Kids with Down syndrome become stars during Christmas variety show in Colorado Springs | Arts & Entertainment

Kids with Down syndrome become stars during Christmas variety show in Colorado Springs | Arts & Entertainment

When the curtain goes up on “Christmas This Year,” an annual holiday variety show featuring performers born with Down syndrome, it will mark the 10th year of an adventure that has blossomed from a small show with just a handful of performers to a sold-out holiday spectacular at the Ent Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs.

“The years have just flown by, and the show just keeps growing,” said showrunner Jared Anderson. “It has been a ride.”

The idea for the show was sparked in 2015 when Anderson, a Christian musician, visited Club 21, a nonprofit school in South Africa for people with Down syndrome. As he observed and performed with the students who had learned some of his songs in advance of his visit, he began to consider the possibilities of a similar venture closer to home.


Over 50 performers with Down syndrome light up the stage at Ent Center in Colorado Springs

“On the way home I thought, ‘What can we do in Colorado Springs to highlight our own people with special abilities?’” 

Shows are scheduled Dec. 7-8 this year.

The start

Anderson and his wife, Megan, began by calling local friends with Down syndrome kids. They hosted the first show in a church sanctuary with two or three families.

“We did some readings, and maybe a song or two,” he said.

The next year, hoping to broaden the show’s reach, they held it at Rampart High School, where Jared is an alumnus. As word began to spread, more and more families came forward in search of a social and creative outlet for their special-needs kids.

Initially titled “15th of December,” after a song Anderson wrote to satirize some of the holiday’s more mundane traditions, the show’s growth forced a name change.


Colorado's zoos offer holiday lights along with animals this Christmas season

“I wrote the song to make fun of some of the ‘stupid human tricks’ surrounding the Christmas season,” he said. “But then the show expanded to two nights, and the title became confusing. So we had to change it.”

In some ways, the show has taken on a life of its own, Anderson said.

“In 2021, we had 27 families sign up,” he said. “The next year, we had 46. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just hanging on.”

Last year’s show featured 55 performers. This year, the program will include 60 participants, ranging in age from 6 months to nearly 40 years.

Breanna Bradshaw, 39, will take the stage for the seventh year.

“I like being a part of it,” she said. “I’ve been with Jared and Megan a long time.”

Chance to shine

Your weekly local update on arts, entertainment, and life in Colorado Springs! Delivered every Thursday to your inbox.

Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

For Breanna, the show is an opportunity to perform in front of friends and family after years of watching her brothers shine on the football field.

“She’s watched her brothers play, and now it’s her turn to shine,” said Beverly Bradshaw, Breanna’s mother. “They all come to support her, and she’s having a blast.”

That’s the case for many of the performers, Anderson said.

“This is their big chance to shine in front of their families,” he said. “This is their ‘Friday Night Lights.’”

Laura Jacobo, whose son Jeremiah will perform for the second straight year, said the show focuses on the kids’ abilities instead of their limitations.

“The fact that he has Down syndrome is the first thing people see, because of the facial features,” Jacobo said. “He’s very smart, and talented, and independent. A lot of these kids are.”

“These kids are funny, and talented, and uninhibited,” Anderson said. “They are the perfect people to teach us how to celebrate Christmas.”

In addition to the joy of watching Down syndrome kids perform, Anderson is often inspired by the resilience of Down syndrome families, he said.

“These families experience hardships that other families don’t. But because of that, they have a strength that other families don’t have.”

Broadening the impact

While giving local Down syndrome kids a big stage to showcase their talents, the show also helps raise funds to support Friends of Club 21, a local nonprofit that “celebrates Down syndrome locally and around the world,” according to its website. Last year’s show raised nearly $200,000, show coordinators said.

Bolstered by the show’s consistently large turnout, the Andersons are looking to broaden the scope of their venture to include year-round engagement activities. They are hoping to start a small arts academy to provide day programs for special-needs kids and adults.


Colorado Springs area cooking classes and events starting Nov. 20

“There are day programs out there for special needs, and they provide a good service, but in a way, they’re kind of like babysitting,” Jared Anderson said.

“They go to the park, or they go to the library, or maybe they go shopping. There’s value in those activities, but we’d like to see more, especially for the (Down syndrome) population that has graduated out of the school system.”

In the meantime, the showrunners encourage Colorado Springs residents who have a relative with Down syndrome to check out the show and consider adding their loved ones to the cast.

“There’s beauty and talent here, and we have a lot of fun,” Anderson said. “Dancing and singing and celebrating. That’s the jam.”

For show dates and times, visit christmasthisyear.org.

link