Tivoli Eager To 'Bring Back Holiday Tradition' Of Christmas Week

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — For the better part of the past decade, Downers Grove residents have flocked to the Tivoli Theatre for Christmas Week, a weeklong series that features beloved holiday films including "White Christmas," "Elf" and "It's a Wonderful Life." Coronavirus concerns led the theatre to cancel the event in 2020, but owner Chris Johnson said he is eager to“bring back holiday tradition" in 2021.

The movie series, which Johnson fondly referred to as "a time-honored event," will kick off Dec. 3.

Johnson is also looking forward to sharing some new amenities at Tivoli that moviegoers may not have gotten a chance to experience yet. In addition to the Christmas Week movies that will show in Tivoli's main auditorium space, Johnson plans to show other seasonal films in the new Willis Auditorium space. Named for Johnson's dad, the Willis theater space features accessible seating and 31 heated seats that recline.

"[The new space] allows us the ability to play more movies and do more special events," Johnson said.

An expanded concession space is another new feature at the Tivoli, Johnson told Patch. He said visitors have been raving about the theater's recent addition of ICEEs to its concessions menu. Four ICEE flavors are available and those flavors can be mixed and matched, Johnson explained.

For Johnson, who temporarily closed the Tivoli Theatre from March 2020 through April 2021, Christmas Week comes at the perfect time. “Definitely the audience is starting to return," he said.

He added, "Everybody getting together and getting hyped and getting out.”

Below is a roundup of the movies you can catch during Christmas Week at the Tivoli (click the link for showtimes):

• "The Shop Around the Corner"
• "Elf"
• "It's a Wonderful Life"
• "Batman Returns"
• "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
• "White Christmas"

Johnson said organist David Rhodes will perform live organ music to accompany each showing of "It's a Wonderful Life" on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5.

He told Patch more than 1,000 seats were sold on the first day of ticket sales, something he sees as a bright spot after the uncertainty of the past two years.

Johnson said, “It gives you hope that, yeah, we’re gonna get through."

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