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Grace Notes
By Victoria Moon

Merry Christmas and all that jazz. I'd like to work up a burst of enthusiasm for the upcoming holidays, but I just can't seem to do it – all I can think of is endless lines at checkout counters, noisy, crowded malls, and listening to "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" playing on every radio station from now until Christmas. However, I know how important it is to get into the holiday spirit, and maybe with all of the great holiday events happening this month, I might just find it. So, let me dig through my file of December events, put on a Christmas CD (my personal favorite is Home for ChristmasBy Amy Grant), stir up a batch of sugar cookies and get this holiday show on the road.

Festiva Productions is putting on THE show of the year December 30th – a New Year's Eve gala guaranteed to be an unforgettable event. Nationally-known recording artists Jaci Velasquez, Clay Crosse and Sierra will be joining Straight Company and a 300-member mass interdenominational choir led by Dale Mowery of Southeast Christian Church for Acts 19:97 at Louisville Gardens.

At midnight, the show will culminate in a shower of balloons, confetti cannons, fireworks and a special light show. This is, of course, an alcohol-free event specially tailored for families and, according to all I've heard, a don't-miss-it event. Reserved tickets are available at Louisville Gardens, TicketMaster and Christian bookstores in the area.

What? Still not in the Christmas spirit yet? Well, take a look at some of the se Christmas cantatas and performances at several local area churches:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! – Christ Church Cathedral, December 3rd. Call 587-1354 for information.

Mary Had a Little Lamb – Broadway Church of the Nazarene, December 14th. Call 585-3994 for information.

Meet Him at the Manger – Broadway Church of the Nazarene, December 22nd.

Grace Evangelical Free Church in Middletown will be holding a special Christmas service on December 15th and their annual Christmas cantata on December 22nd. Call the church at 245-0306 for information on either of these.

Okay, Scrooge, still can't smell the yummy smell of pine needles, wassail and chestnuts roasting on an open fire?Then I suggest you check out Handel's Messiah being performed by the Louisville Bach Society December 8th, or the Bells and Voices of Christmas, performed by the Louisville Chorus, at the Cathedral of the Assumption. I attended one of their Christmas performances last Christmas, and I guarantee that they can melt away all hints of Scroogeliness!

In local indie news, I recently heard from Zoe, who played to a packed house at Jonah's Java on November 15. They will be back by popular demand at this cool little coffeehouse December 27. Jonah's is also planning a new concert series, the first of which will be January 10, when very popular local and national act Bride will take the stage.And you wanna know who this Victoria Moon is, writing about all this music and generally voicing her overly opinionated self? Well, you have your chance to (gulp) find out if you stop by Jonah's Java on December 6th when me and my little black guitar will share the stage with local alterna-pop band Fish Tales.

Finally, let me plead with you to go out and get Bruce Cockburn's Nothing But a Burning Light if you don't already have it, and listen to his song "Cry of a Tiny Babe." This song holds Christmas in a nutshell.

Here's wishing you a Christmas full of happiness, a thousand tiny miracles and the remembrance of all that this holiday means.