Join us and be joyous!

For our 14th season, Santa Barbara Revels marks our return to live performance by presenting our annual winter season production; this year it’s The Christmas Revels: An Early California Celebration of the Winter Solstice. This lively, entertaining theatrical event features a company of more than 60 singers, actors, dancers, and instrumentalists wearing gorgeous traditional costumes in a fully staged production. Our show changes each year to present the music, dance, and storytelling of different countries and centuries, and this show highlights a special time in Santa Barbara’s own history: we portray the wedding festivities of the Comandante’s daughter, Anita de la Guerra, which take place during the holidays of 1835. Richard Henry Dana and his shipmates are invited to attend the celebration; they share their sea shanties, English carols, and mumming antics while being introduced to the fandango, mission chants, Las Posadas, and traditional Spanish music and dance. With Alta California customs, Chumash story-telling, and engrossing events from Dana's book, Two Years Before the Mast, The Christmas Revels will be an exhilarating holiday experience for the entire family!