Orange Beach Holiday Show ‘Visions of Christmas’ Sets Four Performances Dec. 3-6, Collects Toys for Tots

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — With cooler fall weather finally reaching the Gulf Coast, the holiday season is getting closer, and one of Orange Beach’s favorite Christmas traditions is back. “Visions of Christmas,” a holiday music production by the Expect Excellence Music Department, will be performed four times Dec. 3-6 at the Orange Beach Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $5.

The show brings together the Expect Excellence program and performers and musicians from across the area. Audiences are also asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.

A homestretch-to-Christmas tradition

Organizers present the production as a kickoff to the last weeks before Christmas.

“Kicking off the homestretch to Christmas and filling people with holiday cheer, ‘Visions of Christmas’ is a show you don’t want to miss,” said Expect Excellence Music Department Manager Caleb Pittman.

Performing Arts Center Manager Stacie Brane said the show has become part of many families’ holiday routine.

“It has become a Christmas tradition for many families in our area. ‘Visions’ really fills audiences with the joy and happiness of the Christmas season,” Brane said.

Pittman said crowd favorites “Little Drummer Boy” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” are among the carols on this year’s program.

“You don’t want to miss this special Christmas show,” Pittman added.

Show schedule

There are four performances:

• Thursday, Dec. 3: 7 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 4: 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 5: 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 6: 2 p.m. matinee

Doors open one hour before each show. All seating is general admission, so arriving when doors open is the best way to get a good seat.

Tickets

Tickets are $5 per person and can be bought online. The Performing Arts Center box office is also open weekdays from 3:30 to 6 p.m. At that price, a family can see a full holiday production for less than the cost of a movie.

Bring a toy for Toys for Tots

Everyone who attends is asked to bring a new, unwrapped present for Toys for Tots, the campaign that works to make sure children in Baldwin County have something to open on Christmas morning.

Pittman said the toy drive was part of the reason the show was created. When “Visions of Christmas” was developed as a tribute to the University of Mobile’s “Christmas Spectacular,” one goal was for the performances to serve as a Toys for Tots drop-off point.

Toys for Tots is run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and dates to 1947. Each holiday season, local campaigns collect new, unwrapped toys and give them to children whose families might not otherwise be able to buy gifts. Donations collected in a community are distributed in that same community, so toys dropped off at the Orange Beach shows will help Baldwin County children.

A few tips for donated toys:

• Toys should be new and in their original packaging.
• Leave them unwrapped so volunteers can sort them by age and type.
• Gifts for older children and teens are often the hardest to find, so items such as sports equipment, art supplies, books and games for that age group are especially welcome.

Inspired by a Mobile classic

“Visions of Christmas” was created in part as a tribute to the University of Mobile’s “Christmas Spectacular,” a long-running holiday concert by the university’s music students that has become a seasonal tradition for many families on the Gulf Coast. The Orange Beach show takes a similar approach, featuring well-known carols and seasonal songs performed by a large group of singers and musicians, but brings it to a hometown stage in south Baldwin County at a price meant to keep it within reach for families.

About Expect Excellence

Expect Excellence is the City of Orange Beach’s enrichment program for young people and the community, with offerings in music, theater and the performing arts. Its community theater productions have included “The Lion King Jr.,” “Willy Wonka” and “The Addams Family,” and the program is currently preparing a family production of “Finding Nemo” for early 2027. The music department, led by Pittman, produces “Visions of Christmas” with performers and musicians from around the area.

About the Orange Beach Performing Arts Center

The Orange Beach Performing Arts Center is at 23908 Canal Road, on the east side of the Orange Beach Middle/High School campus. It opened in September 2021 as part of an $11 million partnership between the City of Orange Beach and Baldwin County Public Schools.

The 35,000-square-foot building has a main auditorium that seats 710, with an orchestra pit and acoustics designed for live performance, plus a black box theater for smaller productions. The center hosts school programs, community theater and touring and local performances, giving south Baldwin County a professional-quality stage of its own.

Plan your visit

• Arrive early. Doors open an hour before showtime, and seating is first come, first served.
• Bring your toy. Put a new, unwrapped gift in the car ahead of time so you don’t forget.
• Pick the matinee for young children. The 2 p.m. Sunday show may suit families with younger kids or anyone who would rather not drive at night.
• Buy online to save time. Online tickets let you skip the box office line, which is open only on weekday afternoons.

If you go

• What: “Visions of Christmas,” presented by the Expect Excellence Music Department
• When: Dec. 3-5 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.
• Where: Orange Beach Performing Arts Center, 23908 Canal Road, Orange Beach
• Tickets: $5 per person, general admission; available online or at the box office, open weekdays 3:30 to 6 p.m.
• Doors: Open one hour before showtime
• Give back: Bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots

For many Baldwin County families, the four performances are a way to start the Christmas countdown. A few familiar carols, a $5 ticket and a toy for a child who might otherwise go without add up to an easy evening out.