5 things to do over Thanksgiving break in Boise: Beers, bands, bright lights

Need to keep friends and family entertained during Thanksgiving week? Here are things to do from the Boise events calendar.

Payette Brewing Black Friday

▪ Holiday shopping is hard work. Hard work deserves a beer break. Next stop? Payette Brewing Co., 733 S. Pioneer St. The Boise brewery will host its 10th annual Black Friday festival from noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 26.

Featuring more than 40 stouts and porters — including many barrel-aged behemoths — it’s a terrific way to treat your taste buds. Entry is free. A nifty little sampler glass is $2. Drink tokens for 5-ounce pours are $4. You’ll also be able to buy to-go cans of Payette’s annually released Twelve Gauge Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and its even-sweeter Crème Brûlée variant.

Food trucks will sell grub. And bands will crank tunes: Aaron Golay + The Original Sin from 1 to 4 p.m., Tylor & The Train Robbers from 5 to 8 p.m. No dogs, please. Same with your kids. You must be 21 or older to attend. Online: payettebrewing.com/blackfriday.

Winter Garden aGlow

▪ It’s an annual holiday tradition, and it is always breathtaking. More than a half-million lights are hung across the grounds of the Idaho Botanical Garden, 2355 N. Penitentiary Road, in Boise. There’s food and warm drinks for sale, live holiday caroling, a massive model train display and plenty of burn-barrel action.

Winter Garden aGlow runs Wednesdays through Sundays from Nov. 25-Dec. 31 — but ticketing is being handled a bit differently than in past years. Limited one-hour time blocks are sold every 30 minutes from 6 to 9:30 p.m., and you have to buy tickets in advance. Repeat: No tickets are sold at the gate. The price is $15 general, $12 garden members and children 4-12, free for ages 3 and younger. You can call (208) 343-8649 or purchase online: idahobotanicalgarden.org.

▪ Bonus free light tour: A whopping 43 miles of lights decorate more than 450 trees — including a 75-footer — and a 250-foot light tunnel at the Scentsy Commons Holiday Lights, 2901 E. Pine Ave. in Meridian. It’s lit daily from sunset to sunrise on the Scentsy campus through Jan. 16.

Christmas in Color

▪ Are you a cold-weather wimp? Enjoy a lights tour from the comfort of your car. Christmas in Color, a drive-thru animated light show, is back at Expo Idaho, 5610 N. Glenwood St., Garden City. Here’s the scoop: “Drive through acres of more than 1.5 million lights perfectly synchronized to holiday music you’ll hear right through your radio. You’ll drive by giant candy canes, snowmen, arched pathways and more. It’s like being immersed in another world. In fact, we won’t judge you if you join the kids with your face pressed against the window.”

The show runs from 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily (except closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day) through Jan. 2. A general admission ticket is $35 per vehicle. Or you can drop $60 for VIP treatment, which includes skipping the general-admission line and receiving a “party pack” of diffraction glasses, light-bulb necklaces and more. Online: christmasincolor.net/boise.

Idaho Steelheads hockey

▪ With the exception of watching your uncles argue over eggnog, few things capture the Christmas spirit like hockey players dropping their gloves, right? The Idaho Steelheads will hit the ice multiple times versus the Allen Americans: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Games start at 7:10 p.m. in downtown Boise at Idaho Central Arena, 233 S. Capitol Blvd. Tickets range from $12-$40. Online: idahocentralarena.com.

Ice skating

▪ The Village at Meridian’s ice skating rink is open — with afternoon and evening hours available most days through Jan. 13. You need to make an advance reservation at The Village’s website. Time slots are booked in 30-minute increments. It costs $7 per adult, $5 per child 12 and younger. Prices include skate rental. You can even sign up for lessons from Fireworks Skating Academy. Online: villageatmeridian.com.

▪ Are you in Canyon County? There’s an ice skating rink and ribbon at Indian Creek Plaza in Caldwell. You can walk right up without a reservation. It costs $10 adult, $5 ages 5 and younger. Prices include skate rental. Online: indiancreekplaza.com/ice-skating.