ACT’s Home for the Holidays has become local tradition

• Home for the Holidays

Becky (Garton) Bauman sings at last year’s Home for the Holidays variety show. She is scheduled to return this year. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pepsi-Cola Theatre for the Performing Arts. (Photo courtesy of the Mitchell Area Community Theatre)
• Singing for the holidays

Kelli Mehlhaf performs at last year’s Home for the Holidays. (Photo courtesy of the Mitchell Area Community Theatre)

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Lori Goldammer is making a personal tradition out of the Mitchell Area Community Theatre’s holiday variety show.

“I’ve always liked singing at Christmastime,” Goldammer said. “It’s a great time of the year to be with family and friends.”

Goldammer, who is active in other ACT musicals and plays, will be one of 18 acts scheduled to perform at the Home for the Holidays variety show this weekend.

Home for the Holidays is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pepsi-Cola Theatre for the Performing Arts. Reserved seating tickets are $7 and available at the door, online at www.mitchellact.org, or at the theater box office at 700 N. Main St.

Home for the Holidays has been a tradition in Mitchell for “well over 10 years,” said Carm Roster of the Pepsi-Cola Theatre.

The show features acts from area community members, including Goldammer, who plans to sing LeAnn Rimes’ rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

“I’ve always really liked that song. It reminds me of wanting to be with someone at Christmas,” Goldammer said. “All those gifts don’t matter; it’s just being with that one person at Christmastime.”

In addition to Goldammer, Kelli Mehlhaf is a Home for the Holidays veteran. Mehlhaf will sing“Let All Mortal Flesh Be Silent,” a traditional holiday hymn.

Mehlhaf, who often returned home to perform at the annual event while attending college in Nashville, Tenn., said she enjoys coming together as a community each holiday season to put on a show.

“Several other performers return each year and that just makes it fun,” she said.

Other performances will include duets and students singing classic songs from holiday movies and Mitchell High School band director Ryan Stahle and Billy Lurken will perform a jazz selection. ACT veteran Devin Carey will return with a choreographed number that is a hit each year, said Nicole Fuhrer, one of the event’s organizers.

“It’s always a highlight of the show,” Fuhrer said. “Overall, it’s just a nice holiday event.”

This is the second year the event will benefit a local organization. Half the proceeds from Home for the Holidays will go to the Mitchell Area Safehouse. Last year, $1,100 was raised for the Red Cross. Brian Klock will emcee the event. In addition to the entertainment, Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit with guests and a community sing-a-long will conclude the show. “It’s a wholesome show that brings the spirit of Christmas to your heart,” Fuhrer said.

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