Inspiration takes the stage

God bless us every one! Scrooge (John Gilbert) and Tiny Tim (Josh Simmons) are filled with the spirit of the season at the conclusion of “A Christmas Carol” at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre Nov. 21–Dec. 19.

Inspiration takes the stage
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Chattanooga boasts a wealth of family-friendly arts events
By Allison Gorman

If there’s a budding artist in your household, or if you hope to galvanize your child’s creative instinct, inspiration is everywhere during the holiday season. In November and December Chattanooga boasts scores of live arts events, from plays and musicals to ballet and concerts, featuring the considerable talents of adults and children alike. Nothing kick-starts a kid’s creative urge like seeing his or her peers performing in front of an audience.
What follows are just a handful of the many family-friendly performances taking place in Chattanooga over the holidays. Make it a point to take the kids to at least one, especially if their only “spectator” experience is staring at a screen. Sure, we all love watching those traditional holiday specials on television, but there’s nothing like a live performance to make the magic of the season immediate and real. And with the steadily increasing price of movie tickets, seats at a stage event may just be the best bang for your entertainment buck (commercial-free, no less, and without the $5 Milk Duds). Enjoy!

A Christmas Carol
Presented by the Chattanooga Theatre Centre
400 River St.
Nov. 21, 22 & 29; Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13 & 19: 8 p.m.
Nov. 28: 6 p.m. (early show time coordinates with downtown’s Grand Illumination)
Nov. 30; Dec. 7 & 14: 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 4, 11 & 18: 7 p.m.
Cost: $10–20
Reservations: 267-8534 or TheatreCentre.com

A favorite holiday tradition returns to the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. Enjoy a beautifully staged production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Travel with Ebenezer Scrooge and his three ghostly visitors on a journey that warms Scrooge’s heart as it does yours. Carolers in Victorian dress sing before each performance. Dec. 5, 12 & 19 performances feature a 6:30 p.m. “Fezziwig Family Feast” dinner option. “A Victorian Christmas Feast” at the CTC the evening of Dec. 7. Free parking for CTC patrons.

Singing Christmas Tree
Presented by the Chattanooga Boys Choir
Tivoli Theatre
709 Broad St.
Dec. 5 (school performances): 10 a.m. & noon
Dec. 6: 2 & 7:30 p.m.
Reservations: 622-3033 or ChattanoogaBoysChoir.org

Mark your calendars now for the 46th annual Singing Christmas Tree. Joining the Chattanooga Boys Choir will be special guest narrator Marcia Kling as well as the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Youth Orchestra, and Ballet Tennessee. Tickets available through the Memorial Auditorium box office. Student group rate: $4 per student and one free adult ticket with every 15 paid student tickets; additional adult tickets $4.

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Holiday Vocal Concert
Presented by the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts
1301 Dallas Rd.
Dec. 4: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5
Contact: 209-5929 or CenterForCreativeArts.net

The talented students of CCA present a full menu of holiday musical offerings. Among the performing groups are the school’s Glee Club, Chorus, Choral Union, Women’s Ensemble and Choir.

“Home for the Holidays”
Presented by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera
Tivoli Theatre
709 Broad St.
Dec. 20: 8 p.m.
Dec. 21: 2 p.m.
Cost: $19–72
Reservations: 267-8583 or ChattanoogaSymphony.org

Jingle all the way to the historic Tivoli for this annual favorite. Each year the CSO, along with many special guests, brings to downtown a spirit of Yuletide fun that even Scrooge wouldn’t want to miss. Join conductor Robert Bernhardt and this year’s guest artists, the CSO Holiday Chorus and hammered dulcimer wiz (and Signal Mountain resident) Dan Landrum.

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Photo by Jane Hundley, Captured Memories
The Nutcracker
Presented by Chattanooga Ballet
Tivoli Theatre
709 Broad St.
Dec. 10–12 (school performances): 10 a.m.
Dec. 12 & 13: 8 p.m.
Dec. 14: 2 p.m.
Cost: $15–29 ($2 discount for children, students and seniors)
Reservations: 265-0617

Sugar plum fantasies and snow-covered dreams come true as Chattanooga Ballet presents the holiday classic ballet, The Nutcracker, at the majestic Tivoli Theatre. Over the past 20 years, Chattanooga Ballet’s production of this enchanting ballet has been enjoyed by over 200,000 people, making it one of the city’s most-attended performing arts events. This professional production features a cast of some 200 performers, a magnificent, Victorian-era set, and more than 350 dazzling costumes.

Appalachian Christmas
Presented by Chattanooga Downtown Partnership
Waterhouse Pavilion, Miller Plaza
850 Market St.
Dec. 12: 7–9 p.m.
Cost: $3 (children 10 and under free)
Contact: 265-0771 or DowntownChattanooga.org

Enjoy an abundance of traditional holiday tunes performed by Appalachian and bluegrass musicians. Featured at this toe-tapping event will be The Morgans and Lynne Haas, The Dismembered Tennesseans, and headliner Sierra Hull. A native of Pickett County, Hull has played onstage since she was a child, performing with such legends as Alison Krauss and Union Station. Complimentary hot cider and sugar cookies make this a perfect family-friendly celebration.

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“Songs of Peace”
Presented by the Chattanooga Girls Choir
Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center
Corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets
Dec. 19: 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 20: 2 p.m.
Contact: 629-6188 or ChattanoogaGirlsChoir.org

The culminating event of the holiday season for the Chattanooga Girls Choir is their annual winter concert, this year featuring seasonal songs from around the world such as The Languages of Christmas, Caribee Christmas, Hanerot Halalu, Jamaican Noel and Laudate Dominum, as well as traditional favorites like Deck the Halls, Carol of the Bells, O Tannenbaum and O Let the Merry Bells Ring. The CGC also will perform at Northgate Mall at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15; at Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights Dec. 5 and 9; and at Standifer Place Dec. 1.

A Christmas Carol: A Dinner Theatre production
Presented by the Oak Street Playhouse
First-Centenary United Methodist Church
Corner of Oak and Houston Streets
Dec. 5, 6, 12 & 13: Dinner at 6:30 p.m., show to follow
Dec. 14: Matinee lunch at 1:30 p.m., show to follow
Cost: $17.50
Reservations: 756-2428 or OakStreetPlayhouse@gmail.com

The Oak Street Playhouse has 25 years’ experience producing plays that are family-appropriate, have a message, and speak to groups and individuals throughout Chattanooga. Every December the Playhouse invites groups and families to a holiday dinner theatre production. This year it is Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol—a play that shows that what we say and do can impact others for a long time, that no man is an island, and that it’s never too late to do redeem ourselves.