SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Many people know the story of Christmas as it pertains to the birth of Jesus, but have you ever wondered what that night thousands of years ago might’ve actually looked like? A well-known local storyteller is bringing that night to life this holiday season.
For more than two decades, Jeff Gould has brought his ‘A Prairie Christmas’ to the radio waves of eastern South Dakota. A few years ago, he brought it to the stage, and now he’s bringing it under the stars.
“This is the first year I’ll be doing it here in a planetarium at the Wells Fargo Cinedome,” Gould said.
Gould is the writer, developer, producer, and storyteller of this new version of his show titled ‘A Prairie Christmas Under the Stars’.
“It’s spectacular. It explains why nobody at the time was paying attention because their focus was on another government, Rome,” Gould said. “It explains what the Heavens looked like to make people travel from Babylon, they’re talking about the wise men, all the way through dangerous country to Jerusalem, what brought them there. It describes possibly the birthdate of Christ, we’ll talk about when that exactly is in history. We’ll talk about why it’s not December 25th, but why December 25th is still very important.”
Accompanied by a live cellist and pianist, Gould hopes the show can give people a sense of mystery and awe.
“I love to learn, and it’s a great opportunity to do that and see different theories. And it kind of comes to life on the screen, so it’s a lot of fun to see,” Alyssa Pinkley, manager of operations and engagements for the museums and planetarium, said.
“We live in super busy times, busy, busy, busy, busy, but in this space you’ll go back in time, and you’ll see exactly what it looked like thousands of years ago,” Gould said. “It’ll be like going outside your tent and seeing up in the skies what the wisemen saw. And it’ll fill you with wonder.”
Tickets for ‘A Prairie Christmas Under the Stars’ have been going fast, with two of the four shows already sold out. Tickets are still available for the 4 p.m. showings on December 6th and 13th, though.