Turtle Ridge's Holiday Season Runs Through a Campus Theater Down the Hill

From December 5 to December 24, the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Campus Drive belongs to Festival Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker. The run has guest principal dancers from three national companies, and each pair dances on its own block of dates. A Saturday matinee on December 12 and a Saturday matinee on December 19 are the same production with different stars.

For a household in Turtle Ridge, that makes this December's main holiday ticket a choice about which dancers to see, and the date follows from it. The ballet also sets the rest of the theater's calendar. Because it holds the weekends from December 12 through Christmas Eve, the Barclay's other holiday programs mostly land on the last weekends of November, on December weeknights, and on the opening weekend before the guest stars arrive.

Which Weekend Brings Which Company

Festival Ballet Theatre's production is full-length and traditional, choreographed and directed by artistic director Salwa Rizkalla. It combines guest artists, the company's own professional dancers and young dancers from across Southern California. The Barclay lists the guest pairings by performance block:

The New York City Ballet pair has only two performances, and both fall on weekdays during the week of Christmas. The Joffrey and Houston pairs each get a full weekend of four performances. The Barclay notes that guest artists may change, so check the listing again before buying for a particular pair.

The run also offers an add-on worth booking early. The Nutcracker Tea Party takes place in the Barclay's Jade Room and starts one hour before a performance. It includes finger sandwiches, petit fours and scones with tea and lemonade, plus a glass of champagne for adults. Characters from the ballet, Clara among them, join the party while the story is told. Tickets are limited, and guests must hold tickets for the performance that follows. The option appears in the cart after seats are added, and the ticket office at 949-854-4646 can help.

The Shows the Ballet Pushes Into November and Weeknights

With the ballet holding most December weekends, the rest of the Barclay's holiday programming sits around it. The theater turned 35 in 2025. It opened on Sept. 30, 1990, and the Daily Pilot covered the free block party and concert held for the anniversary. Its 2026-27 season includes more than 50 events. These are the listings from this weekend through December:

• Sat., Nov. 7 at 8:30 p.m.: Siavash Shams – Live in Irvine.
• Sun., Nov. 8 at 3 p.m.: The Hutchins Consort with Orquesta de Baja California: New Beginnings.
• Sat., Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.: Titanic: The Musical, a concert production by the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts, directed and music-directed by Daniel Keeling.
• Tue., Nov. 24 at 8 p.m.: The UCI Symphony Orchestra's fall concert, which UCI Arts bills as Transfiguration: Music of Herrmann, Bartók and Wagner.
• Sat., Nov. 28 at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.: Premier Ballet School of Orange County's A Classic Christmas Ballet.
• Sun., Nov. 29 at 5 p.m.: Choir! Choir! Choir!: Un-Silent Night, a holiday sing-along led by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman. The audience does the singing.
• Wed., Dec. 9 at 8 p.m.: Swingin' Through the Holidays, with the Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra and featured performers Eric Marienthal and Lucy Woodward. Shelly Berg is music director.
• Fri., Dec. 18 at 8 p.m.: Robert Cazimero: Christmas in Hawai'i.

On Friday, December 4, the theater also hosts an Abridged Nutcracker for Youth at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and a Sensory Friendly Holiday Showcase of The Nutcracker at 2 p.m. For families planning the season, the Thanksgiving weekend gives two holiday choices in a row. Premier Ballet's matinee or early evening show is on Saturday, and the sing-along is on Sunday. Both come a week before the full Nutcracker opens.

The Campus Calendar Runs on Different Prices

Across the UCI campus, the student and faculty series offers a lower-cost December than the Barclay's touring and presented shows. It runs in different buildings.

UCI Drama's Continuity, by Bess Wohl, plays at xMPL from November 6 to 8 and November 12 to 14. Evening shows start at 8 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. on November 8 and 14. The music department's December runs mostly at Winifred Smith Hall:

1. Mon., Nov. 30 at 8 p.m.: UC Irvine Wind Ensemble, conducted by Kevin McKeown. General admission is $10.
2. Wed., Dec. 2 at 8 p.m.: The Fall Jazz Concert, with the UCI Jazz Orchestra under Jerry Pinter and the UCI Jazz Combos under Darek Oles. General admission is $10.
3. Thu., Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.: Sounds of the Season, with more than 200 UCI choral singers conducted by Irene Messoloras. It is held off campus at Bethel Church in Irvine and is free with registration.
4. Sat., Dec. 5 at 8 p.m.: UCI Opera Workshop, led by artistic director Shane Wood. Free.
5. Mon., Dec. 7 at 8 p.m.: The Art of Chamber Music, with UCI student ensembles organized by Sarah Koo Freeman. Free.

The opera workshop is on the same Saturday the Nutcracker opens. A 2 p.m. ballet matinee at the Barclay and the 8 p.m. opera workshop at Winifred Smith Hall fit into one day on the same campus. Because the two buildings use different parking structures, plan the evening move before the day starts.

Two Venues, Two Parking Structures

Parking is where a show night on campus most often goes wrong. The two sets of venues point patrons to different structures with different rates:

1. For the Barclay, use the UCI structure at the corner of Campus Drive and West Peltason, next to the theater. UCI Arts calls it the Student Center Parking Structure. Tell the kiosk attendant you are a Barclay patron to get the $10 performance rate. UCI operates the structure, not the theater, and UCI Parking offers an online system to pay in advance.
2. For Winifred Smith Hall, Claire Trevor Theatre and xMPL, UCI Arts directs visitors to the Mesa Parking Structure. UCI Parking's visitor permit rates are $16 for a general one-day permit or $4 an hour at the general permit dispensers and kiosks.
3. Do not use the shopping center across from the Barclay. The theater warns that spaces there are limited and that cars belonging to non-customers can be towed.

Dinner Is a Walk Across Campus Drive

The shopping center the Barclay warns drivers away from is the best place to eat before a show, as long as you arrive on foot from the parking structure. University Center covers 4100 to 4255 Campus Drive, and the Irvine Company describes it as a pedestrian-friendly center. The Barclay is at 4242 Campus Drive. The center's own directory lists several places for dinner:

• Eureka!, 4143 Campus Dr. #C193
• Mendocino Farms, 4175 Campus Dr. #M176
• Fast Hotpot, 4187 Campus Dr. #M171
• Mad Dumplings, 4213 Campus Dr. #P166D
• Tender Greens, Tenori and California Gogi Grill, all at 4237 Campus Dr., in suites B165, B163 and B157
• Karē Japanese Curry, 4249 Campus Dr. #B148

For dessert after a matinee, Gelatissimo opened at University Center in May 2025, according to the Irvine Standard. Hours vary by restaurant and by night, so check them directly before booking a table ahead of a 6 p.m. Nutcracker curtain.

Daftarian Group follows the calendars that shape daily life in the communities it serves, from the Barclay's December to the quieter details of the season that come with living in Turtle Ridge. To talk through the neighborhood with a team that knows it closely, Daftarian Group invites you to Request a Private Consultation.