A spicy-sweet gingerbread theme has emerged around East Hampton Village, with candy-decked houses and icing “snow” bringing to life sugarplum scenes for raffle and for charity in the lead-up to the Santa parade. The Jolly Old Elf will arrive by helicopter, plus there's a market on the Village Hall lawn, skating at the Huntting Inn, and a big-name guest at a tree lighting that evening.

A lineup of local rock-and-roll royalty will take the stage at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Wednesday in a benefit for Joe O’Haire, a Montauk photographer recovering from an Oct. 17 motorcycle accident involving an 18-wheeler in Texas that left him with numerous broken bones and a collapsed lung. 

This weekend, the dancers of the Hampton Ballet Theatre School, ranging from tiny tots in tights to pre-professional ballerinas on pointe, will take the stage at Southampton High School once again for their annual production of "The Nutcracker." Also coming up: Gingerbread houses, kids' movies, Legos and crafts, and the return of the Bonac Lights festival at East Hampton High School.