ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist University’s School of Fine Arts will present its annual holiday performance, A Festival of Christmas on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Performing Arts Center. The theme for this year’s production is “Home for the Holidays.”
“The reason that we chose this theme is because the academic calendar puts Thanksgiving and Christmas break so close together, so we wanted to mimic students going home to celebrate the holidays with their families,” said Gary Gerber, dean of the School of Fine Arts.
The program will begin with well-known holiday tunes such as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “Silver Bells.” The show will then transition to sacred songs; “Breath of Heaven,” “Mary Did You Know?” and “O Holy Night” are performed each year as a special tradition.
Ouachita’s choral ensembles, including Concert Choir, Ouachita Singers, Women’s Chorus and Ouachita Sounds, all will perform during the program. Additionally, children from the Arkadelphia DancePraize studio will perform “The Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker.
“A Festival of Christmas incorporates most of Ouachita’s music students,” Gerber said. “The pit band is made up of students and faculty, the actors in the show are from the theatre arts, and the students are responsible for all of the music. It really is a showcase of our students.”
A Festival of Christmas started as a gift to the community of Arkadelphia when Jones Performing Arts Center was first built in 1992. The annual production has since remained an annual tradition.
This year’s A Festival of Christmas is Nov. 22-23 at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased in the JPAC Box Office or online at www.obu.edu/boxoffice. The box office is open weekdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, call the box office at (870) 245-5555 during business hours.