Calendar of events: 45th Annual Holidays at the Manor House goes virtual for 2020

        The 45th annual Holidays at the Manor House is going virtual.
        While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic precludes public tours this year, it didn’t stop volunteers from decorating every room and nook of the 30,000-square-foot estate home at Wildwood Preserve with holiday cheer.
        Virtual content from Holidays at the Manor House will be delivered daily starting mid-week and continue through Dec.13 on the Metroparks Toledo social media platforms at MetroparksToledo.com/Holidays. Each day a different area of the fully decorated Manor House will be highlighted along with special holiday performances featuring local musicians.
        The process of decorating the stately mansion begins almost a year in advance when decorators submit proposals for displays to a committee, which makes the final selection. This year, decorators were asked to incorporate a Metroparks theme into each display.
 
Ongoing events
Through Dec. 6: “Expanded Views II: Native American Art in Focus,” Toledo Museum of Art. Highlights of the installation include a rotating selection of Navajo textile masterworks, on special loan from the Crane Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. www.toledomuseum.org.
Through Dec. 23: Photos with Santa, Levis Commons, Perrysburg. Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, 4-8 p.m.; Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, noon-8 p.m.; Sundays Dec. 6, 13 and 20, noon-6 p.m.; Dec. 21 and 22, noon-8 p.m. and Dec. 23, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. COVID-19 safety measures in place.
Through Dec. 24: Maker’s Mart: Online 2020, a virtual event by Handmade Toledo. Shop 50+ makers on one web store with one checkout. Shipping, in-store and curbside pickup available. https://shophandmadetoledo.com/collections/makers-mart-online-2020.
Through Dec. 31: Lights Before Christmas, Toledo Zoo, 2 Hippo Way. With over one million lights, the award-winning Big Tree and 200+ illuminated animal images spread out across the Zoo, the 2020 edition of the electrical spectacle is sure to be both merry and bright. Other activities include carriage rides, yuletide food and spirits, an ice slide, carousel, train rides, ice carving demonstrations and more. toledozoo.org/lights.
Through Jan. 3, 2021: “Yayoi Kusama: Fireflies on the Water,” Toledo Museum of Art. Visitors will be allowed to take part in this unique installation that utilizes lights and mirrors to transport them to a space that seems endlessly expansive. www.toledomuseum.org.
Through Jan. 3, 2021: “The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter’s Stained Glass Art,” Levis Gallery, Toledo Museum of Art. Judith Schaechter (b. 1961) has explored and pushed the limits of the stained-glass medium for over three decades with her striking stained-glass panels that fuse the medieval with the boldly contemporary. “The Path to Paradise” is the first survey and major scholarly assessment of this groundbreaking artist’s 37-year career. toledomuseum.org.
Through Jan. 4, 2021: Hayes Train Special Model Train Display, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Spiegel Grove, Fremont. This operating model train display runs through an intricate Victorian holiday scene. Interactive buttons allow visitors to control aspects of the trains’ movements along the winding, multi‐tiered, 12x24‐foot layout. Included with regular admission. Members are admitted free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday with the exception of holiday hours and closings. 419-332-2081, www.rbhayes.org.
Through Jan. 17, 2021: “PICTURE ID: Contemporary African American Works on Paper,” Toledo Museum of Art. The works of art featured were created in response to artistic developments and cultural debates prevalent throughout the late 1980s and 1990s in the United States.  Invoking the rise of multicultural activism, concerns surrounding the AIDS crisis, conservative social and economic policies, rapid gentrification, and increasing urban crime during this time, each artist utilizes a mixture of text and image to tackle cultural stereotypes and to challenge oppressive racial characterizations.  www.toledomuseum.org.
Through Feb. 14, 2021: “Radical Tradition: American Quilts and Social Change,” New Media Gallery, Toledo Museum of Art. The exhibit brings historical and contemporary works together in critical dialogue to consider how quilts have been used to voice opinions, raise awareness, and enact social reform in the U.S. from the mid-19th century to the present. toledomuseum.org.
Through Feb. 14, 2021: “Telling Stories: Resilience and Struggle in Contemporary Narrative Drawing,” New Media Gallery, Toledo Museum of Art. The exhibit showcases the extraordinary vitality of contemporary drawing as an expressive medium as presented through the works of Amy Cutler, Robyn O’Neil, and Annie Pootoogook. toledomuseum.org.
Through Feb. 28, 2021: Special exhibit “The Press & The Presidency,” Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Spiegel Grove, Fremont. It is not just a modern occurrence that the press has played a role in American politics. Since George Washington, presidents have had to respond to negative press and use some media to their advantage. This exhibit will investigate how the press and presidency have coexisted throughout American history. Exhibit is included with regular admission. Members are admitted free. 419-332-2081, www.rbhayes.org.
Through April 4, 2021: “Luminous Visions: Phillip K. Smith III and Light Across the Collection,” Gallery 18, Toledo Museum of Art. California-based artist Phillip K. Smith III creates light-based installations that explore the relationships between light, color, space, and form. To mark the significant acquisition of Smith’s “Flat Torus 4,” this exhibition considers the work alongside objects from TMA’s collection that explore the theme of light from a wide range of perspectives. toledomuseum.org
 
December
Dec. 5, 11, 12, 18, 19: Santa’s House, corner of Croghan and Front St., downtown Fremont. Fridays 5-7 p.m.; Saturdays 1-3 p.m. Visit Santa and share your Christmas list. Free. www.downtownfremontohio.org.
Dec. 5: Holly, Jolly Downtown Open House, downtown Fremont. Holiday parade set for 6 p.m. www.downtownfremontohio.org.
Dec. 5-6: Fremont Flea Market, Sandusky County Fairgrounds, 901 Rawson Ave., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. 419-332-5604, www.sanduskycountyfair.com.
Dec. 8: Optics 101: Purchasing, Adjusting and Caring for Optics, presented virtually by Black Swamp Bird Observatory, 7 p.m. BSBO Outreach Coordinator, Jason Guerard, will cover all the basics to help you better understand this important bird observation tool, and help you know what to look for to find the binocular that's right for you. www.bsbo.org.
Dec. 10-23: Drive-Thru Winter Wonderland, Sandusky Co. Fairgrounds, 901 Rawson Ave., Fremont. The fairgrounds will be lighted with holiday scenes set up and displayed by local youth and community organizations, along with many local businesses. Hours are Sunday-Thursday, 6-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6-9 p.m. $5 per vehicle. Also accepting donations to Sandusky County Food Pantry. 419-332-5604, www.sanduskycountyfair.com.
Dec. 11-13: Toledo Ballet’s 80th Anniversary “Nutcracker,” livestreamed from the Stranahan Theater, Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 a.m. 5 p.m. To watch, visit stream.artstoledo.com and choose your performance. $35.
Dec. 13: Toledo Zoo Polar Paws and Santa Claws 5K. Kids’ Run (through age 12, broken into age groups), begins at 3 p.m. and travels within the zoo. $15 incudes kids’ ice slide pass. 5K race/walk begins at 4 p.m. Route travels throughout the zoo and surrounding neighborhoods, finishing in the zoo’s Main Plaza. $45 registration fee. Prices include admission to Lights Before Christmas. Virtual race option available. https://connect.toledozoo.org/events/10733.
Dec. 13: Santa Hustle Virtual 5K Run, presented by Cedar Point. https://santahustle.com/cedar-point/.
Dec. 19: “A Presidential Christmas: – Tree Lighting, Sleigh Rides and Hayes Train Special,” Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Spiegel Grove, Fremont, 5:30-8 p.m. p.m. 419-332-2081, rbhayes.org.
Dec. 22: Woodpeckers of the Midwest: Identifying and Attracting the Hammerheads with Black Swamp Bird Observatory Staff, presented virtually at 7 p.m. Learn about the woodpeckers that call the Midwest home, including identification tips, clarification on some of those odd names, and ways to attract these charismatic birds to your yard. www.bsbo.org.
Dec. 26-Jan. 2, 2021: Horse‐Drawn Trolley Rides through Spiegel Grove, Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Fremont, 1-4 p.m. (last ride ticket sold at 3:45 p.m.) Ride through the grounds of Spiegel Grove in a horse‐drawn sleigh, as President Hayes did when he lived here. A horse‐drawn trolley also will be used. Rides are by South Creek Clydesdales. Riders must wear a face‐covering. Four people can fit in the sleigh. For information and tickets, visit rbhayes.org. If the rides are canceled due to weather, refunds will be given. Otherwise, there are no refunds.
Dec. 31: Noon Year’s Eve, Toledo Zoo. Let the countdown to 2021 begin. Bring the family to the zoo on New Year’s Eve to ring in the New Year a little early… at noon. www.toledozoo.org/tickets.
Dec. 31: Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, downtown district, Fremont. Visit @FremontNYE on Facebook for info.
        Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, please verity that events are still ongoing. For more events, be sure to visit presspublications.com, visittoleddo.org, shoresandislands.com or sanduskycounty.org. Submit event information to twalro@presspublications.com.