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A guide to the 2024 Boston Holiday Pops season, from kids matinees to 'Home Alone'
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Our big Nova Scotian Christmas tree is getting lit tonight on the Common. The festivities begin at 6 p.m., with the lighting of the tree and other holiday lights throughout the Common and Public Garden planned for just before 8 p.m. (If you prefer to watch from home, WCVB will air the lighting on Channel 5 and online starting at 7 p.m.)
But that isn’t the only musical holiday tradition starting tonight:
Tis’ the season: The Holiday Pops begin their seasonal run tonight at Boston Symphony Hall, the first of several dozen concerts planned through December. Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart joined WBUR’s Morning Edition to preview what’s new in this year’s show, which includes whip-cracking classics like “Sleigh Ride,” poems from Langston Hughes and even a little Mariah Carey.
- For the general public: Tonight is the first of 33 full Holiday Pops shows through Christmas Eve (18 evening shows and 15 afternoon matinees). You can find balcony seats for as cheap as $51 on some weeknights, though tickets are more expensive on the weekend.
- For the kids: The Pops will also perform seven 11 a.m. shows (mostly on the weekend) meant for younger children. They’ll have no intermission, holiday treats, a Santa photo-op and be shorter in length. You can find that schedule here.
- For the sensory-sensitive: This Saturday, the Holiday Pops will perform a sold-out concert with reduced volume and lighting for people on the autism spectrum or with other sensory sensitivities.
- Need an activity to fill that sleepy time between Christmas and New Years? Symphony Hall will host three screenings of the movie “Home Alone,” with the Pops performing its John Williams soundtrack live.
- How Lockhart is approaching the season: He told WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing that the Holiday Pops are a “balancing act” between tradition and inclusivity. “What I try to do is provide things people want to come back to … but always adding new musical experiences from across cultures,” he said. “Everybody comes together in celebration and leaves with a feeling of community, which is […] something we’re sorely lacking.”
- Go deeper: Here’s the story of how the Holiday Pops tradition began more than 50 years ago.
A status update on Question 3: After voters gave Uber and Lyft drivers the right to unionize in Massachusetts last month, organizers say they’re close to doing just that. As WBUR’s Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports, thousands of drivers have now signed cards expressing their support for a union — a critical first step in the process.
- Why it matters: Question 3 requires 5% of the estimated 80,000 rideshare drivers in the state to sign union cards in order for organizers to receive a list of all drivers. (They’ll then have to get the support of at least 25% of them to form the actual union.)
- What’s next: Roxana Rivera, an SEIU leader who spearheaded the ballot campaign, told Andrea they’ve hit the 5% threshold and plan to present the signatures to state officials when the law takes effect on Jan. 3. However, Uber told Andrea they have concerns about the threshold and will lobby for changes to the process.
Sunday Funday: BPS Sundays is now “BPS Family Days.” Mayor Michelle Wu is extending the program offering Boston students free Sunday admission to local museums for another two years — and expanding the list of places and people who can participate.
- Who’s eligible: It’s no longer just limited to BPS students and their families. Any school-aged child in Boston can now participate, including charter school, private school and METCO students. The only catch is that they need to register first. Signups are set to open later this month. (BPS students are still automatically enrolled and get their passes through the school.)
- What museums are new to the program? Boston’s Museum of African American History, the JFK Library and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are joining the list of participating institutions.
Wait, wait: The expected rollout of online lottery games in Massachusetts is getting pushed back — again — until summer 2026.
Not so fast: The man chosen to lead the state’s Cannabis Control Commission is now saying “no thanks.” David Lakeman, a former CCC official now working in Indiana, turned down the job offer.
P.S.— It’s Spotify Wrapped season, and WBUR’s breakout podcast Beyond All Repair made Spotify’s list of the best new shows of 2024. You can read the full list here.
