“Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through the Peninsula . . .

The final weekend before Christmas features holiday events ranging from gingerbread contests to lighted boat parades across the North Olympic Peninsula.

Members of the Ballet Workshop dance “The Nutcracker”‘ at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Port Angeles High School auditorium, 304 E. Park Ave. The dancers also perform at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $9 to $16; call 360-417-9201.

Santa Claus makes an appearance from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Holiday in the Garden Gift Shop at Vision Landscape Nursery, 131 Kitchen-Dick Road, Carlsborg. Night lighting enhances the landscape and there will be hot cider, music and candy canes.

Lighted boats and kayaks will cruise Port Angeles Harbor beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The boats will sail through the harbor and past Olympic Medical Center before returning to the marina.

Jefferson County

The Uptown Gingerbread Contest continues through Christmas Eve. Entries will be showcased in the store windows at Naturals Health and Beauty, Lawrence and Tyler streets.

Entries need to be accompanied by a can of food for the Food Bank. The winners will be announced Dec. 28.

Raven, a Port Townsend performer, offers a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in two parts, at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington St. Admission $10 per night for adults, $8 per night for children.

A Victorian Christmas Tea is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the John Trumbull House, 925 Wilson St. The event is sponsored for the second year by Chapter IZ of P.E.O. A $15 donation will be accepted at the door, to be used for scholarships.

A Victorian Holiday High Tea will be served at The James House, 1238 Washington St., at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Seating is very limited and reservations are requested. Call 360-385-1328. Cost is $15 per person.

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