Annual Kansas City holiday concert moves out of town to avoid COVID-19 restrictions

The William Baker Festival Singers will proceed with their traditional “Candlelight, Carols & Cathedral” holiday concerts, but not in downtown Kansas City. Or anywhere in Jackson County. Or even the five-county area.

Unlike its neighboring counties, Leavenworth County does not have a mask mandate or limit indoor gatherings despite the pandemic. So the 50-voice chorale has moved its concerts — presented annually since 1998 at the Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception downtown — to Holy Angels Catholic Church in Basehor.

Organist John Schaefer and Kansas City Bronze will join the Festival Singers for concerts at 8 p.m. Dec. 17 and 6 p.m. Dec. 20. Tickets are free at festivalsingers.org, with donations requested. There will be limited audiences, and masks and social distancing will be required.

Both concerts also will be livestreamed at facebook.com.

Here is another hybrid event to consider for the next week:

▪ The Dramatic Truth Ballet will perform “The Mystery of Christmas” at Harrisonville Community Church, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (after 6 p.m. gala dinner) Dec. 18, 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 19-20 ($15-$20); virtual shows 2 p.m. Dec. 19 and 7 p.m. Dec. 20 ($15; $25 for more than one person). dramatictruth.org.

Here are six online ways you and your family can spend your coronavirus-induced stay-at-home time:

▪ Jerry Harrington of Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins will lead a discussion of the documentary “Discovering James Stewart” during a National WWI Museum and Memorial free lunch-and-learn streaming event on Facebook and Zoom, noon Dec. 17. theworldwar.org.

▪ “Home for the Holidays With the Trumans” will feature stories from Doug Richardson, chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, 6 p.m. Dec. 17. trumanlibraryinstitute.org.

▪ Songwriter and pianist Jim Brickman is taking his annual holiday tour online, with local tickets to the “Comfort & Joy at Home” benefiting the Folly Theater, 7 p.m. Dec. 17 ($40-$125). follytheater.org.

▪ The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, which has gone virtual with its production of “A Christmas Carol” this year, will present an abbreviated version on Kansas City PBS, premiering at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 with multiple showings thereafter. More information, kansascitypbs.org.

▪ Carlsen Center Presents is teaming with the Opus 76 Quartet for “Eat, Drink, Play!,” a new virtual chamber music series combining performances with cameos from area chefs offering food and wine pairings. The debut will be a pops program featuring “Die Fledermaus,” “Messiah,” carols and more, with chef Drue Kennedy of Andre’s Confiserie Suisse, 7 p.m. Dec. 20 to 7 p.m. Jan. 2 ($15). jccc.universitytickets.com.

▪ Starlight@Home, a new offering from Starlight Theatre, will kick off with a livestream of “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” starring MC Kurtis Blow and an all-star cast of dancers recorded at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 7 p.m. Dec. 21-23 ($25; $35 for livestream and 24-hour on-demand access). kcstarlight.com.

Here are five in-person activities:

▪ Knuckleheads continues to stage live music, and one of its biggest shows of late is Jesse James Dupree & Dixie Inc., who will perform with Chapel Hart, 7 p.m. Dec. 17-19 ($25-$68.50; Saturday sold out). Also, the Nace Brothers will give their annual Christmas Eve-Eve Show, 7 p.m. Dec. 23 ($10). knuckleheadskc.com.

▪ The year’s final Youth Drop-in Day, an Alexander Majors Barn event providing hands-on learning experiences for children, will focus on Victorian Christmas, 1-4 p.m. Dec. 18 ($5; $10 maximum for family). wornallmajors.org.

▪ The pandemic has nixed local productions of “The Nutcracker,” but Fathom Events will provide the next-best thing with the legendary Bolshoi Ballet performing on big screens throughout the area, 7 p.m. Dec. 18, 3 and 7 p.m. Dec. 19 and 7 p.m. Dec. 21 ($9.26-$16.42). fathomevents.com.

▪ Live professional hockey will return to the area when the Kansas City Mavericks play their first home game of the season against the Indy Fuel, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 18 ($24.75-$45 for four) at Cable Dahmer Arena. kcmavericks.com.

▪ Indoor professional soccer also is back at Cable Dahmer Arena, with the Kansas City Comets taking on St. Louis in the Central Cup, 6 p.m. Dec. 19 ($19-$28 for two). kccomets.com.

Dan Kelly

The Kansas City Star

Dan Kelly has been covering entertainment and arts news at The Star since 2009. He previously worked at the Columbia Daily Tribune, The Miami Herald and The Louisville Courier-Journal. He also was on the University of Missouri School of Journalism faculty for six years, and he has written two books, most recently “The Girl with the Agate Eyes: The Untold Story of Mattie Howard, Kansas City’s Queen of the Underworld.”