In previous years, the series, which began way back in 2009, has included a genre-crossing range of holiday music, including big band, rock, bluegrass and more. For this, the final Holiday Extravaganza, the show will return to the main stage of the Akron Civic Theater for an “up-close-and-personal cabaret performance.” A seven-piece jazz ensemble featuring Humbert and longtime singing partner Emily Bates on vocals will perform.
“I’m excited to be retiring the Holiday Extravaganza by bringing it home to the Akron Civic Theatre. The last 15 years of shows have been incredible, and I’m proud of the music we made and the charities we’ve helped,” says Humbert in a press release. “I look forward to retiring the series with this back-to-basics show, consisting entirely of holiday standards and classics.”
During each performance, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank will collect cash and non-perishable food donations to help those in need, including their “Super Six” most needed items (boxed cereal, peanut butter, canned tuna, canned vegetables, canned beef stew and canned soup).
The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is a nonprofit organization with a vision of a thriving community free of hunger. This year, 1 in 7 people in Northeast Ohio will face hunger, and the Foodbank is the source of emergency food for nearly 500 food pantries, hot meal sites, shelters and other hunger-relief programs that directly serve individuals and families in Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties.
“I really want to thank everyone who has ever been a part of, or attended, one of the Holiday Extravaganzas. There are too many people to name here, but I’m a lucky guy to have had such incredible support for the last 15 years,” says Humbert. “To be able to make music, and do so for an enthusiastic audience, and help those in need at the same time, is all you can really ask for.”
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This article appears in Nov 8-21, 2023.
