# Sensory-Friendly Nutcracker — Columbia Dance at Skyview Concert Hall

> Event for families in the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro area (OR / WA). Times are Pacific Time.

- When: Fri, Dec 18 · 6:00 PM
- Where: Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW 139th St, Vancouver, WA 98685
- Ages: All ages; designed for anyone with sensory concerns
- Price: Adults $29, Seniors (65+) $24, Youth (thru age 18) $24
- For kids with sensory or other needs: Sensory-friendly. Sensory-friendly: lower music volume, house lights left dimly lit, shush-free audience free to enter and leave, assigned seats with a one-seat buffer around each group and empty rows in front and behind; pre-visit story PDF on columbiadance.org. Tickets non-refundable; online sales end 2 hours before the show, then at the door.
- Organizer: Columbia Dance
- Official page: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=369485
- Last checked: Tue, Oct 27

Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Nov 2, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about
Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-11-01), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/portland/activities/sensory-friendly-nutcracker-columbia-dance-at-skyview-concert-hall--listing-0028b339a685ac6554e5b2b7

## About

Columbia Dance, the Vancouver dance school and company, sets The Nutcracker in 1840s Fort Vancouver, and its Friday-evening show is a sensory-friendly performance. The music is played at a lower volume, the house lights stay dimly lit and the audience is shush-free, so children can get up, come and go and make some noise. Seats are assigned, with an empty seat on each side of every group and the rows in front and behind left empty. The ballet keeps Tchaikovsky's score, the tutus and the party scene, but the party takes place in the Chief Factor's dining room at the fort, where Dr. John McLoughlin brings in a fur trapper whose tales inspire young Cecilia Douglas's dream: beavers fighting fur trappers, dancing wapato plants and Oregon Trail children arriving by covered wagon. Columbia Dance has worked with historians, local tribes and Fort Vancouver staff on the story since 2019. Students from Level 1A up dance in it. The show lasts about two hours, including a 20-minute intermission, and the company posts a pre-visit story so children know what to expect. Online ticket sales close two hours before the show, and tickets are then sold at the door.

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