how to play. I took lessons for a year, then showed up at a Rainbow City Band rehearsal. I was quite nervous, but RCB was the perfect group to join for someone returning to his instrument. It is a welcoming community organization of musicians who are supportive of players of all skill levels and who participate because of their love of music.

My Edmonds News: Please tell us about the upcoming concert, “Quodilbet: Music to Rejoice, Reflect and Remember.”

T.T.: Anne Kreider, RCB Conductor and Artistic Director says of the upcoming concert: “Quodlibet is a term used to describe a collage or patchwork of music, literally translating to ‘what pleases.’ The patchwork of music in the second half of our concert is used to mirror our performance of Quilt Panels for World AIDS Day. The first half of the concert is a single piece that is a musical depiction of a quilt made up of a collage of images. The second half of the concert is made up of a collage of musical pieces to create a quilt of winter memories.”

Today the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels — most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS — have been sewn together by friends, partners, and family members. We should never forget those whose lives were lost and those whose lives are still affected by this disease.

My Edmonds News: What else would you like folks to know?

T.T.: The band celebrates its 15th anniversary this coming spring with a celebratory concert on March 30. The band has grown from a handful of musicians looking for what was “missing” in their lives to over 100 instrumentalists and supporters.

Tickets for the show can be purchased here.

Saturday: EdCC hosts improv tournament

Seattle’s longest-running improv troupe, Unexpected Productions, pits 16 improv teams against each other every Saturday in December with the top four teams facing off in a championship round on Dec. 22. The shows run Saturdays, December 1-22, at 8:05 p.m. in the EdCC Black Box Theatre and will be judged by audiences. Tickets $10 with more information here.

Sunday: Make cards at Cole Gallery

Put your own mark on the holidays with Cole Gallery’s Watercolor Winter Cards and Miniatures class on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is an encore class taught by gallery owner and artist Denise Cole. Supplies and details are here.

Wednesday: EdCC hosts big band Mood Swings

The Mood Swings, the Northwest’s all-female big band, performs Wednesday in the Edmonds Community College Black Box Theatre with dance lessons at 6 p.m. and the band taking the stage from 7-9 p.m. Enjoy the sounds of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Hoagy Carmichael, and ask yourself why there were no women composers of the era, then get lost in the music and no-host bar. Proceeds benefit the EdCC Foundation. For more information, call 425.640.1139 or go to www.BlackBoxEdCC.org.

Saturday: EWHS holiday arts and crafts fair

You are encouraged to put down the egg nog on Saturday and head to the Edmonds-Woodway High School holiday arts and crafts fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. While you shop the 80 tables, the high school music ensembles will perform. More information on the website.

Tuesday: Rehearsals begin for Driftwood Players sing-a-long

The Driftwood Players invite folks of all ages and talents to join a Holiday Season Community Sing-A-Long with three rehearsals on Tuesday nights from Dec. 4-18 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and a final performance Dec. 19 at 7 p.m., all at the James Wood Theatre. Mike Corey will serve as emcee and conductor, and said this is “a very informal and fun community get-together. I will do my very best to make everybody feel relaxed about opening their mouth and letting those dulcet tones escape – whatever that means. We will not sound like a certain ‘tabernacle choir,’ but we will try.”  Both singers and patrons are encouraged to bring a monetary donation or non-perishable food item to the theater for The Edmonds Food Bank. Information here.

Advance notice: Sno-King concert at ECA on Dec. 8

The “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah” will be one of the songs performed at the Sno-King Community Chorale’s Holiday Magic concert set for two performances on Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Edmonds Center for the Arts. The 102-voice choir, under the direction of Frank DeMiero, will have children from Holy Rosary School join in several songs. According to Chorale president Julie Waterman, “Our concerts are the best buy in town.” Call 425-275-9595 or go to www.sno-kingchorale.org for tickets.

Advance notice: OBT in Edmonds on Dec. 15 and 16

Edmonds audiences have just two days to see their hometown ballet troupe perform “The Nutcracker.” Olympic Ballet Theatre’s annual confection will be at ECA on Dec. 15 and 16, and if you miss out on tickets, you will need to visit the performance halls in Everett or Arlington to see the show. Tickets for OBT’s Edmonds performances are here.

Arts reporter Janette Turner is your guide to local culture. In addition to covering visual, performing and literary events for My Edmonds News, Janette is President of EPIC Writers Group, a writing teacher, and a member of the Swedish Hospital Art Committee. (Photo by Jennifer McKinney).