What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Home For Christmas BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette F rom the homespun rituals of the holidays — like carols, hot chocolate and Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer — to an eight- story Christmas tree with 400,000 points of light, Silver Dollar City prides itself on bringing the holidays of the past into the future. As a result, An Old Time Christmas is the four-time reigning champion of USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards "Best Theme Park Holiday Event," says spokeswoman Lisa Rau. With a fifth nomination secured, she adds, and everything that is new at the Branson theme park in 2021, she feels sure the title will come home again to Silver Dollar City. "This year will be livelier than ever before," Rau says with her trademark enthusiasm. "There are two new Broadway-style productions, 'Home For Christmas' — a $500,000 original production featuring 28 songs and over 40 costume changes — and a newly restaged and rescored 'A Dickens' Christmas Carol.'" And that's not to mention a new Christmas Princess in the twice-a- day parade and the return of all the "fan favorite" foods, from prime rib and root beer-glazed ham to cashew chicken and sweet and sour shrimp cones, red velvet funnel cake, hot apple pie with homemade cinnamon ice cream, hot chocolate, wassail and much more. 'A Dickens' Christmas Carol' "A Dickens Christmas Carol has been a huge part of Christmas at Silver Dollar City for [what is now] 18 seasons," says Dwight Jordan, show director and co-composer. "From the beginning, for so many people, it wasn't Christmas until they saw this show. With a season off last year, we realized it was a perfect time to write the original music that this one-of-a- kind production deserved. It is still the same heartwarming version of Dickens that has been at Silver Dollar City for all of these years, but now the music is exclusive to this production. My hope is that everyone will once again feel the warm hug that this show brings and that our audience will fall in love with it all over again." New Yorker Robert Cookman is the Silver Dollar City opens new gifts this season An eight-story Christmas tree lights up the Silver Dollar City square, with 400,000 points of light and 2 million color arrangements. (Courtesy Photo) At Christmastime, every inch of every building in Silver Dollar City's Midtown is covered with twinkling lights. Nearly 700 miles of lights are aglow during "An Old Time Christmas," including beautiful imagery of angels, reindeer, wreaths and Santa flying high above in the Ozark night sky. (Courtesy Photo) NOBEMBER 14-20, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 3 FAQ An Old Time Christmas WHEN — Through Dec. 30; days and hours vary WHERE — Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo. COST — Tickets start at $74 INFO — silverdollarcity.com See Home Page 4 COVER STORY