{"id":10171,"date":"2018-12-19T19:15:55","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T19:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=10171"},"modified":"2018-12-19T19:15:55","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T19:15:55","slug":"circle-the-sleds-for-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/19\/circle-the-sleds-for-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Circle The Sleds For The Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

Highlights for the season commence this week<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BY DANA DUGAN<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The Hallelujah Chorus, the only full-time gospel choir in Idaho, will sing in both \u201cThe Promise\u201d and Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah\u201d at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum. Courtesy photo by Patty Parsons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Sun Valley lights up on Christmas Eve, from the \u2018Skating in a Winter Wonderland\u2019 ice show to the torchlight parade down Dollar Mountain. Photo courtesy of Sun Valley Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People often ask residents of the Wood River Valley if they\u2019re traveling for the holidays. The answer is always a resounding, \u201cNo! Why would we leave Christmas Central?\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s because there are a variety of things to do over the next couple of weeks, and besides, where would be a more beautiful place to celebrate the holidays?<\/p>\n

Sun Valley itself covers a lot of the basics, but the entire Wood River Valley will bring the party to the season. Besides skiing on Bald Mountain, there is an extensive Wood River Valley trail system for cross-country and skate skiing as well as plentiful trails for snowshoeing. There is also free ice skating at the Christina Potters Ice Rink in Ketchum, daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The rink offers free skates, hockey stick rentals and pucks. But the area has more than outdoor recreation over the holidays.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Dec. 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., the 11th annual Classic Christmas Concert will be staged at the Sun Valley Opera House. The show will be directed by Melodie Mauldin with music direction by R.L. Rowsey.<\/p>\n

The annual variety show will feature performances by Lady Luck, Colla Voce, and the B-Tones. There will be singing, playing and storytelling, along with surprise visits from special guests. Admission is $25 and free for children 2 years old and younger. If you\u2019ve got a passel of family in town, there\u2019s a group rate for 10 or more people. Tickets are available at the Sun Valley Guest Information Center or\u00a0sunvalley.ticketfly.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Promise\u201d will be presented by the Sun Valley Hallelujah Chorus, directed by Patty Parsons, along with Hilarie Neely\u2019s Footlight Dance Centre, from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis popular Christmas program aims to open hearts and fill them with the spirit of peace, love and unspeakable joy,\u201d said Parsons, who has directed some version of \u201cThe Promise\u201d for 30 years in the Wood River Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about being in The Argyros,\u201d Parsons said, referring to the new performing arts center in downtown Ketchum. \u201cI\u2019m all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The music of Kirk Franklin, a renowned gospel artist, is where Parsons goes for much of her inspiration. As well, there will be several medleys of Christmas and holiday music.<\/p>\n

Soloists for the evening will include Sara Berquist, Dean Cerutti, Heather Johnston, Amy Nelson, Sue Noel and John Primrose. Children from Cintia Scola\u2019s Mountain School of Music in Hailey will sing and play three Christmas songs that they\u2019ve written themselves, Parsons said. Accompanying the singers will be Paul Gregory on piano, Brad Hershey on bass and Beck Vontver on percussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I do and I love it,\u201d Parsons said, laughing. \u201cOrganizing, making sure we have enough tenors, and moving stuff like pianos.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Dec. 23 at 5:30 p.m., the Halleluiah Chorus will perform selections from Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah,\u201d with a sing-along on the choruses. The concert will be accompanied by the Chia-Li Ho string quartet from Boise.<\/p>\n

Soloists will include Joyce E. Greene, Meredith Skillman, Robert Newman, and Jonathon Hill, tenor with Opera Idaho.<\/p>\n

More music can be found at the Duchin Lounge at Sun Valley Lodge with Joe Fos tickling the ivories on Friday at 7 p.m., and there\u2019s apr\u00e8s-ski music, available to everyone, at River Run Lodge from 2:30-5:30 p.m. most days.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Dec. 22 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sun Valley will celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Warm Springs Lodge. There will be a ribbon-cutting and Sun Valley\u2019s famous fresh-from-the-oven\u00a0cookies.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, the celebrations will continue with Sun Valley\u2019s annual ice show, torchlight parade on Dollar Mountain and fireworks.<\/p>\n

Sun Valley ice rink gates will open at 3 p.m. for the 5:30 p.m. \u201cSkating in a Winter Wonderland\u201d ice show. The show will highlight modern renditions of classic holiday music and will feature performances by Frank Sweiding and Anita Hartshorn, Ashley Clarke, and other professional skaters. Group numbers will be performed by the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club and visiting holiday guests. There will be traditional appearances by the Sun Valley Carolers and a visit from Santa Claus.<\/p>\n

While the ice show takes the spotlight, Sun Valley ski instructors will have made their way up Dollar Mountain, visible from the bleachers and deck at the Sun Valley Lodge. The spectacular torchlight parade finishes the evening off under a hail of festive fireworks.<\/p>\n

But fear not, it\u2019s not over yet. The week between Christmas and New Year\u2019s Eve is chock-full of more holiday fun. Happy holidays to all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Highlights for the season commence this week BY DANA DUGAN   People often ask residents of the Wood River Valley if they\u2019re traveling for the holidays. The answer is always a resounding, \u201cNo! Why would we leave Christmas Central?\u201d And that\u2019s because there are a variety of things to do over the next couple of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}