Frozen, Ol' Blue Eyes and Christmoose Carol: What to do in Calgary this weekend

With the countdown to Christmas in full swing, if you don't plan on spending the weekend in a shopping mall, here's some inspiration to get you and the kids out of the house.

Ol' Blue Eyes

If your holiday season needs some Frank Sinatra, head to River Park church on Sunday. The Calgary Jazz Orchestra presents A Perfectly Frank Christmas at 3 p.m. and then again at 7 p.m.

You can find more information including tickets right here.

Frozen

Yes, Frozen is still a thing, a very seasonal thing, to be sure, even though Calgary is far from frozen this year.

And if you love the film and love the music from the film even more, you'll want to check out the Calgary Wind Symphony's family-friendly concert this Sunday called Frozen. It's happening at 2:30 p.m. at the Rozsa Centre at the University of Calgary.

In addition to a movie medley, they're going to play pieces portraying different aspects of the film from the region itself, Scandinavia, courtly dances (even if Elsa doesn't dance), Anna's freckles, and an alternative reason why Elsa went to the cathedral.

The Foothills Brass Quintet is the featured guest, performing more works from Scandinavia.

Here's the information you'll need.

Brass carols

It's time for the 10th annual Holiday TubaFest. It's a totally free event running Saturday at 2 p.m. at the brand new BMO Amphitheatre at Stampede Park.

They're hoping to break a world record. Playing holiday music with the largest tuba ensemble ever recorded.

You can get more details at this Facebook page.

Our Canada, Our Story

There's a cool show happening at the Jack Singer on Sunday. It's called Our Canada, Our Story and it's by the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary.

This community theatre performance weaves together Canada's roots and diverse history from the experiences of the first peoples of the land and those who came after, touching on things like colonization, immigration, survival, healing and resilience.

It stars 17 youth from Sudanese, Somali, Lebanese, Cameroonian, Philippine and Chinese backgrounds. They share a series of poems, rap verses in many languages and then it moves to a traditional flag song.

Told through a fusion of traditional and contemporary art as well as cultural forms, the performance encourages everyone to be critical students of Canada's complex history and to participate in the shaping of our common future.

The performance marks both Canada 150 and the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary's 15th anniversary. Catch Our Canada, Our Story runs at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, Arts Commons.

Here's some more information for you.

Something funny

Calgary's Kinkonauts are staging their annual holiday improv show on Sunday, called: Improv: The Musical. Obviously, they're sharing our appreciation of Christmas musicals this week. In this show, the performers walk on stage without lines, without lyrics and without any idea what is about to happen

Improv: The Musical takes to the stage at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Rose Room, Alexandra Centre in Inglewood.

Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. Here's what you need to know.

Best of Christmoose Carol

Calgary's Loose Moose Theatre Company is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and that means this year's Chrismoose Carol is a greatest hits version.

The company first produced Chrismoose Carol back in 1996, and it proved to be so popular it's become an annual event. It is, of course, based on the classic Charles Dickens story but over the years, it's been done as a western, as a three-person production where each night the audience gets to choose who would play Scrooge, and in Roman times complete with chariot races.

They're promising this year's "best of" show will be just as heartwarming and humorous as previous versions, if not more so.

This is not a show for kids as language and behaviour can sometimes cross the line.

The show runs select dates from now through Dec. 22.

Head here for more information.

Buying local

It's Market Collective's final weekend for Cheer 2017, their annual holiday market. It runs Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it's only $5 to get in for the weekend.

They're back in the Yellow Warehouse in Inglewood, at 1390 17th Ave. S.E., with lots of room for artists new and old. Come on down for a weekend of food trucks, DJs, live music, and shopping from the amazingly talented local creative community.

Find out more right here.