Ellington

New Stage Theatre will begin hosting its annual production of "A Christmas Carol" on Saturday, Dec. 4, with performances running through Sunday, Dec. 19. The Dorsey J. Barefield Charitable Trust and the Sam E. and Burnice C. Wittel Foundation are sponsoring the production.

Sharon Miles is the director of the play. The cast consists of 29 children and adults, with Jay R. Unger playing the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Other actors in the production include Andrew Fehrenbacher as Bob Cratchit, Sigrid Wise as Christmas Past, K. Devin Hunter as Christmas Present, Hosea Griffith as Young Scrooge, as Belle and Mrs. Cratchit, Ethan Hartfield as Tiny Tim and Joseph Frost as Marley.

For the Thursday, Dec. 9, performance, patrons can come to the box office beginning at 6 p.m. and purchase tickets at any value with cash, check or credit card, with a $5 minimum for card payments. Customers who bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots to the Dec. 9 performance can also receive one free ticket per new toy while tickets remain available. Both of these offers are only valid for the Dec. 9 performance.

Curtain times for public performances are 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Sundays. The performance on December 4 will be at 11 a.m. Ticket prices are $35 with discounts available for students, senior citizens, military and groups. Tickets are available at the New Stage box office, located inside the Jane Reid Petty Theatre Center. Customers can order tickets by phone at 601-948-3531 or online at newstagetheatre.com. To view New Stage's COVID-19 public safety protocols and vaccination requirements for different performances, visit newstagetheatre.com/covid-19.

Jackson Hosting Capital City Lights

Visit Jackson and the Mississippi Arts Commission will host a holiday event called Capital City Lights from Friday, Dec. 3, to Saturday, Dec. 4. The celebration will also serve as the launching point for Jackson's year-long bicentennial celebration.

Events will include the Festival of Trees at The Westin Jackson, Nutcracker performances at Thalia Mara Hall, shopping at Magnolia Sunset Markets and JXN Flea, a classic car show, a "Touch a Truck" event for children featuring emergency vehicles, live music, hot chocolate, caroling, marching bands, holiday décor and more.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History will also host its annual “Christmas by Candlelight Tours” at the Mississippi State Capitol, the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, the grounds of the Old Capitol Museum, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. The candlelight tour takes place from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Attendees can park and use shuttle buses running between sites or walk or drive between locations on their own schedule. For more information, visit capitalcitylights.com.

Ohashi Bowls at Cultivation Food Hall

Husband and wife duo Emrick Immanuel and Kim Nguyen opened a new restaurant called Ohashi Bowls at Cultivation Food Hall in The District at Eastover in September. Initially serving sushi and bubble fruit teas, the restaurant also added ramen to the menu at the end of November.

The menu at Ohashi Bowls includes pork, chicken, beef and miso ramen, with toppings such as kimchi, marinated eggs, butter corn, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, fried onions, pickled ginger and more. Other menu items include pork belly wraps, karaage chicken and pork or veggie gyoza.

"A lot of places in Jackson might offer ramen as a side dish, but for us this is our specialty rather than something added on," Immanuel says. "We even brought on a pair of sushi and ramen chefs with 25 years of experience to prepare these dishes. Eric Nguyen and Sam Gonzalez came all the way out from California and New York, respectively, to help us open our restaurant."

Ohashi Bowls is open Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 769-208-0314, visit cultivationfoodhall.com or find the restaurant on Facebook.