OCEAN CITY – A Christmas concert that addresses the opioid crisis with a message of hope for children and families will return to Ocean City this year with new performances and a school field trip.
On Friday, Dec. 13, Brian’s Christmas Songbook will return to the Ocean City Performing Arts Center.
Now in its third year, Brian’s Christmas Songbook will feature classic and contemporary holiday songs, storytelling, vocals by Melissa Alesi and Lauren Glick and performances by the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.
Organizer Tony Christ said the show will also feature new performances by an elite high school choir and appearances from Santa, Keebler, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
“We are growing with every year,” he said.
In the first two years, roughly 500 community members and 150 children came to see Brian’s Christmas Songbook. This year, the event will also feature a day performance for children in Worcester County’s public school system.
“This year, the superintendent of schools, Lou Taylor, has agreed to make us a field trip for all the kids in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the county,” he said. “So we are going to do two concerts on Dec. 13, one in the morning for the school kids and a regular concert in the evening for the public at 7 p.m.”
For Christ, the event is a way to fight the opioid epidemic.
“If we can eliminate the demand, if we can create some feeling of self-worth and importance among these kids that they can carry, we’ve done something,” he said. “So our message is subliminal. We are trying to create a memory for them.”
Christ said his efforts to combat the epidemic are personal. His son, Brian, died of a heroin overdose on Dec. 15, 2004.
“I’ve been on all sides of this,” he said, “and I want to spend time on prevention. In other words, I want to use the music to do that.”
Christ said one of his most memorable childhood experiences was attending the musical “Oklahoma!”. He said the hope of Brian’s Christmas Songbook is to create a lasting memory for children of all ages.
“I feel like we have one golden hour to pass a message of importance and hope to these kids,” he said. “We are not a traditional musical to raise money for something else. Our medicine, so to speak, is our concert. It’s about hope and good will.”
Christ said Brian’s Christmas Songbook is an interactive performance that gives children an opportunity to come on stage and be a part of the show. Families are encouraged to arrive early.
“The concert itself starts with me reading the story ‘Brian’s Christmas Songbook,’ an actual book I wrote, to the children,” he said. “While we are reading it, the girls start singing and the orchestra chimes up and all the characters come to life.”
Christ said he is reaching out to local businesses and the Town of Ocean City to sponsor the show. He noted the cost for this year’s production has increased to roughly $42,000.
“There’s nothing in Ocean City to address this epidemic,” he said. “We believe we are Ocean City’s entry in addressing this.”
Christ added that the event will offer sponsorship opportunities for the performers and sponsorship tickets, which will allow families who can’t afford a ticket to attend the concert. Sponsors will also be listed in invitations that will be sent home with the students.
“We are trying to give as much attention to those trying to help us,” he said. “Without them we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Tony Christ at 202-641-6166.
A public performance of Brian’s Christmas Songbook will be held on Friday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Ocean City Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available for $10 and can be purchase at the box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
“It’s intended to be uplifting and make the children feel good about themselves …,” he said. “It’s a time for families to come together.”
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