Here are some of the musical performances, documentaries, and arts and entertainment specials you’ll find during the final days of DecemberFest 2020 (Wednesday-Sunday, Dec. 2-6). For a complete lineup, visit idahoptv.org/decemberfest.
Journey to Lapland, where tales of Santa Claus mingle with hearty wildlife and stunning landscapes, in Santa’s Wild Home on Nature (Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7 PM). Explore this region in northern Finland, the fabled home of Santa and actual home of reindeer, wolverines, eagles, wolves, brown bears and more.
Blenko Glass: Behind the Scenes (Friday, Dec. 4, at 9 PM) travels to the hills of Milton, West Virginia, to discover how each unique piece of beautiful, hand-blown glassware is created at the family-owned Blenko Glassworks by human hands and hearts, not by impersonal machines.
The Avett Brothers perform songs highlighting their energetic and eclectic combination of bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk and indie rock in a concert at a stunning Colorado outdoor venue in The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks (Friday, Dec. 4, at 10 PM).
On May 5, 1973, Johnny Cash performed a stellar set at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, featuring an appearance by his wife, June Carter Cash. The recently discovered footage airs for the first time in Johnny Cash: A Night to Remember (Saturday, Dec. 5, at 5:30 PM).
Recorded in Norway in February 2020, Judy Collins – Winter Stories (Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7 PM) is a collection of seasonal tales and emotionally evocative songs by folk singer-songwriter Collins with Norwegian folk artist Jonas Fjeld and American bluegrass band Chatham County Line.
ABBA Forever – A Celebration (Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8:30 PM) combines live performance clips with exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews to tell the story of the Swedish band that performed together for only 10 years but remains one of the biggest-selling musical acts of all time.
Some seek thrills, some seek records, some push themselves to the edge of physical and mental endurance. But for most Idaho climbers, standing on the top of Idaho’s tallest mountains is reward enough. For Idaho’s 12ers (Sunday, Dec. 6, at 7 PM), the Outdoor Idaho production crew spent time on all nine of the Gem State’s 12,000-foot peaks (and a few 11,000-footers) with 44 intrepid climbers of a variety of ages and experience levels — Idaho natives and newcomers, experts and novices, men and women.
In Books, Boats and Embezzlers (Sunday, Dec. 6, at 8:30 PM), our Idaho Experience team shares a collection of short stories drawn from Idaho’s rich and varied history: a publisher who maintains hands-on printing traditions; how Ernest Hemingway’s time in Idaho influenced him; the steamboats that thrived on Lake Pend Oreille at the turn of the 20th century; and drive-in theaters that keep movie-watching traditions alive.
The Western Front of World War I, Christmas 1914. Out of the violence comes a silence, then a song. A German soldier steps into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night). Thus begins an extraordinary (though fleeting) night of camaraderie, music and peace. The theatrical performance All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (Sunday, Dec. 6, at 9:30 PM) recreates this remarkable true story, told in the words and songs of the men who lived it.
Idaho Public Television News 