Each year, hundreds of families gather to celebrate the holidays by attending Theatre In The Park’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. This hit musical comedy adapted by Ira David Wood III from the Charles Dickens classic has been a Raleigh tradition for 35 years.

The “family affair” involves not only those in the audience; it also extends to families in the cast on stage. This year there are more than 10 families performing together.

The Gardenhire family of Cary is excited to participate as a family in this year’s 35th anniversary production of A Christmas Carol. Christmas is a special time of year for families, there is a special magical excitement in the Gardenhire household this year as four members of the family will be performing together.

As of this year, each one of the six members of the Gardenhire family has held a place in the A Christmas Carol family, either as part of this year’s family or in one of the families of years past.

“We have always been a family that does things together, and this is another opportunity for us to be together and be a part of this wonderful show and what it means to us,” says Patty Gardenhire, whose husband and two daughters are also in the show.

“When everyone is rushing and trying to get everything done this time of year, A Christmas Carol not only brings us joy and, thanks to David Wood, much laughter, it reminds us of what is important. Being a part of it is a very special gift that we have been given. I’m not sure that my children would know what to do without it since, it has been a part of our lives for so many years.”

Gary and Patty Gardenhire and their 4 daughters, Whitney, Kaitlyn, Christine and Emily have all been part of the A Christmas Carol “family” throughout the years. This year two members of the family, Whitney and Kaitlyn, are not on stage as Whitney is now married and moved away and Kaitlyn is continuing college. Ten years ago Whitney and Christine appeared on stage for the first time in this holiday tradition. Two years later Gary, Emily, and Kaitlyn joined the show and have been happy to return year after year. Patty, his wife, joins Gary, Emily and Christine for the first time this year.

“I was always happy to be involved behind the scenes, but with Christine returning this year, and Emily being a senior, I knew that there was a very good chance that this would be my last opportunity to join them on the stage” says Patty.

Emily is a senior at Apex High School and is thrilled to return for the eighth year as a dancer and a townsperson, along with her sister Christine, who just graduated from UNC in May and is returning to the show for her fifth year as a dancer.

This year is a special year with the show being performed in Raleigh’s Sister City of Compiègne, France on November 26 and 27, before returning to Raleigh for 11 shows.

“Working with our choreographer, Brijet Whitney, is always rewarding” says Emily. “She is remarkable and inspiring.”

When the Gardenhire family is not on stage you can find Patty hard at work at Bank of America while Gary runs a construction/development consulting business, Gardenhire Associates. Next year Emily plans to attend college and study musical theatre. Of note, the Gardenhire’s have been so much a part of Theatre In The Park and A Christmas Carol that they opened their home for the wedding reception of Ira David Wood III and his lovely bride Ashley Maddox Wood in 2005.

“The show is a labor of love. It is performed by volunteers – members of the local community – who over three decades – have blessed the production with remarkable talent and generosity of spirit,” says Ira David Wood, “Mr. Dickens gave the world a priceless gift when he wrote A Christmas Carol. We’ve been fortunate enough to simply pass that gift along to others. During this very special season of the year, there’s no better feeling in the world.”

This particular musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol has an extremely impressive list of former cast members, among them actors who have since gone on to star in stage, film and TV: Bobby Bowman, Rita Glynn, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Kennedy, Terrence Mann, Frankie Muniz, Patrick Stogner, Evan Rachel Wood & Ira David Wood IV. These cast members and others from past years have all experienced the “family affair” of this beloved production, and have fond memories of their time on stage at Christmas time in Raleigh.

Tickets for Theatre In The Park’s 35th anniversary production of Ira David Wood III’s A Christmas Carol at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Memorial Auditorium, December 8-16, 2009 are available through Ticketmaster (800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com), and at the Memorial Auditorium Box Office. Due to the show’s overwhelming popularity, an additional performance has been added on Sunday, December 13th at 7:00PM, giving families eleven different show times to choose from to catch the Christmas spirit. www.theatreinthepark.com