White Christmas at the State Theatre

            – And a visit from Michael Moore.

Christmas Traditions

December 23^rd was “Christmas Eve” for my wife and me as we had other duties on the 24^th.  We spent the afternoon shopping at our local small market to purchase ingredients for our Christmas tradition: White Chicken Chili, then loading wood into our firebox, and preparing for another tradition – White Christmas at the State Theatre.

I had gone into town a few days earlier to purchase tickets.  A steady line of cars filled Front Street as I parked in the theater’s courtesy area, but when I went to pull out a driver immediately paused so I could enter traffic.  That’s a regular courtesy here in Traverse City.

Done with our chores and preparations, a five-minute drive back downtown took us to Amical, one of our special eateries, for a light holiday dinner. Others ambled in as well – small groups celebrating the season with friends and family.

Mother Nature contributed cheer with light snow while we dined, and we had one of the best tables, next to a big window overlooking West Bay.  A glass of red wine, some reminiscing about the highs and lows of the year, a lot of thankfulness for our lives, and hope for those we love.  We heard “Merry Christmas” so frequently it could have been a recording.  But it wasn’t – it just emanated from the lips of everyone around.

The State Theatre

Our delightful dinner over, we headed outside and walked next door to the beautiful State Theatre for White Christmas.  The State Theatre is an Up North treasure, ranked #1 in the world by the Motion Picture Association of America – seeing movies here is a major treat!  People were in line at the sidewalk-fronting box office and filing in the front doors.   

Since we had our tickets, we went straight into the Lobby, which is about the size of our living room, small and cozy, with a single concession stand along the front.

White Christmas was just one of the family-friendly Christmas favorites playing during December at the State – from Elf, Christmas in Connecticut, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause (Tim Allen is a part-time area resident) to The Polar Express, Home Alone, The Nutcracker and Miracle on 34^th Street – truly a special and diverse film offering.

We’ve gone to see White Christmas at the State for the past nine years; it’s a special treat, just like when I saw it as a kid in 1954.  There were several funny shorts on the screen as the theater filled, but no commercials, which is always the rule at the State.

Michael Moore stood in the Lobby greeting people as they entered.  While Michael’s views can generate strong emotions, without him the State Theatre would not exist.  He’s been at the Christmas showing of White Christmas several times before, but never as intimately involved with the movie-goers as this night.

We purchased a small popcorn and a Pellegrino to share and selected our seats.  People streamed in until the theater filled.  Then Michael walked down the aisle, holding his phone aloft, telling us he was streaming on Facebook live, because Traverse City, White Christmas and the State Theatre were all special.  He continued to stream while he led us on a few lines from Count Your Blessings.  Then he stopped at the front of the theater to speak.  And yes, my wife and I were a bit nervous, afraid he might have political comments that would alter the thankful and mellow flow of our special evening.

But we needn’t have worried.  Before signing off of Facebook, he wished the online viewers a hearty “Merry Christmas” commenting that it was “OK to say that in Traverse City, and everyone meant it.”

Michael and Christmas

His introduction to White Christmas began with welcoming all of us, continued with history of the movie, including that Count Your Blessings was the only new song written for the movie.  He told of his childhood and how much White Christmas meant to his family, especially his father, a WWII Marine who fought in many Pacific battles.

Michael talked about the traditions, saying “Merry Christmas”, and that the message of the movie was the spirit of true giving.  He finished with a few thoughts on coming together regardless of race, gender or politics; how the movie and the season were about doing something extra to help others for the common good of all.

It was all off-the-cuff, delivered with meaning and humility, very sentimental and heartfelt.  Ann and I were delighted and appreciative that his chat was right in line with our feelings that evening.  The movie, as always, was wonderful; watching Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen dance was especially joyful.

At the end of the movie most of the crowd joined in the final refrains of I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas, then turned to wish those near them “Merry Christmas.”  The young couple next to us reached out in greeting and said “See you next year!”  And as we left, Michael stood again in the Lobby, shaking hands with all (including us) and wishing everyone “Merry Christmas.”  We thanked him for his thoughtful introduction to the movie, and meant it.

We walked out onto the street, snow in the air, and knew we had experienced a special Christmas pleasure.  The snow continued to fall as we walked to our car, past the downtown Christmas tree and the shop windows aglow.

The whole evening felt like magic with the excitement in us and those around us – we didn’t want the evening or the feelings to end!  It was like all the old Christmas feasts, fires in the snow, caroling and homecomings wrapped into a few hours.

In the end it was a simple, and perfect, Up North White Christmas!

© Rod Robinson