A very Cool Yule
The LA County Holiday Celebration offers six hours of musical cheer on Christmas Eve
By Carl Kozlowski 12/17/2009
IMAGINE CHRISTMAS EVE AFTERNOON — GRANDMA, MOM AND AUNTS are scrambling in the kitchen to finish the cooking, dad, grandpa and uncles are all passed out in front of the TV watching old movies or sports (or the exact opposite scenario if your family’s progressive). The kids are all eager to see their toys and won’t shut their yaps about it.
You’ve already watched every Christmas special known to man and are bracing for the 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story” on Christmas Day. What can you possibly watch to keep everyone entertained and sane? The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration just might be the answer. While it’s held live at downtown LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion each year, it’s also available for viewing in the cozy warmth of your own home via local PBS powerhouse KCET, giving one and all the option of either heading out of the house or hunkering down inside.
Either way, the six-hour panoply of holiday pleasure offers dozens of musical acts each year, with this year’s lineup highlighted by such diverse acts as Lisa Haley and the Zydekats, who bring Zydeco beats to life as part of the “Mardi Gras Christmas Party,” and the super-popular swing band Royal Crown Revue chiming in with the seasonal offering of “Cool Yule.”
Throw in some Japanese taiko drumming combined with hip-hop rhythms and moves by the Taikoproject, incredible gospel music from the Mt. Rubidoux Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir and the United Children’s Chorus of Los Angeles, and
even a finger-snapping, doo-wop performance of “Perfect Christmas” from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” — there’s not a toe in your house (or at the Pavilion) that won’t be tapping.
The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration 2009 takes place from 3 to 9 p.m. Dec. 24 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Admission is free. Visit lacountyarts.org/ holiday.html. It’s also televised on KCET-TV, Channel 28, and broadcast on radio at KPFK (90.7 FM).
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