Dance Arts Center to host Nutcracker Coffee Crawl this weekend

Jenna Wilson, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Sep. 30—Coffee lovers and dance fans will have the chance to support both Downtown this weekend for the Nutcracker Coffee Crawl.

The Dance Arts Center is hosting the event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The fundraiser will be partnering with 13 other local businesses to promote and raise funds for The Dance Arts Center's production of a favorite holiday classic, "The Nutcracker."

Each of the participating Downtown businesses will be serving samples of themed coffee drinks and tea, along with other activities and treats.

"We're really lucky that we have 13 different businesses that are involved, which is, I think, a record number for us," said Marla Heeler, owner of the Dance Arts Center. "It's exciting because they can go to all the different businesses that are part of our crawl. Also, it's super inexpensive, the guests get a $10 wristband and they can try all these different flavors."

Attendees will also get a sneak peek of dances in the play and a chance to meet various cast members in this year's "Nutcracker" performance.

"The students who will be performing in this year's play will be out and about at the different business locations, so people will be able to meet the different characters," she said. "We have a little unique take on a couple of our different characters, but we will have our Sugar Plum Fairy there, the Arabian dancers, and of course, our prince will be there so people can expect to see a lot of the characters on Saturday."

Heeler said the Arts Center is looking forward to this weekend's event and the live performance that will happen in December.

"There's a lot of different options for people to come out and try," she said. "We hope to see families come and support a good cause for kids that are staying out of trouble."

"The Nutcracker" Christmas production will be a live performance hosted on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Historic Missouri Theater.

Additional information about the Coffee Crawl and "The Nutcracker" performances can be found online at TheDanceArtsCenter.com or by calling 816-233-5442.