After gathering feedback from our community of students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni, we are excited to announce future plans for the St. Olaf Christmas Festival.
The 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival will again take place at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, while in 2024, we’ll return to the Hill. The 2025 St. Olaf Christmas Festival will also be held on campus. Then, we plan to initiate a two-year rotation between the two venues: two years at Orchestra Hall, followed by two years on campus, and so on.
Please continue to check our website for updates on the 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival at Orchestra Hall.
The 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival performances will take place on Friday, December 1 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The performances are approximately two hours long with no intermission.
Children ages 10 and older are welcome to attend the performances in 2023.
St. Olaf College will follow the COVID-19 protocols established by Orchestra Hall. Current protocols can be found here: https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/plan-your-visit/safety/
Due to high demand, tickets for the 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival at Orchestra Hall are now sold out across all performances.
As patrons’ plans change, tickets will be added back to the inventory and made available for purchase. We encourage those interested in purchasing tickets to check Orchestra Hall’s ticketing website regularly. Although not guaranteed, tickets may also become available at the box office on the day of the performances–pending the return of any unused tickets from patrons at the door.
For those unable to secure tickets, we encourage you to join us via the free livestream of the Saturday evening performance on December 2 at 7:30 p.m. CT. An on-demand video recording of the 2023 Christmas Festival, will also be released on Wednesday, December 13. The livestream and on-demand recordings will be available on the St. Olaf Christmas Festival website.
Tickets will again be managed through Orchestra Hall’s Box Office. If assistance is needed in order to complete your purchase, please call the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office at 612-371-5656.
More help can also be found here: https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/contact-us/
Ticket prices range from $40 to $85 for the 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival at Orchestra Hall.
During the presale, there is a limit of four total tickets per individual for the Friday or Saturday performances (not four tickets per performance). This limit is lifted when tickets go on sale to the general public on November 6.
Tickets for the St. Olaf Christmas Festival can be exchanged through the Orchestra Hall box office, pending ticket availability. Tickets may not be refunded, but can be returned as a donation to the St. Olaf Christmas Festival.
For assistance and more information, please contact:
Ticket Services
612-371-5656 | 1-800-292-4141
tickets@mnorch.org
The ticket presale for the 2023 Christmas Festival will take place the week of October 30. The general public will be able to purchase tickets on November 6.
Due to high demand for the 2022 Christmas Festival, we highly encourage you to purchase tickets on the day you gain access to the 2023 presale.
The ticket presale is open to St. Olaf students, parents, faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, volunteers, and donors.
If you are eligible for the presale, you will receive an email with information on your presale date and will be sent out in October with access information for ticket purchasing.
St. Olaf College Students who are not performing in the Christmas Festival are eligible for one complimentary ticket at the $40 and $55 seating tiers.
In previous years, St. Olaf employees, emeriti, and retired staff have been eligible for two complimentary tickets to the Christmas Festival. This year, complimentary tickets for faculty and staff are limited to more fully accommodate our student and parent community. Employees, emeriti, and retired staff are able to reserve complimentary tickets at the $55 and $65 seating tiers.
If you haven’t received your presale access information by October 30, please email christmas-festival@stolaf.edu or call 507-786-3811.
As tickets are not yet available to the general public, you must have an access code in order to purchase tickets. Navigate to https://my.minnesotaorchestra.org/promo and input your promo code in order to enter the waiting room. Be careful not to refresh, and remain on the waiting room browser. When you make it to the front of the “line”, the website will automatically refresh to take you to the order page.
If you are unable to navigate to Orchestra Hall’s promo code page, we recommend using another browser, utilizing another smart device, or restarting your device. If none of these options work, please call the Orchestra Hall Box Office to complete your order.
612-371-5656 | 1-800-292-4141
tickets@mnorch.org
If possible, please contact us by email (christmas-festival@stolaf.edu). Otherwise, you may call 507-786-3811.
The King’s Dining Room will offer a Scandinavian buffet on Friday, December 1. Reservations will be available at 4:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. for $40 per guest. Dining guests will also have the option to add on a round trip shuttle ticket to the Friday 8 p.m. Christmas Festival performance for an additional $20 per guest.
Tickets to the Scandinavian buffet and Friday evening shuttling services will be available for purchase here beginning November 6 at 8 a.m. CT. Ticket sales will end on November 27 at 5 p.m. CT.
Please note: purchasing tickets to the Scandinavian Buffet will not act as a ticket to attend the St. Olaf Christmas Festival at Orchestra Hall.
Yes. St. Olaf students may register for a complimentary round trip shuttle to attend the Friday, December 1 Christmas Festival performance.
Registration for student shuttling services to the Friday evening performance will open here on November 6 at 8 a.m. CT. Registration will close on November 27 at 5 p.m. CT.
Round trip shuttles will also be available to all Christmas Festival ticket holders for the Saturday 2 p.m. performance. Tickets will be $20 per guest.
Those who make reservations for the Scandinavian buffet at the King’s Dining Room on Friday, December 1 will also have the option to add on a round trip shuttle ticket to the Friday 8 p.m. performance for an additional $20 per guest.
Tickets for shuttling services to the Saturday matinee will be available for purchase here beginning November 6 at 8 a.m. CT. Ticket sales will end on November 27 at 5 p.m. CT.
Please note: reserving or purchasing a seat on a round trip shuttle will not act as a ticket to attend the St. Olaf Christmas Festival at Orchestra Hall.
Sunday, December 3, 2023 will feature the St. Olaf Band during Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. CT in Boe Chapel.
St. Olaf Handbells will also perform in Buntrock Commons, following Sunday morning worship.
Find information on direction and parking at Orchestra Hall here: https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/plan-your-visit/directions-parking/
Orchestra Hall is located in downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall, next to the newly-revitalized Peavey Plaza. The Orchestra Hall main entrance on 11th Street, adjacent to Peavey Plaza, is available as a convenient drop-off and pick-up location. Parking spaces for patrons with disabilities are available in the 11th and Marquette Municipal and Hilton Municipal parking ramps, which both offer convenient access to Orchestra Hall by skyway.
Due to low enrollment, valet parking services will no longer be offered for the 2023 Christmas Festival performances at Orchestra Hall.
There will be a free live stream offered of the Saturday, December 2 performance at 7:30 p.m. from St. Olaf Multimedia, which will be available on the St. Olaf Christmas Festival website.
Yes. Pre-orders of the 2023 Christmas Festival CD are now available for purchase online, and will also be available at Orchestra Hall over the Christmas Festival weekend.
The St. Olaf Bookstore will begin selling the 2023 St. Olaf Christmas Festival on CD in 2024.
Yes, an on demand streaming version of this year’s performance will be released on December 13, 2023 and will be available for viewing for one year.
Audio downloads and streaming of the 2023 Christmas Festival will be available in early 2024, on platforms that include Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, etc.