Fun for the Whole Family at the Re-Envisioned "Holiday at Santa Fe" December 3
November 15, 2022
November 15, 2022 - Two performances of an all-new "Holiday at Santa Fe" will delight audiences young and old at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall. This event, the college's annual holiday gift to the community, has been re-envisioned to include participants from SF's Little School, Teaching Zoo and Kika Silva Pla Planetarium, with a focus on environmental conservation.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $9 for seniors, students and military service members; and free for children 12 and under and SF students, faculty and staff with college ID cards. A free ticket to the Zoo and a free ticket to the Planetarium will be provided at the performance. "Holiday at Santa Fe" tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall box office at 352-395-4181 or online from Showpass at showpass.com/holiday-at-Santa-fe/.
"This year's 'Holiday at Santa Fe' has been completely redesigned to put a greater SF stamp on the event by including participants from different college departments," explained Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department Chairperson Alora Haynes. "Melissa Brenner of the Dance Program and Jonathan Miot of the Teaching Zoo have done a wonderful job of creating new themes and expanding the event. You can even do some holiday shopping in the lobby!"
Dance Theatre of Santa Fe members will perform to music from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," but with a new twist. Music for the different dances will correlate with animals in the Teaching Zoo, including birds, snakes, caracal cats and lemurs. The character "Mother Ginger" has evolved into a peahen in a nod to the peacocks that roam the Zoo. The child performers will be students at SF's Little School.
Santa Claus will narrate the performances along with his new superhero sidekick, Perry, the endangered Perdido Key Beach Mouse who protects sand dunes. In addition, Santa will talk about how we interact with animals and explain why environmental conservation is important.
James Albury, director of the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium, will make a surprise appearance to explain why it doesn't snow in Gainesville, followed by a bit of magic to evoke the wonder of the winter holidays. Frosty the Snowman will also make an appearance.
After the performances, audience members can meet the characters in the lobby, visit with animals from the Teaching Zoo, enjoy cookies and lemonade and even do some early holiday shopping for stuffed animals and mouse ears.
"Holiday at Santa Fe" is sponsored and organized by the Santa Fe College Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department and funded in part by Visit Gainesville, a Tourist Development Tax Grant from the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in conjunction with the Alachua County Tourist Development Council.
