Wassail Tickets On Sale Sept. 5

August 24, 2017 - 12:06 AM

This year the Mt. SAC Choral Program’s Wassail dinner and concert turns 20 years old with tickets for holiday program that has been yuletide hit for years going on sale to the public starting September 5.

For three nights in December, the event mixes a combination of music and dinner in a Dickensian celebration of the season. Every year, the event sells out, usually within two or three weeks from the time tickets go on sale.

“Everybody loves food and music,” said Mt. SAC Choral Director Bruce Rogers, who started the program 20 years ago.

Wassail is nearly entirely student driven. Dressed in Victorian era costumes, music students provide entertainment before and during dinner, give a concert afterward, and even help wait tables.

“Originally, I wanted to give a gift to the community every year for the holidays,” Rogers said about the genesis of the program. “It is truly overwhelming to me how our Mt. SAC community has helped to make this event such a special tradition year after year.”

The event has become a yearly ritual as community groups show up en masse, and some businesses have even made it their annual Christmas party. And after all the bills are paid for things like catering and decorations, whatever is left goes into the choral trust fund to help pay for some of the expenses of Mt. SAC’s various vocal ensembles throughout the year.

This year the Wassail runs Dec. 7-9, beginning at 6 p.m., with dinner in the Dance Studio and the concert in the Feddersen Recital Hall. Mt. SAC’s Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, and Fermata Nowhere will provide the entertainment for the concert.

Tickets are $46 and include dinner and the concert. Group discount tickets are also available.

For tickets, call the Mt. SAC Clarke Theater box office at (909) 274-2050, Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are also available online at https://tickets.mtsac.edu.