The arts were one of the many victims of the coronavirus pandemic as performance after performance was canceled. However, rather than stay down this holiday season, one local production is adapting to deliver a drive-in ballet.
"Every year, San Diego Ballet puts on its annual Nutcracker production and this year, we’re outdoors," said Javier Velasco, San Diego Ballet Artistic Director.
The San Diego Ballet Company announced it will present “The Nutcracker” this year in a tailgate-style outdoor matinee at Liberty Station – complete with sugarplum fairies and flurries of snowflakes. This will be their 31st Nutcracker.
According to Liberty Station, the Point Loma hot spot will transform one of its corridors into a theater for the hour-long production. The drive-in show will accommodate 30 parking spots per show.
Viewers are encouraged to take chairs, blankets or any other cozy items that will make for a comfortable area. Since the ballet will be held at Liberty Station, an array of food and drinks will be available for purchase within the vicinity.
“We wanted something where families could go be under the beautiful San Diego sky, enjoy us dancing, take their mind off what was going on in the rest of their lives for an hour and have a true, but unique, holiday experience," Velasco said.
The production comes as numerous entertainment companies nationwide canceled their renditions of “The Nutcracker” because of the pandemic.
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Tickets for Liberty Station’s production start at $99 per vehicle for general admission and $129 for VIP, front-row parking. The ballet will be held at 3 p.m. over two weekends: Nov. 27 to Nov. 29, and Dec. 5 to Dec. 6.
“Years from now, other Nutcrackers are gonna blur together, but people are always gonna remember the Drive-In Nutcracker at Liberty Station," Velasco said.
As of Wednesday, all eight shows were sold out. For more info, click here.
To see other holiday happenings at Liberty Station, click here.
