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Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol and Holiday Shows 2026

Written by the USA Fest Bot team with AI help. · Published · Updated

A row of painted wooden nutcracker figures in soldier and king costumes lined up along a shelf
A collection of wooden nutcrackers (not one of the events below). Photo: Celcom at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped.

This guide lists 30 holiday shows and festivals in 16 states for the 2026 season, running from November 4, 2026 into January 2027. It covers Nutcracker ballets, stage versions of A Christmas Carol, holiday pops concerts and spectaculars, and the Dickens Christmas festivals that turn downtowns into Victorian London.

Each section is sorted by opening date, and each show links to its listing and its own website. USA Fest Bot doesn’t sell tickets, so book through the company or theater.

Dates can change, so check the event’s website before you go.

The Nutcracker

Most of these productions dance to Tchaikovsky’s score played by a live orchestra. Boston Ballet has the longest run, November 27 through December 31, and 83 Boston Ballet School students join the cast. Colorado Ballet has danced its Nutcracker in Denver for more than 65 years; the show runs about two and a quarter hours with two intermissions and is recommended for ages 5 and up. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is giving Terrence S. Orr’s production a farewell run before an all-new one debuts, and Charlotte Ballet’s version, suitable for all audiences, plays with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Richmond Ballet, now The State Ballet of Virginia, performs Stoner Winslett’s staging with the Richmond Symphony, and Atlanta Ballet stages Yuri Possokhov’s reimagined production. Cincinnati Ballet first danced The Nutcracker at Music Hall in 1974. For a different take, the touring NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet brings acrobats and towering puppets to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre just before Christmas.

A Christmas Carol on stage

Five theaters stage Charles Dickens’ ghost story this season, each with its own adaptation. Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre uses David H. Bell’s version with live music and runs about two hours with a 15-minute intermission. In Richmond, Virginia Rep plays Rick Hammerly’s adaptation, which he also directs, at the November Theatre. Knoxville’s Clarence Brown Theatre production, with music by John Tanner, plays on the University of Tennessee campus. Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park brings Blake Robison’s adaptation to its new mainstage, The Rouse Theatre, in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It suits children 5 and older, though a couple of the ghostly appearances can be a little scary. The DCPA Theatre Company musical version at the Denver Center’s Wolf Theatre is recommended for ages 6 and up, and one matinee offers ASL interpretation, audio description and open captioning.

Hand-colored engraving of Scrooge in a nightcap, seated by the fire, as the chained ghost of Marley stands before him by candlelight
John Leech’s “Marley’s Ghost,” from the first edition of A Christmas Carol (1843). Illustration: John Leech, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, cropped.

Holiday pops, concerts and spectaculars

The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes has the longest run in this guide, and the show debuted in 1933. Boston has two traditions here: Holiday Pops at Symphony Hall, where Santa appears on stage at every performance, and Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity, a gospel song cycle in what is billed as the longest-running staging of the musical in the world. Pittsburgh’s Highmark Holiday Pops pairs the symphony with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for sing-alongs, with a sensory-friendly performance on December 20. In Detroit, pianist Cyrus Chestnut plays Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas score, and Enrico Lopez-Yañez leads Home for the Holidays at Orchestra Hall. The Cincinnati Pops welcome vocalist Gaby Moreno, plus a Friday 11 a.m. show. Knoxville’s Clayton Holiday Concert adds the Knoxville Pipes and Drums and a youth choir, and the Charlotte Symphony brings Santa and friends to the Knight Theater. In Louisiana, Vince Vance and the Valiants play Slidell’s Christmas Spectacular, mixing country, pop and rock ’n’ roll with costume changes and comic skits.

A large choir and orchestra on a concert hall stage decorated with wreaths and two Christmas trees, seen from behind a full audience
The 2023 Messiah Sing-Along in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington, D.C. (not an event in this guide). Photo: Dclemens1971, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Dickens Christmas festivals

These festivals turn a downtown or a hall into Victorian London, with costumed characters, carolers and holiday shopping. Garrison, North Dakota, starts first, spreading its Dickens Village Festival across two weekends with double-decker bus rides and A Cratchit Christmas at the Kota Theater. St. George’s Dickens Christmas Festival fills the Dixie Convention Center with Olde London lanes, where Queen Victoria may appear. Galveston’s Dickens on The Strand, held the first weekend in December, has parades, four stages of entertainment and Victorian Bed Races, and Ebensburg’s Dickens of a Christmas is a costume-filled weekend downtown based on A Christmas Carol. Maplewood Dickens Village opens miniature houses showing scenes from A Christmas Carol in Ricalton Square on the first three Saturdays in December. Dickens on Centre brings costumed characters and visits with St. Nick to Centre Street in Fernandina Beach, and Franklin’s Dickens of a Christmas fills Main Street with carolers, dancers and two stages.

Before you go

Theater and concert seats sell by performance, so pick a date and book early. Buy from the company or theater: Cincinnati Ballet is the only authorized seller for its Nutcracker, and Radio City tickets have to be shown on a smartphone at the door. Check age guidance too. Colorado Ballet recommends its Nutcracker for ages 5 and up, the DCPA recommends A Christmas Carol for ages 6 and up, and Richmond Ballet needs a ticket for every guest age 2 and up.

If anyone in your group needs a relaxed or accessible show, look for the sensory-friendly performances at Colorado Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Pittsburgh Symphony, the ASL-interpreted shows of Black Nativity, and the DCPA matinee with ASL, audio description and open captioning. Several Dickens festivals take place on downtown streets, so dress for December weather.

Planning by city? See events in Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Pittsburgh and Knoxville. For more of the season, browse Christmas events, holiday lights, Christmas markets, parades and events this weekend, or read our guides to Christmas markets and tree lightings. Running a holiday show that belongs here? Submit a listing.

Quick answers

When is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in 2026?

The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes is listed for November 4, 2026 – January 4, 2027, at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Which Nutcracker in this guide runs the longest?

Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker, November 27 – December 31, 2026. Colorado Ballet’s runs November 28 – December 27, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s farewell run of its current production is December 4–27.

What is a Dickens Christmas festival?

It’s a holiday festival themed on Victorian London and A Christmas Carol, with costumed characters, carolers, entertainment and holiday shopping. The seven in this guide run from Garrison, North Dakota, starting November 27, to Maplewood, New Jersey, through December 19.

USA Fest Bot is not affiliated with any event in this guide and does not sell tickets. Found a date that has changed? Send a correction.

Related on usafestbot: Christmas events · Nutcracker · Holiday lights · Christmas markets