TUESDAY, DEC. 10 2013 >>>

1. This year's Classical Tuesdays Wine & Song Benefit in Old Town Tacoma will feature operetta selections from Offenbach and Gilbert and Sullivan, and some Kurt Weill to represent the Berlin operetta style that crosses over to cabaret. It will also feature mezzo-soprano Dawn Padula accompanied by pianist Denes Van Parys - doling out tunes by Edith Piaf, William Bolcom and songs from Kander and Ebb's musical, Cabaret. Equally important, the night will feature lovely Cabernets, which kicks off at 7 p.m. inside the Connelly Law Offices. This annual event benefits the free Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series. 

THIS IS NEXT WEEK: 1. Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by loaning the same moniker to a local park. More recently, you may have spied him signing copies of his newly released novel, The Lead Cloak, Book One of the Lattice Trilogy,which he'll do again at 7 p.m., Dec. 17 at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Read Jackie Fender's Q&A with Erik Hanberg in the Music & Culture section.

2. If you prefer to purchase your daddy issues in bulk, you might buy into the paterfamilias misery of Gilles Legrand's unnerving drama You Will Be My Son, offering heavy value in the I-Hate-You-Dad Department. Exacting in his work and uncaring in everything else, Paul (Niels Arestrup) pours every ounce of love and attention he's got into his successful Saint-Émilion winery, leaving nothing for his son, Martin (Lorànt Deutsch). Yikes. See how it plays out at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

3. How do you escape the pressures of the holidays, like, really quickly? Bundle up, drop your packages in the trunk, pinch your cheeks until they glow and strap on a pair of silver skates, Hans Brinker, for a glide across the frozen expanse at Tollefson Plaza. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street. The covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It will have real ice and hold about 150 skaters at a time. It's open from 4-9 p.m.

4. Spanaway has some similarities with Texas. For one, Spanaway likes to go big - in the drive-thru line, and when it comes to holiday light displays. In its wattage-chowing 18th year, Fantasy Lights offers oohers and ahhers a night of blinking and glowing bliss from 5:30-9 p.m. The two and a quarter mile long parade of lit-up scenery has its own peculiar sense of majesty, and it goes without saying that it's the perfect treat for a family to soak up the holiday spirit.

5. Berkeley singer/songwriter Ryan Dishen will perform at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 10 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area