Thanksgiving weekend at Portland Center Stage was a very busy one indeed! While we were closed for the holiday itself, as the company enjoyed time off with friends and family and, of course, a fowl, the rest of the weekend defined “bustle!”

Friday morning our very own Scrooge, Ebbe Roe Smith, was joined by a trio of young volunteers, all dressed as Crachit children, in the Macy’s Holiday Parade. It’s not every opening day that an actor agrees to be in costume by 7:30 am to join the parade formation that kicks off the holidays in Portland. But Ebbe was there, exactly 12 hours before he was due to open our production of A Christmas Carol. He was joined by his own daughter, one of her best friends, and the son of our PR Manager, in a beautiful period coach pulled by a very beautiful, and very large, horse named Bob.

Ebbe Roe Smith as Scrooge and his charming volunteer Cratchits

Later that evening, following a final rehearsal, Ebbe and company opened our newly imagined production of A Christmas Carol, directed by Rose Riordan as a briskly entertaining ghost story for all ages.

Saturday dawned and the Armory was being transformed once again into a Holiday Oasis, inviting anyone who needed a respite from their post Thanksgiving shopping or dining or family fun to join us for a variety of treats. From live holiday jazz on the mezzanine to free chair massages in the lobby, to free hot cocoa for the kids to a no host bar for the adults, from a free family photo booth to a “chill out” area where you could watch “Miracle on 34th Street,” the Armory was, well, bustling, from 11 am, through th 2pm matinee, and into the evening.

Holiday Oasis at the Armory

Family photo booth

chair massage at holiday oasis

Holiday Jazz on the mezzanine

We hope you were able to join us for these events, or to plan to come next year! And here’s hoping you had a warm and peaceful Thanksgiving Day.

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