PALMDALE PLAYHOUSE CELEBRATES THE SEASON.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

Holiday music, stories and dance will be part of the three-day ``Spirit of the Holidays'' festival that begins tonight at the Palmdale Playhouse, 38334 10th St. E.

The Palmdale Youth and Community Dance Company kicks off the event at 7:30 p.m. today with a dance interpretation of the winter concerto from Vivaldi's ``Four Seasons'' collection. The dancers will perform to the music of Mannheim Steamroller while Kevin Treanor of the Palmdale City Players reads the sonnet written by Vivaldi to accompany the concerto.

After the dance, the Palmdale City Players will present ``A Christmas Carol with Apologies to Dickens,'' an updated comical version of the classic Dicken's tale. The story, written by W. Beau Christian, portrays Scrooge as Abigail Scrooge, a domineering school marm who discovers the meaning of Christmas after visits from ``Assignments Past,'' ``Assignments Present,'' and ``Assignments Future.'' A sign-language interpreter will be available during the performance.

The Palmdale Youth and Community Orchestras will perform classical selections mixed with holiday tunes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The youth orchestra will present ``Santa Claus is Coming to Town,'' and the finale from Peter I. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2, ``The Little Russian.'' The Palmdale Community Orchestra will perform ``Procession of Nobles'' from the opera ``Mlada'' by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and James Christensen's ``German Carol Festival.'' The finale will combine both orchestras as they perform ``Carillion'' from ``L'Arelsienne Suite'' by Georges Bizet.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, the Palmdale Youth and Community Choir will sing Christmas and Hanukkah tunes in four-part harmony. Individual choir members will also perform traditional songs including ``Silent Night,'' ``Feliz Navidad,'' and ``Go Tell it on the Mountain.''

The Playhouse lobby will be decorated wth seasonal art by Robert and Judith Bennett, members of the Palmdale Visual Arts Program.

Admission to each show is $3 for adults and $1 for seniors and children. Tickets are available at the box office or by calling [phone]. At each show, donations of nonperishable food will be collected for South Antelope Valley Emergency Services, a food bank.

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PHOTO (1 -- 2) Community Dance Company will dance to Vivaldi's Winter concerto. Left, the Youth and Community Orchestras will play classical selections and holiday tunes.