By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Well, we’ve already had our first snowfall of the year, and our first early experiences of slipping and sliding on the ice! The shopping centres are filled with Christmas decorations, and the mall Santas are setting up shop. Carols are providing the background soundtracks at our workplaces and grocery stores; the Little Drummer Boy is your coworker now. The smell of sugar cookies and gingerbread is in the air every time you pass by a bakery. And every TV ad is a holiday commercial, bombarding us with gift ideas while we’re still chowing down on our leftover Halloween candy. We might as well give in and start celebrating the festive holiday season. It’s almost December, after all! It’s not that weird anymore.
People may be wondering where they can go nearby for a little relaxation plus holiday spirit, with no notorious Toronto traffic to contend with. Luckily, in the Burlington area’s entertainment sector, there is no shortage of lively live-action shows on the local theatres’ lineups. There’s a grand selection of concerts, plays, and pantomimes coming up in the general area this winter, all within driving distance. There is something for every taste and something for the whole family. Here is an overview of what shows have tickets available.
Coming up just next week at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) is an exciting array of musical extravaganzas from both visiting and Burlington artists. From December 1, 2025, to December 7, 2025, BPAC will be hosting numerous Christmas-themed acts, including the following:
The Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO) enjoyed a triumph earlier this fall with their inspired production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. This opera married tragedy and elegance for a union of historical fiction storytelling. Now, SOLO wants to entertain Burlington in the winter as well with a splendid Christmas-themed concert on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Led by celebrated conductor Sabatino Vacca and featuring remarkable talent such as the tenor Joel Ricci, the show is guaranteed to be a pleasure for lovers of classical, dreamy music that resonates with nostalgia for the golden centuries of opera. Tickets can be bought here.
The Canadian musical family group Leahy, who specialize in Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian music as well as French-Canadian step-dancing, will be putting on their Celtic Roots and Christmas Cheer Concert on Friday, December 5, 2025. Tickets for this one-night-only performance can be bought here.
Musician and Michael Bublé tribute singer Jay Davis, who was previously interviewed this year by Local-News.ca, will be performing his Feeling Bublé Christmas, honouring Bublé’s hit 2011 Christmas album. Michael Bublé ties with Mariah Carey for the singer who most dominates the Christmas season, but for those in the Bublé corner, Davis’s act will be a treat. The show will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025. Tickets can be purchased here.
There is also a whole lot more going on at BPAC in the upcoming weeks, including a Charlie Brown concert, a performance by The Ennis Sisters, and a Christmas children’s concert by the Burlington Symphony Orchestra, so keep regularly checking the website and take a close look at what’s available. And although the venue is not located in Burlington, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre is also offering reasonably priced tickets to The Foster Festival’s A Niagara Christmas Carol, written by Jamie Williams and adapted from nineteenth-century British author Charles Dickens’ 1843 original novella.
The premise of Dickens’ tale is a famous one. The sour, grumpy, and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. He won’t shell out a penny for charity and only reluctantly gives his long-suffering employee Bob Cratchit Christmas day off. On the night of Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by three spirits determined to make him see the errors of his ways and finally acknowledge how lonely and unhappy he really is. These are the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future, who will lead Scrooge on an eye-opening journey of self-discovery and reflection as Christmas Eve eases into Christmas Day. This is a classic redemption story of how greed and malice can be overcome by love and human connection. The show will be playing from December 18–21, 2025, at Mandeville Theatre at Ridley College, 2 Ridley Road in St. Catharines.
Families with young children can look forward to Drury Lane Theatre’s annual hilarious, goofball Christmas pantomime. Last year, the laugh-out-loud rendition of a fairytale was Beauty and the Beast. This year, the selected storyline is a silly adaptation of the classic bedtime story of Cinderella, which was universally popularized in the Brothers Grimm folk tale collection and later adapted into a well-known 1950 Disney movie.
Poor Cinderella longs for a new life. She is forced into domestic servitude, doing chores all day for her wicked stepmother and mean-spirited, obnoxious stepsisters. At the very least, she wants to take a night off work and attend the prince’s wonderful ball and dance in a sparkly new gown. The opportunity arises with the appearance of a fairy godmother who is capable of making all her wishes come true. With the help of some loyal animal friends and a little magic, Cinderella will claim her destiny.
Drury Lane Theatre’s pantomime promises a fun time for children above the age of three. Christmas pantomimes, or nonsense musical comedies, are a tradition that traces their origins all the way to ancient Greek classical theatre. They are meant to be a means for audiences to interact with the popular folk tales they already know well. Attendees can be as loud and participatory as they like. Audiences are free to howl with laughter at the zany characters, boo down the nefarious villains, sing and clap along to the musical numbers, and cheer the appearances of young performers from Aspects of Dance, a dance school located on #2-4280 Harvester Road in Burlington. Tickets to the Drury Lane pantomime can be purchased here. It will premiere on December 12, 2025.
