“It’s Your Turn” is the theme of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the country’s largest multicultural holiday show, the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration.  Patrons are invited to carol and dance on the Music Center Plaza before the show, while the six-hour spectacular on the Dorothy Chandler stage will include surprise opportunities for audience interaction.  Holiday Celebration celebrates 50 years of seasonal joy from 3 to 9 pm on Thursday, December 24 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center.

This year, there are more ways than ever to enjoy this music and dance extravaganza featuring over 1,000 performers.  The L.A. County Arts Commission, the show’s producer, is expanding the reach and format of this popular, admission-free holiday staple.  As it has for 44 of the show’s 50 years, KCET will broadcast the show live, and it will also be screened on the JumboTron on the Music Center Plaza.  For the first time, the celebration will be streamed live on the Web via kcet.org. The audio portion will be simulcast on KPFK, 90.7 FM on the dial.

As befits a show that always takes place December 24, several selections echo Christmas Eve themes.  Two takes on scenes from “A Christmas Carol” include a hip hop interpretation from Antics Performance, and Definiens Project’s musical score written to accompany a five-minute clip from the 1910 silent film version.  Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company premieres “Operation Sneak-a-Peek” about children leaving bed to scope out presents.  The aerial dance company Motion Tribe and a live acapella choir present “Silent Night?!”

Definiens Project is making its Holiday Celebration debut as are:
- the aerial duo Catch Me Bird premiering “Planet One”
- Element Band with its blend of flamenco, Armenian, Arabic and Greek sounds
- Fishtank Ensemble and its mix of Gypsy, Eastern European, jazz and flamenco music
- Sharanya Mukhopadhyay performing classical Indian dance
- Shin Dance Company offering Mongolian dance
- the youth musicians of the South Pasadena Strings Program
- Young Angels Choir singing Handel’s “Cantante Deo”

Also reflecting the rich cultural mosaic of Los Angeles County are Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Academy performing the traditional “Flower Crown Dance” and Opera California Youth Choir offering carols in Korean and English.  Philippine Chamber Singers of Los Angeles present traditional songs of the islands in English and Tagalog.  The English and German traditions of handbell ringing inform the playing of the ARC Handbell Choir and the Harmonic Bronze Handbell Ensemble. Harmonies Girls Choir combines sacred music with Latin texts with the language and sounds of the Aztecs.  Pacifico Dance Company performs a dance from the Mexican state of Guerrero.  TAIKOPROJECT blends traditional Japanese taiko drumming with hip hop elements.

Music and dance styles rooted in America are celebrated by JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble performing to Ramsey’s Lewis’s jazz arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” Lisa Haley and the Zydekats playing the music of bayou country, Conjunto Los Pochos performing Tex-Mex music, and the Valleyaires Barbershop Chorus.  African-American vocal traditions inspire the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, Christian’s Community Center Cathedral Choir and Mt. Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir.

Latin sounds abound with three mariachi groups – Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, and Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez – as well as Poncho Sanchez, East LA’s R&B group Little Willie G. y Los Tamaleros, and the Argentinian acoustic ensemble Los Pinguos.

Jewish traditions are represented by Hanukkah songs from Vox Femina Los Angeles and Burbank Chorale, and the clarinet-dominated klezmer sounds and Yiddish songs of Klezmer Juice.

Other ensembles from Los Angeles County’s deep pool of vocal talent raising their voices for the 50th Anniversary include the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Colburn Children’s Choir, Church of Scientology Choir of Los Angeles, Hollywood Master Chorale, Palmdale High School Choral Union and Salvation Army Tabernacle Children’s Chorus.

The late Kenneth Hahn, Supervisor of the Second Los Angeles County District from 1952 to 1992, was the father of Holiday Celebration.  Kenneth Hahn cared deeply about the accessibility of the arts to everyone. He personally helmed the fundraising for the first show.  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sponsors the Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center each December 24 to this day.

The show is executive produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Producer of the live telecast on KCET is CDK Productions. The celebration is one of 40 musical events presented annually as part of the Arts Commission’s Free Concerts in Public Sites program.

The Arts Commission also produces “L.A. Holiday Celebration,” a one-hour television music and dance special highlighting the best performances from the live show. The highlights show drawn from the 2008 live presentation at the Music Center will be premiered by PBS stations across the country, including KCET, on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. For the first time, the national show will also reach one million service people and their families overseas through the Armed Forces Television Network.

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Laura Zucker, Executive Director, provides leadership in cultural services of all disciplines for the largest county in the United States, encompassing 88 municipalities. In addition to producing the L.A. County Holiday Celebration locally and nationally and the Free Concerts program, the Arts Commission provides leadership and staffing to support the regional blueprint for arts education, Arts for All; administers a grants program that funds more than 300 nonprofit arts organizations annually; oversees the County’s Civic Art Program for capital projects, programs the John Anson Ford Theatres and supports the Los Angeles County Cultural Calendar on ExperienceLA.com. The 2009-10 President of the Arts Commission is Araceli Ruano.

The 50th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration takes place on Thursday, December 24 from 3 pm to 9 pm.  Admission and parking are FREE.  Doors open at 2:30 p.m.  Patrons may come and go throughout the six-hour performance.  Reservations for tickets to the show or parking are not necessary.  The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave. in Downtown Los Angeles, 90012.  For complete program information, available after December 10, call 213.972.3099 or go to www.HolidayCelebration.org. Those who can’t make it to the Music Center can watch the live broadcast on television on KCET or online at www.kcet.org, or can listen on the radio on KPFK at 90.7 FM.

Feature image from the 2008 celebration courtesy of the LA County Holiday Celebration’s Facebook Page