In less than a week, Annex Theatre is throwing the ALL HOLIDAY PARTY 2012, and we would love to you have stop by!

If you've never attended one before (they only occur sporadically - it's been three years since the last one), here's generally what happens: we open the doors at 7:30, at 8pm we kick things off with Chinese New Year, and from that point until midnight, we celebrate almost 20 different holidays in succession. Some holidays last only 5 minutes; some last 10 or 15 or 30 minutes; some are wandering holidays that occur throughout other holidays. Decorations & costumes shift in rapid succession; many holidays have themed activities or events; drink specials per holiday abound; and of course, at the end of the night, we celebrate New Year's Eve with a giant dance party on the Annex stage.

I don't want to ruin too many surprises about the holidays themselves, but a few tidbits:

• We're throwing a serious Halloween costume contest, giving out "fabulous prizes," so plan something awesome if you can


• Kendra Hayes will be leading the May Pole dance for our Beltane celebration


• I have no idea what this means, but apparently someone is planning a "HUMAN FIREWORKS DISPLAY" for Independence Day


• The pious souls at St. Benedict's Parish (of "Penguins" fame) will debate the virtues of Canadian Thanksgiving vs. American Thanksgiving, in a world premiere pageant written by Scot Augustson


• And of course, we'll have speed dating, speed weddings, and possibly a portable kissing booth for Valentine's Day

We'll have many props & costume pieces on hand for folks to snag to liven things up, but we encourage you to bust out all your holiday finery if you can. You can stop it at any time throughout the evening and just jump in if you've got plans earlier in the evening.

This is the 4th edition of the All Holiday Party, following the 2009 edition at Annex, the 2004 edition at the CHAC, and the inaugural 2002 edition in the Pioneer Square artist's loft we used to live in. The photo above shows myself and JenMoon promoting the 2009 edition at Spin The Bottle, dressed as "all the holidays at once."