Charles Dickens may have drawn inspiration from the people and places of his Victorian-era England, but who were the real “ghosts” in his life who inspired “A Christmas Carol”?

A tale of dread and mayhem is told from the point of view of a suitcase.

Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell will perform Brahm’s Violin Concerto when he joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Sir Andrew Davis, for a program of Thanksgiving week concerts that will also include Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Stravinsky’s neoclassic Symphony in Three Movements

“The Wizard of Oz” film-version celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2009, but last weekend’s Kidstock performance of the play, founder and creative director Brian Milauskas admitted, was not selected because of that fact.

Paradise City Arts Festival returns this weekend with a new special exhibit.

Westborough resident Sandra McCaw has joined an elite group -- one of 35 artists that will take part in Paradise City Arts Festival for the first time. The three-day juried show takes place this weekend in Marlborough.

Annual Super Megafest hits Framingham Sheraton this weekend with TV and movie heroes, villains, comic books and collectibles.

After driving 4,000 miles to gigs this year, folksinger Debra Cowan is really looking forward to her 25-minute drive this evening to sing at Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham.

Inside her studio at the ET Wright Building at 179 Liberty St., Rockland resident Pat Isaac uses oil pastels to create realistic portraits and still-life paintings, including one of a large lily, which had caught her eye.

Weston Friendly Society’s fall production of “Anne of Green Gables: The Musical,” will open Nov. 28 with performances on Nov. 29 and Dec. 5-6.