Little Italy

Santa Claus visits the Bronx’s Little Italy

Dec. 8-23, Fridays noon-2 p.m.; Saturdays 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Bring your cameras while shopping in Little Italy to capture photos with Santa and his elf!

Step Back In Time With Jane Austen

An interactive program at Pelham Parkway-Van Nest

Dec. 15, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Go back in time to the 18th century to meet the legendary novelist, Jane Austen. Experience an interactive story time, lessons in Regency dance and manners. Enjoy a tasty tea party!

Participants will be able to talk to and interact with Austen throughout the program. Austen will be interpreted by playwright and actor Sarah Rose Kearns, and the program will be guided by teacher and actor Lena Ruth Yasutake.

The event is free, but you must reserve a spot beforehand.

Ted & Al’s Most Excellent Adventure

Performance by Ted Horan and Alan Goodman at The Artist (249 City Island Avenue)

Dec. 15, 8 p.m.

Support local artists Ted Horan and Alan Goodman as they perform for The Artist.

Tickets are only $10, which supports local artists.

Framing the Female Gaze: Women Artists and the New Historicism

Exhibition at the Lehman College Art Gallery

Dec. 17, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Take a tour of the exhibit “Framing the Female Gaze: Women Artists and the New Historicism,” and create your own artwork base on the works of Fay Ku in our dedicated Gallery Studio.

The exhibit is inclusive of special needs families.

Admissions are free, but you must reserve a spot.

Holiday Show & Celebration with Theresa Sareo

Performance by Theresa Sareo at The Artist (249 City Island Avenue)

Dec. 17, 3 p.m.

Come show your appreciation for New York artist Theresa Sareo. Sareo, in 2002, was hit by a truck — forcing the amputation of her right leg. But she has thrived ever since the accident, producing and releasing three musical albums and often hosting public speeches on her resilience. She even has a documentary on her life, 2012’s “Theresa Sareo: Alive Again.” Share the countdown to the holidays with Sareo and others, listening to great music and uplifting stories.

Tickets are $20, which supports local artists.

Huntington Free Library

How the Bronx Happened: An Examination into the Historical Context of Bronx Development

Dec. 19, 7 p.m.

The story of how the Bronx transformed from a rural landscape to an urban center is quite fascinating. It is a tale so interwoven with the borough’s constant change in demographics and population shifts that one concept is not so easily understood without considering the implications of the other. Join former history teacher and local historian Matthew Foglino on a presentation that puts into historical perspective the forces behind the Bronx’s massive development boom in the late 19th century, its evolution and how it continues to affect us today.

Born In the Bronx: The Beginning of Global Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-Hop Exhibit at Hostos Community College

Dec. 20, 12 p.m.

The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, in partnership with the Bronx Council on the Arts, explores the roots and evolution of hip-hop, the global phenomenon that originated in the South Bronx in the 1970s.

Through a vast collection of photos and memorabilia, curated by Johan Kugelberg and Joe Conzo, Jr., see how African American and Latino youths in the South Bronx transformed poetry, music, and fashion into a powerful expression of survival. See the vinyl records, flyers, and artwork, graffiti, break dancing, and MCing, and appreciate the diverse aspects of hip-hop.

Winter Haven at Wave Hill

Winter Solstice Sunset Walk and Wishes

Dec. 21, 3:30-7 p.m.

Enjoy the serene winter garden on the shortest day of the year, guided by senior horticultural interpreter Jess Brey. Marvel at seasonal botanical wonders like the majestic evergreens in shades of gold and green, fiery red-twig dogwoods and bedazzled shrubs with pink, purple and red berries. End the day by designing a paper lantern with your wish or intention and then float your wish lantern at the Aquatic Garden.

This event is free, but advance registration is encouraged.

Melrose Parranda

Puerto Rican Parranda at 442 East 162nd St.

Dec. 21, 6-7 p.m.

The Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC) hosts its 9th consecutive Make Music Winter program in the Melrose section of the Bronx with a music procession, or parranda (the Puerto Rican tradition of caroling).

Based in the music of plena and other holiday songs from the island, this parade will be led by members of the Bronx music and cultural community, such as Jorge Vázquez, Matthew Gonzalez and Bobby Sanabria. Each stop along the parranda will be a different casita, the little houses that evoke the houses of the countryside in Puerto Rico.

The parranda will wind its way through Melrose Commons stopping at the various casitas and community gardens in the neighborhood, ending at the casita renowned for its musical legacy: Rincón Criollo Centro Cultural, or the “La Casita de Chema.”

Cherish the Ladies

A Celtic Christmas Concert Saint Barnabas High School

Dec. 23, 3-5:30 p.m.

Don’t miss a magical afternoon with family in this lovely concert featuring world class Irish music, song, and dance performed by group Cherish the Ladies.

Tickets begin at $33.85.

Bronx Zoo

Holiday Lights at the Bronx Zoo

Now through Jan. 7

Spend your festive evenings this upcoming holiday, where the Bronx Zoo is illuminated to life with immersive light displays, custom designed animal lanterns and animated light shows sparkle all across the park. Experience all new lantern displays placing a spotlight on the wildlife of New York’s ocean waters and wetlands, and a new interactive experience showcasing bioluminescent creatures: the Enchanted Sea.

Enjoy returning lantern trails: the giraffes, ostriches, hippos and tortoises of Africa; the elephants, rhinos, cassowaries and tapirs of Asia; the jaguars, scarlet macaws, giant anteaters and peccaries of Latin America; the polar bears, walrus, wolverines and prairie dogs of North America; the other-worldly vampire squids, black sea-devils, nudibranchs and anglerfish of the deep seas; and a microscope on the colorful world of the tiniest creatures.

Aside from the lovely lights, enjoy the holiday train for only $4, ice carving demonstrations, illuminated performances, the wildlife theater, and of course, holiday treats!

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