Holiday Extravaganza!

7:30 PM, Saturday, December 20

A joint production of Crossings and the Zumbrota Area Arts Council to benefit State Theatre renovations.

Multi-talented performer Dan Chouinard returns to Zumbrota with special guest Simone Perrin for the 2014 Holiday Extravaganza! A multitude of talented local musicians and dancers will join them in the third annual production to benefit renovations at Zumbrota's State Theatre. The Holiday Extravaganza lights up the stage on Sat., Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m.

This community-wide variety show and sing-along will include performances by the Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School Jazz Band, the Rochester Flute Choir, Gwendelara Hendee, selections from the Zumbrota Dance Studio’s production of “Elsa, the Princess of Ice,” Flamenco Guitarist Victor Jortack, the ZMHS Singers, and a special “Ask Santa” segment featuring the jolly old elf himself.

This concert is a joint production between Crossings at Carnegie and the Zumbrota Area Arts Council to raise funds for improvements to the historic State Theatre, which is owned and operated by the Zumbrota Area Arts Council. The theatre is an intimate venue whose vintage atmosphere is praised by audiences and performers alike. Plans are underway for the new addition that will house handicapped accessible restrooms and an expanded concessions area.

Chouinard turns up regularly in Zumbrota playing a supporting role for performers like Peter Ostroushko, Prudence Johnson, Ann Reed and others. He is an accomplished pianist and accordionist, as well as a talented storyteller.  

Chouinard has hosted similar community-based holiday shows in Lanesboro every year since 2007, drawing on local talent to fill most of the show's roster of musicians and storytellers and always featuring a performer friend from the Twin Cities as a special guest. He regularly creates unique programs which blend storytelling, interview and music, many of these for Minnesota Public Radio. He has dubbed Crossings “my favorite SE Minnesota haunt.”

Perrin is also no stranger to Zumbrota, performing regularly at Crossings. She was last seen at the State Theatre in February in The Love Show. Based in Minneapolis, accordionista and chanteuse Perrin has performed at the Guthrie Theatre as well as on A Prairie Home Companion.

General admission tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door, $5 for students 18 and under. Advance tickets are available in Zumbrota at Busby Hardware & Furniture, Crossings at Carnegie and Main Street Pharmacy. Reserved seating tickets are $19 for adults, $9 for students and are available only at Crossings, 320 East Ave, Zumbrota, or call 507-732-7616.

The State Theatre is located at 96 East 4th Street in Zumbrota. This event is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.