(Kerrville, TX) – A Christmas Party with lavish holiday costumes at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Stalhbaum will begin the traditional festive journey of the world’s most popular holiday production, The Nutcracker. As the story continues through a battle of soldiers and rats, in which The Nutcracker prevails, snow begins to fall as you are transported to the Land of Sweets, presided over by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. With such tempting delicacies as Spanish Chocolates, Candy canes, Chinese Tea, Russian Vatrushka, Marzipan, Ginger and Arabian Coffee, the luscious Land of Sweets will saturate you with sugary moments of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic.

The place... Kerrville’s Cailloux Theater! The time... November 22nd at 8:00pm and November 23rd at 2:00pm! The festive occasion... The 4th Annual Nutcracker in the Hills featuring the esteemed San Diego Ballet.

The Kerrville Performing Arts Society (KPAS) will once again bring an outstanding ballet troupe to the Texas Hill Country to present this holiday tradition while at the same time providing the opportunity for 50 local students to perform onstage in various roles. Students from Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Comfort, Boerne, Ingram, Helotes and San Antonio have been rehearsing for two months in preparation for the two upcoming performances.

For a holiday weekend experience, join in the festivities of the Hill Country Holiday Market & Festival, which will begin November 22nd at 9:00am on the grounds of the Kerr County Courthouse. Kerr County Market Days will be ongoing as will the lighting of the Courthouse ceremonies, the holiday lighted parade, and the arrival of Santa Claus in Kerrville. Continue on to Kerrville’s Cailloux Theater for the Pre-concert Preludes performed by the Schreiner University Women’s Ensemble and Starkey Elementary School Choir before the curtain goes up on San Diego Ballet’s lively Nutcracker Ballet.

The Nutcracker is based on the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816. The ballet was first performed in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Illustrious composer, Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky arranged the music for the production while Marius Petipa choreographed the original production in great detail. The first American full-length production of The Nutcracker was performed by the San Francisco Ballet and choreographed by W. Christensen. The Nutcracker has since become an annual Holiday tradition.

The Nutcracker is a magical stage extravaganza... and KPAS is pleased to present this special event for Hill Country residents to kick back, relax and enjoy the essence of the holidays!