Holiday parades, plays and other pageantry abound in the Triad through December. Here is a sampling of theater, concerts, dance, films and art exhibitions. 

Festival of Lights, holiday parade

Downtown Greensboro will welcome the holiday season on Dec. 1 with the 29th annual Festival of Lights.

From 6 to 9 p.m., find carolers and acoustic performances along Elm Street, Santa Claus in Hamburger Square, the community sing and the lighting of the tree in Center City Park at Friendly Avenue and North Elm Street.

Shops and galleries will stay open late.

Return to downtown at noon Dec. 2 for the Holiday Parade.

Look for the traditional large Macy’s-style balloons, floats, bands, dance and drill teams, and of course, Santa Claus.

Downtown Greensboro Inc. manages both events. Go to downtownindecember.org for more details on holiday events.

‘The Nutcracker’

It’s time for ballet companies across the country to perform the traditional tale of Clara Silberhaus and the nutcracker that comes to life, accompanied by Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s famous score.

High Point Ballet will celebrate its 30th season of performing the holiday classic.

Greensboro Ballet will bring back Megan LeCrone to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a Dec. 16 gala performance. LeCrone is an alumna of Greensboro Ballet and the UNC School of the Arts, and soloist with the New York City Ballet. Andrew Veyette, principal dancer with New York City Ballet, will join her.

This year, Greensboro Ballet’s production will feature its first African-American Sugar Plum Fairy. Lauren Dorne will perform on Dec. 9-10 as the Sugar Plum Fairy, then as an Arabian dancer on Dec. 16-17.

The UNCSA production will showcase two principal dancers with San Francisco Ballet. Yuan Yuan Tan will perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jaime Garcia Castilla as the Cavalier Prince at 7:30 p.m. performances on Dec. 13-14.

What: Greensboro Ballet performances

When: 3 p.m. Dec. 9, 10 and 17 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. (gala performance) Dec. 16. Enjoy sweets and drinks and meet the guest artists at a separate event following the gala performance.

Where: Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St., Greensboro

Tickets: $17.50-$37.50 for adults, $5 discount for seniors, students, children and military at 336-333-2605 or carolinatheatre.com. Gala fundraising event tickets are $30.

Information: carolinatheatre.com, greensboroballet.org.