A Stratford Christmas to make its return to the Festival Theatre stage for a third year

A Stratford Christmas returns to the Festival Theatre stage on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. Pictured are co-hosts Sheila McCarthy, David Rogers and Monique Lund.

Christmas magic is in the air as Stratford actor Monique Lund is set to join co-hosts David Rogers and Sheila McCarthy, along with a stellar lineup of performers, to take the stage at the Festival Theatre for the third annual A Stratford Christmas show.

The third-annual holiday benefit show in support of the Stratford Arts and Culture Collective (SACC) will take place on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. Now a local holiday tradition, the 2025 version will be a family-friendly holiday celebration that will include seasonal favourites and soul-stirring classics performed by a whole host of artists from both near and a little further away.

“It’s all about Christmas, all about holiday fun,” said David Hogan, the show’s director who helped launch A Stratford Christmas with Rogers, Hogan’s fellow artistic director at Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, and the SACC back in 2023. “It’s a great opportunity for soloists to come out and parade their gorgeous talent and celebrate Christmas. It’s very much like a grand presentation with great humour because David (Rogers) and Sheila McCarthy are very funny people.

“We like to use local talent, so we’ve invited two new local artists this year, and then Monique Lund, who’s also a local in Stratford, is going to host with David and Sheila, who are also local and live in Stratford. We want to keep it as local as possible, but there are some gorgeous talents who live in Toronto who are coming and performing.”

Created in the same vein as Victoria Playhouse’s annual Starbright Christmas show, this year’s A Stratford Christmas features a lineup of performers including actor, dancer and vocalist Luciano DiCicco, veteran Stratford Festival actor and vocalist Barbara Fulton, actor and vocalist Elena Howard Scott, Stratford singer-songwriter and flutist Allison Lupton, opera and musical theatre performer Annie Ramos, singer-songwriter and actor Kate Suhr, performer and recording artist Michael Vanhevel and Stratford vocalist and Avondale United Church music director Daniel Van Winden.

While Lund, another veteran of the Stratford Festival, has performed as part of the A Stratford Christmas lineup in the past, this year will mark her first as co-host alongside Rogers and McCarthy.

“David and Sheila just wanted a third – three’s funny,” Hogan said. “Monique is very funny and very talented, so the three of them will just charm everyone.”

Funds raised by this concert will go to the SACC’s mission as the umbrella organization for over 20 local organizations to provide support and see the construction of a community-based performance space at the Grand Trunk site. The SACC has proposed the creation of a state-of-the-art theatre that serves as the heart of a partnership among the YMCA, the Stratford Public Library and the city's thriving arts and culture scene.

This dynamic space is intended to provide a stage for performances, a classroom for learning and a gathering place for people of all ages to connect and be inspired.

“I love their mission and I love their goal, but I love art and I love art 24 hours a day,” Hogan said. “So, when the (Stratford) Festival is (in its offseason), then there’s other stuff happening and we keep it local and we keep artists just busy and communicating and involved. So really, I just love their mission. … And what a great place to do it, right? Stratford! It’s really extraordinary, so I’m thrilled.”

For tickets to A Stratford Christmas, visit www.stratfordfestival.ca/Christmas. The show’s runtime is approximately 140 minutes including intermission.