On Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., the Segerstrom family will light the tree at Town Center Park, next to The Westin South Coast Plaza, and Santa will arrive at the same ceremony. Admission is free. The South Coast Plaza holiday page lists six performing groups: members of Pacific Symphony, South Coast Repertory, American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, members of Pacific Chorale, Orange County School of the Arts and Arts & Learning Conservatory.
Four of those six names have their own holiday programs on Costa Mesa stages between Thanksgiving weekend and Dec. 27. The free half hour in the park is a preview of a season that runs for five weeks, and the ticketed shows that follow are run by the same organizations.
Where Each Group Performs After the Tree Lighting
The four groups below go straight from the park into their own seasons, mostly at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Hall and SCR's Segerstrom Stage.
- Pacific Symphony has the busiest December of the four. It plays The Nutcracker for Kids on Dec. 5 and Handel's Messiah on Dec. 6. It also performs with American Ballet Theatre for The Nutcracker from Dec. 10 to 24, followed by the Holiday Organ Spectacular on Dec. 14 and Cody Fry Christmas on Dec. 18 and 19.
- South Coast Repertory opens its 46th annual A Christmas Carol on the Segerstrom Stage on Nov. 28, and the run continues to Dec. 27.
- ABT's William J. Gillespie School presents The Nutcracker for Kids with Pacific Symphony on Dec. 5 at the concert hall, with performances at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
- Pacific Chorale sings Messiah with the symphony on Dec. 6 and has three dates of Tis the Season! at the concert hall the week before Christmas. Its Carols by Candlelight takes place in Newport Beach.
The tree lighting is the one night when all of these companies share a single stage at no charge.
Nov. 19 Has Three Start Times Within an Hour
The ceremony doesn't have the evening to itself. Water for Elephants plays Segerstrom Hall Nov. 10 through 22, with a 7:30 p.m. curtain on Thursday, Nov. 19. Half an hour later, at 8 p.m., Pacific Symphony opens Nobu Plays Rachmaninoff's Mighty Third at the concert hall. The program pairs Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and repeats Nov. 20 and 21 at 8 p.m.
The evening runs in this order:
- 7 p.m. Tree lighting and Santa's arrival, Town Center Park, free
- 7:30 p.m. Water for Elephants, Segerstrom Hall
- 8 p.m. Nobu Plays Rachmaninoff's Mighty Third, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Some of the symphony's musicians will be in the park at 7, and the orchestra plays its first downbeat at the concert hall an hour later. Earlier the same day, the Lot D Farmers Market at OC Fair & Event Center holds its regular Thursday session; Nov. 19 is on the venue's calendar.
A Christmas Carol, Year 46
SCR's A Christmas Carol is the longest-running show on this calendar. SCR's Oct. 26, 2026 press release calls it "one of Orange County's longest-running holiday traditions." Jerry Patch wrote the adaptation and Hisa Takakuwa directs.
The casting history is long. SCR Founding Company Member Richard Doyle returns for his sixth year as Ebenezer Scrooge and his 41st year in the production. Over those years he has played the Spirits of Christmas Past and Present, Mr. Fezziwig, Scrooge's nephew Fred and both solicitors. This is Takakuwa's sixth season directing. Before that, she served as assistant director for 14 years and appeared in the show for 14 more. She works with a cast of 34 actors, including 16 children who alternate performances.
Artistic Director David Ivers ends his comments in the same release with a line from the story itself: "This is for everyone."
Several dates and features matter when planning a visit:
- Previews: Nov. 28 through Dec. 3. Regular performances run Dec. 4 through 27.
- Relaxed performance: Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
- ASL-interpreted performance: Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2:30 p.m.
- Lobby extras: The hot chocolate bar returns from last year with toppings and souvenir mugs. Snow falls on Ela's Terrace after every performance, and photos with Santa Claus run before the show on select weeknights. The Argyros Family Foundation supports these features.
December, Date by Date
Laid out by date, the season has one very full Saturday and a busy final week before Christmas. On Saturday, Dec. 5, The Nutcracker for Kids plays in the morning, the ASL performance of A Christmas Carol is in the afternoon, and Carols by Candlelight is in the evening.
| Date | Program | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 28 to Dec. 27 | A Christmas Carol | Segerstrom Stage, SCR | Various |
| Dec. 1 | A Christmas Carol, relaxed performance | Segerstrom Stage, SCR | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | The Nutcracker for Kids | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall | 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. |
| Dec. 5 | A Christmas Carol, ASL-interpreted | Segerstrom Stage, SCR | 2:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 and 9 | Pacific Chorale, Carols by Candlelight | Our Lady Queen of Angels, Newport Beach | 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Handel's Messiah | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall | 3 p.m. |
| Dec. 10 to 24 | ABT, The Nutcracker | Segerstrom Hall | Various |
| Dec. 14 | Holiday Organ Spectacular | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 and 19 | Cody Fry Christmas | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall | 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 20, 21, 23 | Pacific Chorale, Tis the Season! | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall | 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 5 p.m. |
On the Holiday Organ Spectacular night, Segerstrom Center's event page lists Laguna Flutes playing in the lobby at 6:30 p.m., an hour before the concert starts. Carols by Candlelight is the one Pacific Chorale program held outside Costa Mesa, at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach.
What's New at South Coast Plaza Before and After the Show
A few new spots at the mall fit around these curtain times. Barnes & Noble opened a 27,000-square-foot store on South Coast Plaza's third floor in late August. The Daily Pilot reported that the city had gone almost a decade without one after the Metro Pointe store closed. The new store has mostly front-facing shelves, reading nooks and a café with a balcony overlooking the city.
Tiffany's Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud, the café's first location in California, serves breakfast, afternoon tea and all-day dining at 3333 Bristol Street, Suite 1236. According to the OC Register, Schiaparelli's first standalone boutique in the U.S. is slated to open in December on Level 2 in the Nordstrom Wing.
The mall's holiday hours shift around the performance calendar:
- Thanksgiving, Nov. 26: closed
- Black Friday, Nov. 27: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Dec. 20 through 23: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Christmas Eve, Dec. 24: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Christmas Day: closed
- New Year's Eve, Dec. 31: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The last ABT Nutcracker performance falls on Christmas Eve, and the mall closes at 4 p.m. that day.
A Second Tree Lighting, Every Night, at the Fairgrounds
Winter Fest OC runs Nov. 27 through Jan. 3, 2027 in Lot A at OC Fair & Event Center. It offers ice tubing, skating, snow play, carnival rides and live entertainment, and the tree is lit every night. The venue hosts the event for an independent promoter. The Thursday farmers market in Lot D keeps going through the holidays, with sessions on Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. The CAMP has Pop Ups at Purre at 2937 Bristol Street on the two weekends of Nov. 20 to 22 and Nov. 27 to 29.
Much of Costa Mesa's December is set around Town Center Park and the Segerstrom stages, from Pacific Symphony's run of concerts to SCR's 46th A Christmas Carol. If a season this close to home has you wondering what your own place near it is worth, Summer Perry Group can prepare a complimentary valuation that takes into account the stages, shops and streets around your home.
