A winter wonderland of fun for all

Holiday lights and action warm up the season starting now

Here are some holiday/Christmas events starting or happening in the next week:

• Pittock Mansion’s “The Magic of Wintertime” display is open, with decorations inspired by skiing and sledding and curling up by the fireplace with hot cocoa and celebrating the holidays with family, friends and community. There are 23 rooms decorated and available for touring through Jan. 2 (www.pittockmansion.org), except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Musicians play regularly in the Music Room. Shuttles from Washington Park run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2 (www.trimet.org).

• The My Macy’s Holiday Parade in downtown Portland takes place from 9-10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 27, starting at North Park Blocks, and it features marching bands, costumed characters, floats and Santa Claus, who takes up residence at Macy’s at 621 S.W. Fifth Ave. (see www.social.macys.com for all info).

• The Thanksgiving weekend marks the start of lights displays around the Portland area, such as:

Shilo Inns Headquarters — Driving out Highway 26 west, one can’t help but see the annual Christmas lights at 11600 S.W. Shilo Lane in Portland, with more than 100,000 lights illuminated through Dec. 27.

Oregon Zoo Zoolights — There are about 1.5 million brightly color lights at the 28th annual display, which welcomes visitors through Jan. 3 at the zoo, 4001 S.W. Canyon Road (www.oregonzoo.org).

Winter Wonderland — The drive-through fun with some some 250 lighted displays at Portland International Raceway, 1904 N. Victory Blvd., goes through Dec. 27, each day from 5-9 p.m. ($18 per car).

• The Portland Tree Lighting Ceremony, featuring a 75-foot Douglas fir adorned with lights, will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27, at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

• The 11th annual Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation’s Holiday Express train rides begin Nov. 27-28, and continue the weekends of Dec. 5-6, Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 19-20, going through the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge to the Springwater Trail ($16-$19, children $9.50-$12.50, packages $46-$58). For info: www.orhf.org/the-holiday-express. The Southern Pacific 4449 will make its first runs from Oaks Parks Station after a three-year hiatus; it’s the only “Daylight” locomotive still in operation.

• The Grotto Christmas Festival of Lights, open from Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 (except Christmas), 8840 N.E. Skidmore St., features more than 1 million holiday lights, and there’ll also be choral performances, a petting zoo and puppet shows. Five indoor concerts are scheduled each evening in the 600-seat chapel. It’s $10 admission; for info: the www.grotto.org.

• The impactful and dynamic “Singing Christmas Tree” event, with a 140-strong choir in a tree structure complemented by another 100 voices and a youth choir, takes place Nov. 28 through Dec. 6 at New Hope Auditorium, 11731 S.E. Stevens Road ($18-$75, www.singingchristmas tree.org). There’ll be dazzling moving lights, musicians, a cinematic nativity and a message of “Hope, Joy, Peace & Love.”

• The Oregon Symphony, led by guest conductor Jeff Tyzik, teams with the Pacific Youth Choir on the “Holiday Pops” concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway (www.orsymphony.org, starting at $23). There’ll be performances of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden,” as well as Tyzik’s arrangement of “The Little Drummer Boy” and a suite of Chanukah selections.

• Want to get in some early Christmas shopping after Black Friday? The Portland Farmers’ Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 24 on the waterfront next to the Burnside Bridge.

And there’ll be lots of shopping opportunities at America’s Largest Christmas Bazaar, with 900 booths at the Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive, during the daytime Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 4-6 ($7 adults, $3 12-younger).

• Holiday cheers! It’s the 20th annual Holiday Ale Festival, featuring more than 50 beers and 16 limited-release tappings served in a heated tent by the city’s holiday tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 2-6 ($35 general admission, www.holidayale.com).

• The acclaimed Portland Playhouse theater company puts on Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s painful past, cruel present and redemptive future, for a third time. It’s directed by Cristi Miles and stars Drew Harper as Scrooge and Jen Rowe as Ghosts. Evening shows are 7 p.m., matinees are 2 p.m., Dec. 2-24 at Portland Playhouse, 602 N.E. Prescott St. (www.portlandplayhouse.org).

• The Michael Allen Harrison Christmas at The Old Church concerts, each day/night except Christmas, Dec. 9-26, take place at The Old Church, 1142 S.W. 11th Ave. The concerts feature Harrison, Julianne Johnson and many other special guests. Call 503-568-9134 for tickets ($49.50 reserved, $29.95 general admission).