The Nicolet Players Present: A Sherlock Carol December 3-12
Lakeside Lounge Bar service offering beverages and small bites opens at 6 pm (1 pm for matinee)
Thursday, December 3 | 7 pm
Friday, December 4 | 7 pm
Saturday, December 5 | 7 pm
Add a pre-show dinner to your ticket for just $26 for the evening performance only.
Sunday, December 6 | 2 pm (Matinee)
Friday, December 10 | 7 pm
Saturday, December 11 | 7 pm
Sunday, December 12 | 2 pm (Matinee)
Add a pre-show luncheon to your ticket for just $15 for the evening performance only.
If you’re looking for a holiday treat, look no further. A Sherlock Carol is a playful, witty, and heartwarming holiday comedy that mixes intrigue, suspense, and Christmas cheer. When a mysterious crime casts a shadow over a Victorian Christmas, the legendary Sherlock Holmes is drawn into a captivating case that reunites audiences with familiar characters from Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol.
Brimming with Victorian charm, clever twists, and festive spirit, this inventive theatrical mashup combines the warmth and wonder of a Christmas classic with the excitement of a Holmes whodunit. As Holmes follows a trail of clues through a world filled with holiday nostalgia, audiences will be swept up in a story that celebrates redemption, compassion, and the magic of the season.
Perfect for mystery lovers and Christmas enthusiasts alike, A Sherlock Carol is a delightful holiday adventure filled with laughter, surprises, and plenty of yuletide joy.
Community Holiday Concert
Free Admission
Talented musicians from several area groups will come together to bring you an all instrumental holiday concert. Seasonal favorites will be performed by the Rhinelander Area Community Band, Flute Therapy, Reeds in the Weeds, Jubilant Brass, and The Unemployed 11.
Complimentary cookies and coffee will be provided during the concert. Non-perishable food and monetary donations for local food pantries are welcome at the door.
Billy Bronsted String Band - WXPR Concert Series
The Billy Bronsted String Band brings together the best of Wisconsin’s north and south, pairing Billy’s plainspoken, down-home songwriting with the progressive fire that Jordan Kroeger and Ernest Brusubardis IV built on the state’s thriving bluegrass scene. Mandolin phenom Ryan Ogburn rounds out the lineup, and together these four turn string band arrangements into something that respects tradition while refusing to stay put.
Blue Note Ensemble
Lakeside Lounge bar service offering beverages and small bites opens at 6:30 pm.
Presented by the University of Wisconsin Badger Talks Program
Step into the vibrant world of the Blue Note Ensemble, UW–Madison’s premier small jazz group led by nationally acclaimed pianist, composer, and educator Professor Johannes Wallmann. Typically featuring 2–3 frontline instruments—like trumpets, trombones, saxophones, woodwinds, or even high strings—alongside 1–2 comping instruments such as piano, guitar, or vibraphone, plus bass and drums, the group delivers a rich, textured sound that’s both classic and contemporary.
Each semester, the ensemble dives deep into the work of a single iconic jazz artist, offering students the chance to explore that artist’s style, language, and legacy in depth. Past focuses have included jazz legends such as Horace Silver, Joe Henderson, and Art Blakey, among others. The ensemble will delight audiences with 45 to 60 minutes of music from a recent or upcoming concert with an opportunity for informal interaction with the performers after the concert.
Ben Mulwana and The Village - WXPR Concert Series
Ben Mulwana is a Ugandan-born and raised artist residing in Wisconsin. With thought-provoking lyrics and a diverse range of musical inspiration, Mulwana’s music has been described as Afro-soul rock that takes on a unique storytelling quality. The full band brings a dynamic and high-energy quality that builds on the soulful presence of his solo performances.
Lost Images of the Northwoods
Free Admission
Lakeside Lounge bar service offering beverages and small bites opens at 5:30 pm.
A remarkable piece of Rhinelander history, once thought lost forever, was rediscovered in the fall of 2025. Tens of thousands of newspaper photo negatives spanning the 1950s through the 1990s were uncovered from the archives of the Rhinelander Daily News, preserving decades of Northwoods people, places, events, and everyday life.
In this first public presentation of the collection, Northwoods historian Kerry Bloedorn will share a selection of these fascinating images, offering a rare glimpse into the community’s past through photographs unseen for generations. From major local events to candid moments of everyday life, these rediscovered photographs tell the story of Rhinelander and the surrounding region in vivid detail.
A Wilderness Act
Free Admission
How has fire shaped the Great Lakes area over time? Inspired by the red pine forests of the Great Lakes area, Anishinaabe graduate student Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano and university professor Evan Larson join together to educate current and future generations about how returning fire to the land, and returning the land to its people, can be healing for all. See the short film, join a discussion with the film’s creators, and share an Indigenous meal.
Logan Metz - WXPR Concert Series
Logan Metz is a Midwest-based songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends folk, rock, jazz, and country influences with sharp storytelling, memorable melodies, and a touch of wit.
Metz joined Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real as a multi-instrumentalist and has performed alongside artists including Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Eddie Vedder, Joe Walsh, Warren Haynes, Robby Krieger, Bob Weir, John Densmore, Jimmy Buffett, and in 2023 toured on piano for Willie Nelson.