Houston's 'Muttcracker' Market Supports Ballet ... and Dogs

It's getting to be that time again ... yuletide carols, sugarplum fairies, eggnog and, of course, nutcrackers. Whether you're into the ballet or just the decorative tool, a whimsical holiday event in Houston will satisfy every nutcracker lover. As well as, it turns out, every dog lover.

The annual Nutcracker Market, taking place this weekend at Houston's Reliant Center, will benefit Houston Ballet Foundation, Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy and the academy's scholarship fund.

The market will be bustling this year, with 323 merchants (including 50 new ones) hawking a vast variety of holiday paraphernalia, decorations, gourmet food, clothing and other items perfect for gift-giving. So whether you're looking for that special popcorn-and-cranberry-bedecked wreath, the perfect sparkly Rudolph sweater for Grandma or a deluxe fruitcake to cap off your Christmas dinner, you know just where to look.

And if the fact that all the proceeds are going to a worthy artistic cause is not enough to draw a big crowd of shoppers, surely the theme of this year’s market will. The 2009 market will be "Puttin’ on the Dog," an idea inspired by the humorous Fido-centered creations of Louisianan artist Jim Tweedy. His holiday cartoons include "The Muttcracker" and "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Larry,” which stole the canine-loving heart of the market's chairperson, Gaylon Gullquist.

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