Board member needed for South Suburban

Act I opens with scruffy, depressed, kleptomaniac Maggie (Sara Mae Johnson) clutching a shopping bag filled with her latest acquisitions. With her is preachy 12 Step advocate Paul (David Harms), formerly an expert in safe-cracking, who declares that he has been “theft-free” for 686 days. He wants to enlist her in one of his many 12 Step programs: this one is for recovering thieves.

Welcome visions of sugarplums — and lovely Sugarplum Fairies — dance in my head this time of year. A visit to a performance of “The Nutcracker” with excited little girls dressed in party finery is a happy memory, followed up by granddaughter outings. Local families have a number of choices, dates, locations to enjoy this holiday classic. These arrived on our desk:

A doe-eyed puppy sits at the corner of a busy intersection, his silky golden coat shining in the sun as he looks both ways.

The 8-year-old City of Centennial will see its first-ever Christmas tree lighting on Nov. 20.

Chocolate Rum Icebox Cake, Key Lime Pound Cake, Kathy’s Cinnamon Breakfast Cake, Lemon Curd Icebox Cake, Mindy’s Jack Cake with Tennessee Drizzle, Large Wedding Cake, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cupcakes, Houdini Bars... are you salivating yet?

“Art and the Animal,” the annual traveling exhibition of works by the Society of Animal Artists, has been hosted by The Wildlife Experience each year since it opened. It will run Nov. 21 to Feb. 21 this season. Members live across the United States and are expert painters and sculptors. Some depict local wildlife and domestic animals and some travel to exotic locales for subjects. Colorado artists included: Gerald Balciar of Parker; Cathy Sheeter; Daniel Glanz; Edward Aldrich; William Alther; John Kobald and more. An exhibit catalog is available in the gift shop at The Wildlife Experience, 10035 S. Peoria, Parker (at Lincoln). Also open through Jan. 3 is an accompanying show called “Small Works— Big Impressions,” which features small, affordable works by Society of Animal Artists members. Kay Witherspoon of Englewood and Victoria Parsons of Parker have pieces in the Small Works show. Works in both shows are for sale, with a portion of proceeds to benefit Wildlife Experience. For hours and admission costs: 720-488-3300, thewildlifeexperience.org.