Do you like Christmas? Well, here at the local Amherst Opera House, the Christmas in the Village Concert took place on December 14 with the support of the local community and our very own Amherst students. The concerts took place at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.. In between the performances other holiday activities were held, including the lighting of the Christmas in the Village tree and a visit from Santa. The concert included festive holiday carols like “Silent Night” and the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” (done Acapella style.)
The production was led by Janet Glodowski. In 1987 she started the Smokey Express Christmas shows at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel, then they moved to St. Bronislava in Plover. After that, the shows were moved to the Jensen Center. A crew of more than 20 people have come together to put this event together. Many local vendors bring contributions to the shows, and ticket and raffle sale money will be given in support of the Opera House. Not only do these Christmas shows bring people together, they also raise money for the local building.
From the beginning, Glodowski knew the Christmas in the Village production would be impactful — but the extent was a surprise.
“I didn’t anticipate how receptive people would be for this event,” Glodowski said. “The first year we did a concert at the Opera House, what I absolutely loved was the laid-back feel of people relaxing and chatting to each other in person while being able to enjoy snacks and beverages.”
Glodowski spends many months planning her events, but this one takes about a month to plan. In total, Glodowski and her crew they have put on about 25 shows throughout the years.
“These Christmas shows took me a year and a half to plan and were closer to the Christmas/Thanksgiving season,” Glodowski explained.
This concert is a huge part of the community and includes performers of all ages. Seve Anderson, an Amherst graduate, is one of the many people who return each year to perform in Glodowski’s holiday shows. Anderson starred in the Smokey Express show in 2008. At first she was only involved because of her mother, who knew Glodowski through work. But Anderson soon realized how much the concerts put her in touch with her community. From then on Anderson took part in the Smokey Express Christmas show until its final show in 2017. Soon after that, Glodowski decided to put on a new Christmas show at the Opera House.
“When I found out Janet was bringing back some sort of community Christmas show at the opera house, I couldn’t say no, especially since the opera house is such a cool part of the community,” Anderson said. She has enjoyed being in the show from a young age and always looks forward to making new friends or seeing old ones.
