Karen M. Dielmann
For many years during my childhood and teenage years, my family had an aluminum Christmas tree. Yes, you read that right—an ALUMINUM Christmas tree. And instead of strands of lights, we had an electric color wheel on the floor beneath the tree that shined rotating colors of green, red, blue, and yellow onto the tree. I thought it all incredibly tacky at the time; now I just look back at that memory and smile.
This year on Dec. 8 and 9, the Robson Ranch Singers will present their Holiday Show in Hermosa Ballroom beginning at 7 p.m. The theme for this year’s performance will be Holiday Lights: Let It Shine. As you can probably determine from the title, the theme will be the various light-centric traditions related to the December holidays and the memories they bring to the season. Tickets for the shows will go on sale on Nov. 1 on the HOA website. You will be able to go in and select the seat(s) you want for the night(s) you want.
Alto Jane Everett remembers how her dad always made a big wreath for the front bay window. She and her three sisters were responsible for testing the lights on the many strands her dad used for the wreath. This was in the days of the big bulbs and if one went out, the whole strand went out. She said they “relished the day when new strands were bought where if one bulb went out, the others stayed on!”
Soprano Marsha Oliver remembers the Country Club Plaza lights in Kansas City providing a 15–block holiday spectacle featuring hundreds of thousands of jewel-colored bulbs outlining the district’s Spanish architecture. “It was always so exciting”, she says, “to make the pilgrimage to KC to see the lights as I grew up and later as the perfect holiday date!”
When you think about December holidays from days past, what are some of the memories that you have? And do those memories include holiday lights in any way? Come join us on Dec. 8 and/or 9 for an evening of music, memories, and the magic of holiday lights.