Lexington/Columbia, S.C. Things to do November 26 - December 2, 2010

Holiday Tours of Historic House Museums Now - January 2, 2010 Enjoy the holiday season with guided tours of the historic house museums. The Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion, and Mann-Simons Cottage are all decorated for the season. Guides will provide stories of holidays past in Columbia and discuss how families decorated and entertained during the 19th and early 20th centuries. View a variety of holiday decorations in each house and stunning details of faux food on display. 1616 Blanding Street. www.historiccolumbia.org/site/programs

Gem and Mineral Show Friday November 26 - Sunday November 28, 2010 The 43rd Annual Columbia Gem & Mineral Show will be at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in the Ellison Building (1200 Rosewood Drive, Columbia SC). More than twenty dealers will have an enormous variety of materials from rough and cut gemstones, beads, fossils, finished jewelry, wire wrapping, lapidary supplies, and excellent mineral specimens. Geodes from Mexico can be selected and will be cut be for buyers who'll discover the quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, or calcite inside. A salted mine will be featured where, for $1.00 a scoop, you can find crystals, fossils, rocks and minerals. Fun for the whole family. www.cgams.org

The Nutcracker Friday November 26 - Sunday November 28, 2010 Stars of tomorrow are onstage today as Carolina Ballet presents the timeless classic, The Nutcracker, at The Township. Kick off the holiday season with this beautiful performance. www.carolinaballet.net

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Friday November 26 - Friday December 2, 2010 The Nickelodeon presents this Woody Allen film. Two couples find their lives turned upside down by their unfulfilled longings in this ensemble comedy starring Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderasand Freida Pinto. The harder everyone tries runs away from their problems, the faster their lives seem to fall apart. 2010. 98 minutes. Rated R for some language. www.nickelodeon.org/calendar/index.php?movieID=623

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas Friday November 26 - Sunday December 5, 2010 (Fri, Sat & Sun) A rockin’ holiday treat from Ralph Covert of “Ralph’s World” and award winning playwright G. Riley Mills. The play was first created for Chicago's Emerald City Theatre five years ago, and a children’s book inspired by the stage production was released last Fall. A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas is a fun, fresh holiday spectacular for the entire family. Boasting holiday hits like “Welcome to Christmas Wood,” “The Wind-Up Toy Ballet,” and crowd favorite “Let's Ruin Christmas,” this rockin’ contemporary adaptation follows Fritz and the Nutcracker through Christmas Wood. When trouble arises with the dastardly Mouse King, Fritz and Nutcracker must save the day. www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/1011Season/nutcracker.html

Santa Arrives At Dutch Square Mall & You Take the Pictures! Friday November 26, 2010 Santa arrives at Dutch Square Mall Fri, Nov 26, 4pm. Bring your own camera, take your own pictures. Visit www.dutchsquare.com for Santa's schedule.

Mannheim Steamroller Saturday, November 27, 2010 Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller are celebrating over 25 years of bringing millions of fans to its annual Christmas Concert Tour. "The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis" comes to the Koger Center for one night of magic. 8 pm. Website

Jamil Shriners Craft Show Saturday November 27 - Sunday, November 28, 2010 Come ready to do some major gift buying at this annual event at the Jamil Temple on Jamil road. Crafters display a fantastic array of talent and goods for holiday-giving. Handmade soaps, crafts carved from wood, fabric items, paintings, unique household goods, one-of-a-kind holiday decorations and lots more! Only $1 admission. Website

Train Rides With Santa Saturdays, November 27, December 4 & 11, 2010 Take the kids or grandkids for an adventure not soon forgotten. Hop aboard the Santa Train and experience Santa in a completely new environment -take a train ride while you're at it! Departure times for November 27, December 4 & 11 are 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. These are the only remaining dates that the Museum will be open for this year. Winnsboro, SC. Website

We Know We Can Dance Tuesday November 30, 2010. 6pm. Faculty instructor Cindy Flach leads USC's talented student dancers as they present an evening of outstanding original choreography. The performance will also feature the choreography of dance instructor Dale Lam of the Columbia City Jazz Company. Drayton Hall Theatre on campus. www.cas.sc.edu/dance/2011/10-11-season.html

The Thirteenth Assembly Trio Tuesday, November 30, 2010 With "a quiet energy that propels" (All About Jazz) and a style that The New York Times says is "both volatile and watchful Tomas' alert drumming has propelled some excellent ensembles on the new-music landscape.” Drummer Tomas Fujiwara’s concerts along with guitarist Mary Halvorsren and trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum, feature original jazz works that people of all ages enjoy. While in countless musical projects and groups and performing in STOMP on Broadway, Tomas has performed at venues and festivals around the world. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. / Concert begins at 7:00 p.m. Columbia Museum of Art. www.columbiamuseum.org

Annual AMROC Christmas Show Thursday December 2 - Saturday December 4, 2010 Do you remember big train displays at the downtown department stores or power company offices when you were a kid? Remember the excitement as the model trains rounded the tracks right in front of you, and how the amazing little towns and whistle stops were so highly detailed and tiny? Experience it again for 3 days right here in Columbia where 20 trains in 5 layouts give you and your kids big reasons to smile. AMROC Clubhouse at Arsenal Hill in downtown Columbia. Free admission. www.amroc.org/#shows

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Friday, Dec. 3 at 8:00PM Trans-Siberian Orchestra, one of the top selling concert acts in the world creates one of the most captivating concert experiences on the road today. Insistent on giving their fans the most "value for their dollar," TSO puts on an over-the-top audio/visual spectacular complete with lasers, pyrotechnics and state of the art lighting with a ticket price that starts as low as $27 allowing generations of fans to be enthralled year after year. Tickets are available at the Time Warner Cable Box Office at Colonial Life Arena. www.TWCtix.com or 1.877.4.TWC.TIX. Columbia Play It Again Sports. Ticket prices: $59, $49, $39, and $27