An insider’s guide to the Holiday Celebration

The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration is:

a. A chance to get your “Glee” on in the midst of thousands of fellow Angelenos

b. An opportunity to park for free in what is ordinarily a pretty pricey downtown parking lot

c. The only known concert in the world to combine the musical stylings of the Hollywood Master Chorale, Klezmer Juice, the Valleyaires Barbershop Chorus and the Mariachi Divas…along with 41 other acts featuring a total of more than 1,000 performers

d. Your personal gift from the Board of Supervisors–and you don’t have to buy them a tie, fruitcake, or even a bottle of cologne in exchange

You just know the answer has to be e) all of the above. But what you may not know is that this year’s concert (www.holidaycelebration.org) to be held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Dec. 24, is the 50th anniversary of the festivities started by the late great County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. So if this is your first visit—or your fiftieth—here’s an insider’s guide to making the most of Los Angeles’ ultimate choir-palooza in its golden anniversary year. (Did we mention that it was free?)

If you go, get there early—or late

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people are expected to attend, so “get in line early,” advises stage manager Chris Christel, a 21-year veteran of the show. The doors open at 2, and the show runs from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. So get there by 11 a.m. or noon.

A contrarian strategy is offered by Laura Zucker, executive producer of the show and also executive director of the county’s Arts Commission, which produces the Holiday Celebration. “Usually by 7 p.m., the line has dissipated,” she says. She also notes that while early arrivals will have to share the garage with theater-goers taking in the “Mary Poppins” matinee at the Ahmanson, there’s no evening performance—so all those parking spaces will be up for grabs, for free.

Huell Howser—host of KCET’s California’s Gold and known in Holiday Celebration lore for hosting the show by himself for six straight hours in 2001—nods to the after-dark experience. “There’s a whole atmosphere out there on the plaza,” he says. “There’s kind of an excitement about it.”

To pick the best time for your visit, here’s a downloadable program with estimated performance times. Just be warned that the schedule is a bit flexible and acts could start as much as 20 minutes early or late, Zucker says.

So you think you can harmonize

This year’s celebration theme is “It’s Your Turn,” which means that participatory entertainment is the order of the day. Much of the action is out on the plaza, where caroling (song sheets provided), holiday card stenciling, swing dancing lessons and even a Chinese Lion Dance are on tap to entertain the crowd. There also will be a social media station where people can videotape holiday greetings that will be streamed live on www.holidaycelebration.org and www.kcet.org. Here’s the full lineup for the pre-show show.

And once the actual celebration starts, those still waiting to get inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion can keep up with what’s on stage by watching the JumboTron that will be set up on the Music Center Plaza. (Yes, kind of like the Gustavo Dudamel inaugural concert at Disney Hall. Not a bad year for access to free music in Los Angeles, eh?)

Make your own favorite memory

With more than 1,000 performers and six hosts—Pat Boone, Tia Carrere, Suzanna Guzmán, James Kyson Lee, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Fred Willard—odds are good that you’ll head home with at least one indelible memory.

Former L.A. mayor and current Superior Court judge James Hahn, who first attended as the 9-year-old son of 2nd District Supervisor Hahn, still recalls some of those early concerts. “I remember the Little Angels choir from Figueroa Church of Christ,” he says.

Maybe your memorable moment will come toward the beginning of the show—say, with the South Pasadena Children’s Orchestra—or at the end, with Mariachi Sol y Reyna de Los Angeles. You’ll know when you hear it.

Veteran stage manager Christel knows fairly precisely when he’ll hear his—around 4:35 p.m. That’s when the ARC Handbell Choir takes the stage. The ensemble of developmentally disabled children and adults puts their all into renditions of holiday standards like “Silver Bells.” “They just seem to take such joy in their performance,” he says. “The ARC Handbell Choir is kind of a tear-jerker for me.”

Go ahead, stay home

Back in the day, James Hahn remembers getting a cool, before-its-time “surround sound” experience by leaving the show and heading home, where he’d listen on the radio and TV simultaneously. Now he could add his laptop to the mix.

So do what Angelenos have been doing since 1965 and watch it live on KCET. Or listen on KPFK 90.7 FM or check out the webcast at KCET.org—all while wrapping presents or sipping eggnog at home.

“It’s one of those traditions that a lot of people keep it on TV for six hours as kind of atmospheric background for the holiday,” Howser says.

A one-hour highlights video of the celebration is made each year and airs nationally on PBS the following year. So next December, you can relive it all again.

And if you can’t wait that long, there’s always TiVo. “As sick as it sounds,” says Christel, the show’s stage manager, “I’ll go back the next day when I’m recovering at home and watch it again.”

Read our featured holiday story, “A holiday ritual for L.A. and the Hahns“