It's a known fact of December life: the first weekend of the 12th month of each the year is the most seasonally action-packed.

Admittedly, the second weekend isn't too shabby either, well-stocked as it is with the stuff that didn't fit in the first weekend.

But crunching the numbers, we see that No. 2 comes up as, well, No. 2 - which may be to its advantage, of course, since the competition for our free time is a bit less ruthless.

Come the third weekend, public events are slowly ceding ground to the family-and-friends gatherings that are at the real heart of the holiday season.

For Bloomington-Normal dwellers, the weekend at hand will definitely pose a logistical challenge to any holiday event fan who thinks he or she can have it all.

For proof, here is a day-by-day overvie• of just some of the highlights:

Dec. 4

• To ease yourself into the weekend at hand, why not kick it off economically in these lean times? Head to Bloomington's festooned Miller Park Pavilion at 7 p.m. for the annual free holiday pops concert by our very own Community Concert Band, replete with post-concert punch and cookies. (Did we mention it's free?)

• Also at 7 p.m. tonight, the Normal Theater checks in with a four-night stand for that holiday favorite that never wears out its welcome, 1954's "White Christmas," with Bing, Danny, Rosie, Vera and the rest of the gang - chief among them that songwriter named Irv. (Additional showings are at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.)

• If your appetite rules your roost, then perhaps you'd rather opt for something more gastronomically inclined - say, ISU's revamped madrigal dinners, with a ne• name (Madrigal Holiday Celebration), menu (Italian family feast), locale (ISU Alumni Center) and musical philosophy (eclectic). Soup's on at 6:30 p.m. (actually that's when the cash bar opens, followed by dinner 'round 7 - also the start time Friday and Saturday).

Dec. 5

• Downtown Bloomington's annual "Once Upon a Holiday" fete kicks off with one of its most creative offerings: the Live Windo• Vignettes, in which the storefronts of downtown merchants literally come alive with flesh-and-blood décor celebrating the sights and sounds of the season, from 5 to 8 p.m. Thanks to what hit the ground when the skies opened up last weekend, the holiday mood should be close to perfection.

Dec. 6

• The centerpiece of the weekend, of course, is the annual Jaycees Christmas Parade - No. 79, to be exact (anyone here been around long enough to remember the first?; anyone remember the soaking we got last year?). The theme is "Christmas Around the World"; the start time is 10 a.m.; the route is the familiar one (from Kingsley Junior High School in Normal, south down Center to the intersection with Jefferson in downtown Bloomington); the fat jolly guy in the red suit is the usual suspect.

• Following the parade, carol on over to the McLean County Museum of History for its annual free "Christmas on the Square" celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., complete with festive tree in the rotunda, holiday crafts, refreshments, live entertainment and more.

• Throughout the day, there will be vintage carriage rides 'round the square and plenty of shopping ops at downtown merchants, as well as the McLean County Arts Center, where its "Holiday Treasures" sho• and sale will be in full swing

• Another essential Twin Cities tradition is Twin Cities Ballet's annual staging of "The Nutcracker," this year with mass invasions of Sugar Plum Fairies and other magical wonders, at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in ISU's Braden Auditorium.

• At 7:30 p.m., the lights will be lowered in Bloomington's downtown Second Presbyterian Church, all the better to set the mood for the Illinois Chamber Orchestra's holiday tradition: a candlelight chamber concert, this year with sopranos Saundra DeAthos and Kimberly Ladage adding to the refined aural ambience under the baton of Karen Lynne Deal.

• Another musical option is the annual holiday vespers performance by the 24-voice community chorus, Cantus Novus, at 7 p.m. in IWU's Evelyn Chapel. The theme: "Telling the Story."

Dec. 7

• At the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington learn the answer to the question, "Can reindeer really fly?," as the Miller Park Zoo's four-legged and two-legged folk join forces at 2 p.m. for a special holiday program (repeated, same time, Dec. 14 and 21).

• Another performance of "The Nutcracker" at 2 p.m. in Braden Auditorium (see above).

• At 3 p.m., IWU's annual Christmas Choral Concert takes over Bloomington's Holy Trinity Church with an array of the school's vocal ensembles.

• The 19th annual "Music for the Holidays" concerts in ISU Center for the Performing Arts are set for 3 and 7 p.m., and involve a veritable army of the school's music forces, from the ISU Symphony Orchestra to various choral ensembles and choirs - not to mention another weekend gig for that plump gent from up north.