Each December, Portland Revels presents a multifaceted stage production to welcome the winter season. Combining instrumental and choral music, children's songs and games, ritual and folk dance traditions, drama, poetry, and audience participation, this event springs from an age-old tradition of winter solstice celebration.

A cast of 75 or so includes the Portland Brass Quintet, the Bridgetown Morris Men, instrumentalists, Portland actors, and volunteer adult/teen/children choruses drawn from throughout the city. It is professionally staged, costumed, and lighted. Portland's first Christmas Revels—set in the Middle Ages—was presented in 1995 at Portland State University's Lincoln Hall. In 1997, the Revels audience outgrew Lincoln Hall and the show moved to the Scottish Rite Theater, where it has since presented annual holiday shows with Medieval, Middle Eastern, Celtic, Victorian, and Scottish themes.

In 2006, our show was grounded in 13th-century French culture, in 2007 the show visited Haddon Hall and a number of periods in English history, and in 2008 we will enjoy Scandinavian music, folklore, and traditions. The cultural focus changes from year to year, but the Christmas Revels is always about celebrating the season.

In addition to the December show, Portland Revels hosts year-round events to welcome and celebrate the cycle of passing seasons. We hope you will join with us as we gather, to add joy and celebration in community to your life!