Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony
Thursday, November 24th | 6pm | Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront
Come celebrate the beginning of the holidays with us and kick-off the 2022 Holiday Lights Festival season with the annual Thanksgiving lighting ceremony!
The lighting ceremony serves as the official “kick-off” for the Festival. A short performance by Musical Kids will precede the program, where Mayor Jean Stothert and emcee Terri McCormick from STAR 104.5 The Christmas Station will lead the entire Omaha community in a countdown to the start of the holiday season!
Thanks to The Riverfront, the dazzling production will incorporate color-changing up lights, video projections onto the Gene Leahy Mall Performance Pavilion and Burlington Building, thematic video on the 10th Street Bridge LED wall and holiday music sounding throughout the park. The multimedia show, which is about seven minutes long, can be seen every Friday and Saturday throughout the holiday season, running every hour.
Making Spirits Bright Concert
Thursday, November 24th | 7pm | Holland Center
We are thrilled to welcome back the Making Spirits Bright Concert! Following the Lighting Ceremony at the Gene Leahy Mall, there will be a FREE concert at the Holland Center. The concert, which starts at 7pm, will feature the Nebraska Wind Symphony and guest vocalist Ryan Daly!
Nebraska Wind Symphony Performers
About Ryan Daly
Tenor Ryan Daly is quickly establishing himself as a rising talent in the opera world. In 2019, Ryan made his Shreveport Opera debut as The Padre in Man of La Mancha and was scheduled to return to Shreveport to perform the roles of Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Dave in Pepito, and Carlos in Feel the Tango (all cancelled due to COVID-19). In addition, Mr. Daly was scheduled to make his role debut as Don José in Peter Brooks’ adaptation, La tragedie de Carmen.
Mr. Daly made his debut as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Marshall Symphony Orchestra. Over the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, Mr. Daly performed as a soloist with Opera Omaha, both in recital and in mainstage productions.
Ryan has sung in productions all of the United States. Highlights include Tito in La Clemenza di Tito, Ulisse in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Braun in the world premiere of Robert Chumbley’s Hidden Jewel. Ryan has performed with companies across the country, including Shreveport Opera, Opera Omaha, the Aspen Opera Theater, Miami Music Festival, and Utah Lyric Opera. In concert, Ryan has been heard as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Marshall Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis with the Heartland Philharmonic, and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with the Civic Orchestra of Abilene.
Ceremonia de iluminación de Acción de Gracias
Jueves, 24 de noviembre de | 6pm | Centro Comercial Gene Leahy
¡Venga a celebrar el comienzo de las vacaciones con nosotros y comience la temporada 2022 del Festival de Luces Navideñas con la ceremonia anual de iluminación de Acción de Gracias!
¡Después de 3 años de construcción, estamos muy emocionados de traer el Holiday Lights Festival DE VUELTA al Gene Leahy Mall! Las luces iluminarán una vez más el área dentro y alrededor del centro comercial, por primera vez desde nuestra temporada 2018.
