Thursday, Dec. 21 Muppet Time A classic story that is a must-watch with family and friends during the holidays is the 1992 musical The Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s an adaptation of the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—but with muppets. Most main characters are played by muppets—Gonzo narrates the story, Kermit the Frog is Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy is Emily Cratchit, Fozzie Bear is Fozziwig and Robin the Frog is Tiny Tim. The only human person in the main cast is Michael Caine, who plays Ebenezer Scrooge. The story is about Scrooge, a rich but miserly man, who is forced to reflect on his life decisions during the holidays. Spoiler: He becomes a better version of himself. Head to the Marina branch library to catch this showing. [CJ] 4-6pm Thursday, Dec. 21. Marina branch library, 190 Seaside Circle, Marina. Free. 883-7507, mcfl.org. Thursday, Dec. 21- Sunday, Dec. 31 Ice Ice Baby Thank the Victorians for our idealized version of a white Christmas, with snow, horse-drawn sleighs and skaters elegantly gliding over a frozen pond. Ice skating was a popular image on Christmas cards and later in movies and TV shows, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, which opens with Snoopy and the Peanuts blissfully skating as “Christmas Time is Here” plays in the background. Of course there is no snow or frozen pond in Monterey, but thanks to Ice Skating by the Bay and local sponsors, there is an ice skating rink in Custom House Plaza this holiday season up through New Year’s Eve. If you’re feeling nostalgic for a wintry white Christmas, lace up some skates and imagine the snowflakes floating all around as you take a few spins around the rink. [PM] 11am-10pm Monday-Saturday; 11am-8pm Sunday, including holidays; through Sunday, Dec. 31. Custom House Plaza, 34 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY december 21-27, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Robin Winfield Robin Winfield of the eponymous Robin Winfield Gallery in Carmel has a solo show, Reinventing Reality, from lens to brush, at the Marjorie Evans Gallery at Sunset Center. Prepare for both paintings and photography. “In structuring a piece, I begin with a realistic focus, the photograph, and use this as a vehicle to express a mood or an aspect of the human condition,” Winfield wrote in a personal statement. “As a photographer, I am drawn to the beauty of the symmetry in architecture, the perfection of the man-made and its dichotomy—the abstract effects of natural weathering and the beauty of random abuse. Often my central focus is on ‘the doorway.’ Most of the doorways I choose to photograph are closed or blocked, leaving the viewer to create the world beyond.” On display until Dec. 21. The gallery can be accessed 10am-4pm Monday to Friday. [AP] 21-27 december HOT PICKS To see more local events, and add your own, visit calendar.montereycountyweekly.com Courtesy of Robin Winfield Montage Health Art Collection © Simon Tran VISUALS Simon Tran Sometimes art can be therapeutic simply for its beauty. Sometimes there’s more meaning behind it. That is the case with artwork displayed throughout Montage’s Ohana campus for supporting mental health of youth and adolescents, including in the works in acrylic on wood panel by Menlo Parkbased Simon Tran that were commissioned for this space courtesy of the Maurine Church Coburn Endowment Fund. Tran’s abstract pieces, titled Sway and the Holdfasts, are inspired by kelp forests, which sway meditatively with the sea, but are also rooted firmly to the seafloor, “anchoring everything,” he says. He emphasized teal and turquoise in the color palette—colors he says he used to hate, but now sees as vivid reminders of what’s most important: “Now it really reminds me of my family, my grandparents.” [SR] ’Tis the season to try your luck on some ice skates. The ice rink in Custom House Plaza in Monterey is open through Dec. 31, so lace up and get out there. Daniel Dreifuss Iluminado, a special winter exhibit at the Monterey Museum of Art, is wrapping up soon—see it at a winter solstice celebration on Friday, Dec. 22. MOnterey Museum of ARt
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