The Music Center, L.A.’s premier performing arts destination, announces the performers for this year’s 64th annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, a one-of-a-kind, free holiday spectacular that has been a Los Angeles holiday tradition since 1959.
Celebrating L.A. County’s vibrant diversity, creativity and energy, this year’s version of the two-time Emmy Award-winning event will feature 23 music ensembles, choirs and dance companies representing the county’s many neighborhoods and cultures.
As always, the program will delight an in-person audience with the free performance at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Sunday, Dec. 24, from 3 to 6 p.m., as well as at-home audiences watching the live broadcast on PBS SoCal or streaming the show live on the http://pbssocal.org website.
Following the live broadcast, the Holiday Celebration will remain available to stream on-demand on http://pbssocal.org, as well as on the free PBS app. An encore presentation will be broadcast by PBS SoCal on Sunday, Dec. 24, at 6 p.m., and on KCET on Sunday, Dec. 24, at 9 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 25, at 12 p.m.
Featuring a line-up of diverse L.A.-based artists and performing arts groups who will showcase their talent, artistry and holiday traditions, colorful costumes and global sounds from China, Korea, Japan, India, Mexico, France Ukraine, Bulgaria and more, this year’s participating artists hail from communities across L.A. County: from West L.A. and Culver City to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, and from the northern reaches of the Antelope and San Fernando valleys to Downtown L.A., the South Bay and South Los Angeles.
Returning audience favorites include two-time Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea; 10-piece Latin jazz band Gabrielito y La Verdad; the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles; Jewish culture revival band Mostly Kosher; high-energy, powerhouse dance ensemble Reverb Tap Company; and internationally renowned Japanese drummers TaikoProject in a collaboration with Indian-inspired Blue13 Dance Company.
Among this year’s newcomers are Carnegie Gospel Choir, recently returned from Carnegie Hall; “America’s Got Talent” quarter-finalists Divas and Drummers of Compton; the Hiza Yoo Korean Dance Institute; Mexican folklórico company Técnica Arte y Folklore; and Bulgarian dance ensemble XoroTroptzi.
Entrance to the in-person event is free, and seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis. RSVPs are recommended, but do not guarantee seating. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., although the line usually begins to form around noon.
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Parking is free in The Music Center parking garage.
The L.A. County Holiday Celebration is produced on behalf of the County of Los Angeles by The Music Center and PBS SoCal in association with CDK Productions and directed by Emmy Award-winning producer/director Kenneth Shapiro.
For more information, call (213) 972-3099 or visit http://HolidayCelebration.org.
To see a video about TaikoProject produced by PBS SoCal, click here.