Weekend event digest: Santa Con and more fun holiday-themed events

It’s early December and the holiday season is in full swing! There are plenty of events happening this weekend in Seattle and around the Puget Sound region to help get into the spirit!

At the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Drawing Jam has returned. There will be professionals giving live art demonstrations, live music and plenty more during this family friendly event. In addition to creating your own art and learning new techniques, you can check out the Small Works Holiday Art market to pick a gift up for your friends and family. This is going a the South Lake Union location of the Gage Academy of Art on Saturday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Get more details from gageacademy.org.

At the SIFF Cinema Uptown you can see my favorite Christmas Movie! “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is showing this weekend. Hear the classic tale as told by your favorite Muppets (along with Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine) and I promise you will have a new favorite Christmas song to sing! For those who want to go, arrive at least 30 minutes early to check out the Muppets pre-show special. Get more details at siff.net.

The first of three Santa Cons is this Saturday. Seattle Santa Con is a perfect way to spread holiday cheer while enjoying some holiday spirits. The website describes Seattle Santa Con as more than a pub crawl. Instead, it’s more of a parade of holiday cheer with live entertainment, costume contests, professional photography and plenty more. Get tickets and details at seattlesantacon.org.

Speaking of Santa, the Puyallup Santa Parade takes place this Saturday. At 5 p.m., floats, lights and of course Santa will head down S. Meridian Street. Get a head start on the holiday fun a little earlier with the Holiday Market running from 12-7 p.m. in Puyallup. It’s a perfect combo of holiday fun during the first weekend of December. Head to puyallupmainstreet.com for more information.

Holiday Magic has come to the Washington State Fairgrounds. This event, which starts Friday takes place over 13 days this month, will have everything needed to celebrate the holidays. That includes face painting, rides, a huge variety of food and drinks, ice skating, a holiday market and plenty more. Get details and more at thefair.com.

There are plenty of ways to do some holiday shopping this weekend and keeping it local too. The PhinneyWood Winter Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday in Seattle and there will be more than 140 makers showing off their goods, and when you do your shopping at the the festival, you will be supporting the Phinney Neighborhood Association. Get more information at phinneycenter.org.

Urban Grace Church in Tacoma will host the Holiday Artisans Market Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Handmade gifts, food trucks, live music and more will be found here. Head to urbangrace.org for more details.

As Buddy the Elf taught us, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear, and that’s exactly what will be happening this weekend at the caroling competition known as The Great Figgy Pudding. It’s “a spirited tradition for many Seattle locals to ring in the season,” the Pike Place Market website states. This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank and money is raised by caroling teams. All the fun starts Saturday at noon at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Something to consider for those wondering (or concerned) about crowd size, The Pike Place Market website also reports the event attracts nearly 10,000 people each year. Visit figgypudding.org or pikeplacemarket.org for more information and details.

I hope your holiday season is off to a good start! And if you know of cool things going on, let me know!

Paul Holden produces the Seattle weekend events calendar for KIRO Newsradio and a weekly story for MyNorthwest. He also appears regularly on KIRO Newsradio’s “Seattle’s Morning News.” If you know of even more cool things going on in the area, let him know at PaulH@kiroradio.com.