Christmas in the Coastal Bend doesn’t end on December 25th – the holiday season continues with the celebration of Epiphany, honoring the coming of the three kings. The 38th Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival will be presented on January 11th. Performances are at 3, 5, and 7 pm at First Christian Church, 3401 Santa Fe St. Admission is free. However, canned goods are accepted on behalf of the Food Bank of Corpus Christi. For more information go to www.facebook.com/BoarsHeadFestival
The spirit of Christmas in Corpus Christi doesn't end when the last gifts are opened and the traditional holiday dinner has been served. Christmas continues into the cool, quiet days of early January when members of First Christian Church present a gift of pageantry to the communities of South Texas. The 38th Annual Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival will be presented this season on January 11th. Performances are 3 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm at First Christian Church, 3401 Santa Fe.
The heavy tread of the Beefeaters....a tiny sprite slowly moves through the silent darkness...companies of knights bear the symbolic boar's head to the altar...
So begins this ancient Renaissance festival, possibly the oldest continuing festival of the Christmas season.
This tale was first told during a feast at Oxford to celebrate a student's victory over a wild and raging boar. The present day festival results from an amalgamation of several antique celebrations turned into a procession of dances and music, joining traditions of Old England with the Christian joy at the birth of Christ.
The audience is enveloped in this festive mirth as over 180 people in authentic Renaissance costumes play a part in the hour-long pageant; recreating a medieval manor house and celebrating this legend that unfolds with energy and momentum into a dramatic and symbolic finale. A chorus and orchestra of 50 (employing some instruments of the time) provide music from the period. The audience is also invited to participate in the singing of Christmas carols during the festival. For a year shy of three decades, the Corpus Christi Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival has become the traditional end to the Christmas season for the Coastal Bend.
Continuing the tradition, there will be a special appearance by the fast-flying, powerful hunter among birds, the Red Tail Hawk, courtesy of the Hawn Wild Flight Program at the Texas State Aquarium. Admission is free. However, donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted on behalf of the "Good King Wencelas" fund, which are donated to the Food Bank of Corpus Christi.
Doors open an hour before Saturday's 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. performances in the sanctuary of First Christian Church, 3401 Santa Fe. There is no admittance fee, however can goods are accepted for the Food Bank of Corpus Christi.