Christmas is a time is HERE! Get into the Christmas spirit with your friends and loved ones by joining The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Deck The Halls Series this season. The seeries includes a traditional performance of Handels Messiah and a variety of concerts that is suitable for all to enjoy. The concert series will be held in the Walt Disney Concert Hall starting December 13th, 2011. For a more complete series schedule visit: http://laphil.com/holidays

The 8th Annual Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF 2011) is most assuredly a multicultural event. Entries include films like Christmas Piggy, a film from Denmark about a little piglet, who after being locked up and fattened, escapes on Christmas Eve. The pig will have to fight to survive and flee from a hungry family with holiday pork on their minds. India enters the film Big in Bollywood, chronicling the life of a 27-year old struggling actor from L.A., who makes it big in Bollywood. The actor then struggles with the pressure of keeping up his new-found fame, all while his loving wife awaits his return back home to the states.

Art can be found all around us, but it is particularly engaging when it comes from a block of ice. You've seen those beautifully carved sculptures just destined to be a puddle, but while it stands, it stands in glory. It is the star of the show. What show, you ask? Art in Ice!  

This is the 2nd Annual Tour five of Baltimore's finest bed and breakfasts decorated for the holidays.  This year there will there will be a local chef plus a food and wine pairing.  Proceeds will benefit Moveable Feast. 

INGREDIENTS

• Oil for frying
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 – 6 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1¼ cups (10 fl oz, 300 ml) vegetable stock (or water)
• 1½ cups (6 oz, 175 g) finely chopped nuts
• 3 cups (6 oz, 175 g) breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• ½ tsp. dried herbs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Flour for coating
• Oil for roasting

Christkindlmarket is a German American holiday market in its 16th year.  

If you are in the mood for a fun-filled yet educational holiday event, you should join us as we host a holiday Coquito Masters Qualifier. Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican alcoholic beverage similar to eggnog. The tasting will serve as one of the qualifying events for the Coquito Masters finals which will be held at the Museo del Barrio on Dec.19th 2010, where winners will compete for Coquito Master title and prizes. The intent of the CMQ is to increase the opportunity for local participation in the Coquito Masters and to promote the preservation of Puerto Rican culinary traditions. Now in its 8th year, the event has become a great way to kick off the holiday season with friends and family.

Christmas Farmers Markets are some of the best place to get hold of fresh and tasty produce for your Christmas table. With rare breed meats, excellent quality local fruit and vegetables, and all kinds of other delicious extras, there is plenty to get excited about at any one of the Christmas Farmers Markets in London.

Crispus Attucks Cultural Center and Suwabi African Ballet present the 4th annual Kwanzaa Ceremony and Celebration, "Umoja" (Swahili for "unity").
The staged ceremony features traditional African dances performed by Suwabi youth, and a recitation of the NguzoSaba (The Seven Principles).
Suwabi also will offer workshops in mask making, Kwanzaa, belly dance, and Capoeira (Afro-Brazilian martial arts).

Test Kitchen is located at 9575 West Pico Blvd. LA 90035. Dinner is served beginning at 6:00pm. Tables are limited and reservations are available online through the Test Kitchen website and Open Table. Walk-ins are always welcome and separate bar-bite menus are available at the bar for all chefs. For more information on Test Kitchen including current chefs, complete menus and reservations, please visit: www.testkitchenla.com and www.twitter.com/TestKitchenLA. *Please note all reservations in December will require a credit card and 48 hour notice for cancellations.

In a unique showcasing of authentic cultural fare, four of Los Angeles' top Mexican restaurants, founders of The Taste of Mexico Association, will join the bicentennial year festivities with an event that is sure to set the standard of Mexican cuisine and culture for years to come.

With the mission to embody, enhance and promote the authentic ingredients, flavors and traditions of Mexico's cuisine, four LA restaurants - Frida Mexican Cuisine, Guelaguetza Restaurant, La Casita Mexicana and La Monarca Bakery - united to create The Taste of Mexico Association, a flagship organization of exponents of authentic Mexican cuisine in the United States.

He's a little irreverent in some ways, playful but genius in the kitchen is MCCN's Chef Jay Bonilla. Don't know what to make or need ideas to make your dinner & parties this Holiday season a smashing success???

MASTER YOUR HOLIDAY DINNER & PARTIES when Chef Jay teaches you how to make mouthwatering appetizers, Holiday dinner classics as well as the latest Holiday dinner trends, to die for desserts & the most festive & fun Holiday drinks!...

Looking for something fun and unusual to do with out-of-town guests? Just want to get away from the hustle and bustle? I can personally attest to how wonderful this experience is at Boordy. Pack a picnic basket for the indoors with cheese, grapes and nuts. Come to Boordy Vineyards' Celtic Christmas Weekends - the perfect antidote to jangled holiday nerves!

See the Zoo in a whole new light! This year, as a holiday gift to the city, Friends of the National Zoo announces ZooLights is free!

Info from NYCGo-Although Will Ferrell won't be on Broadway to reprise his role as Buddy the Elf in the musical version of his hilarious 2003 holiday flick, the starring role is in the capable hands of Sebastian Arcelus (Jersey Boys, Wicked). Arcelus has Ferrell's giant curly-toed shoes to fill: he plays a human raised as an elf who leaves his home at the North Pole to search for his biological father. And, in an inspired bit of casting, Cheers star George Wendt is playing Santa. Sounds like an instant holiday classic.

This is one of my favorite traditions of the year, the LA County Holiday Celebration and its free.  It is a smogasboard of culture expressed through the arts.  I can not stress enough that if you have never been you must try to check this out Just like Dreamgirls "One Night Only!".- Crystal Johnson, MCCN Editor

For years now, the Latino Theater Company has presented a holiday gift to the community, its production of "La Virgen De Guadulupe, Dios Inantzin." Adapted for the stage by company member and playwright Evelina Fernandez from the mid- Sixteenth Century text The Nican Mopohua, it relates the story of how the Virgin Mary appeared on four occasions to the lowly peasant Juan Diego in the mountains of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531. Miracles attributed to her intercession included the blooming of roses during a time of frost, and the recovery of Juan's uncle from the deadly plague. Juan's devotion to the Virgin was a catalyst for a spiritual renewal in the area. Perhaps two decades after the events occurred, they were recorded on paper in an Aztec language by the Indian scholar Antonio Valeriano.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is an annual musical holiday stage show presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The show features over 140 performers, lavish sets and costumes and an original musical score. The 90 minute revue combines singing, dancing and humor with traditional scenes in spectacular stage settings. The star performers are the women's precision dance troupe known as the Rockettes. Since the first version was presented in 1933, the show has become a New York Christmas tradition seen by more than a million visitors a year.