by Noella Noelophile®
(Photo courtesy of Downtown Sacramento, and used with permission.)
The 60-foot tree stands waiting.
Gifted performers are rehearsing their topnotch skills.
And mischievous Jack Frost once again awaits a chance to foil Santa in his mission, as the audience learns how California history ties into a beloved Christmas classic.
You guessed it–it’s almost time for Old Sacramento’s “Holiday Tree Lighting” and the opening night of their Christmastime tradition, “Theatre of Lights!”
The festivities take place this Wednesday, November 27th.
At approximately 5 pm, at Old Sacramento’s Front and K Streets, the program begins.
(Photo courtesy of Downtown Sacramento/Julian Martinez, and used with permission.)
The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus and Sac Dance Lab will entertain attendees. Speakers, including elected officials, will share their festive thoughts. And something brand-new has been added: a countdown, this year, to the tree lighting, led by “Stomper”–the A’s six-foot-six elephant mascot!
The tree, decorated by the talented team from Stage Nine Exhibits, will display nearly 24,000 lights, 550 icicles, and 400 strobes–as well as numerous other specialty lights.
And, once it’s lighted?
(Photo courtesy of Old Sacramento/Julian Martinez, and used with permission.)
The audience gets treated to a show following the show–Old Sacramento’s traditional “Theatre of Lights” performance, now in its 16th year.
Staged on the balconies of the surrounding historic buildings, “Theatre of Lights” incorporates a light show, audio, California history and the reading of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” into a conflict between Santa and a “chillingly” villainous Jack Frost.
(Photo courtesy of downtown Sacramento/Julian Martinez, and used with permission.)
Created by Stage Nine Exhibitions’ Troy Carlson, the free and family-friendly “Theatre of Lights” show will offer weekend and Christmas-week performances, after Thanksgiving, from November 29th through December 24th. Here’s the link for show dates and times.
Like to know the story of Theatre of Lights? Here’s the link to my 2021 interview with Troy Carlson, in which he shares the story of his creation.
(Photo courtesy of Downtown Sacramento, and used with permission.)
And, would you like to support small businesses, including Troy’s Stage Nine Productions, for Small Business Saturday and the Christmas season? Stage Nine Productions, located in the “What Cheer House”, started as a 500-square-foot gift shop in the 1990s–and has since expanded to a five-store retail space, which includes a confectionery, toy emporiu, and an onsite art gallery.
Meanwhile, Stage Nine Productions is one of more than 125 small businesses in the Old Sacramento shopping district, which would enjoy being a part of your gift shopping experience, this Christmas season.
One more note–on weekends after Thanksgiving, bring your walking shoes and prepare to have fun! K Street will become a pedestrian mall on Friday nights and through Saturday evenings, November 30 through Christmas Eve, December 24th.
Old Sacramento’s “Holiday Tree Lighting” program begins at 5 pm, Wednesday, November 27th, at Front and K Streets. The tree lighting happens at 6 pm, with the first performance of the 16th annual “Theatre of Lights” show immediately afterwards. Admission is free.