Christmas Coffeehouse 2016 Unwrapping a Liberty UNIVERSITY Tradition
Students gathered at the Vines Center Saturday night for Christmas Coffeehouse. The event is a show consisting of various songs, dances, and videos. Close to 8,000 students were in attendance.
Coffeehouse hasn’t always been the big event it is now. When Coffeehouse first started in the early 1990s, it met in the old David’s Place, which has now been replaced by the baseball stadium. Since the room was packed with 150 people, Coffeehouse moved to the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall the second year.
Coffeehouse sold out again the first year it was at the dining hall. Attendance was 800 people, with ticket prices at $2.
Since Student Activities only had about $100 for the entire show, they had to be very creative with the finances. They paid for the next year’s show with proceeds from the previous year’s show.
“When it was time for the next Coffeehouse, we would get a couple hundred dollars for the next show,” said Brian Lewis.
They used what is now CSER workers to help set up for the show, saving as much money as possible. The show was put on entirely by volunteers so the $100 could be spent on other necessary things for the show.
By the mid-nineties, the show had grown into 3 shows per semester, with 2 performances of each show each night. The show throughout the year had themes such as Valentine’s Day, Country Music, Christmas, the 1970s, 1980s, and an All-Star Coffeehouse, which brought back the most popular acts from previous Coffeehouses.
Coffeehouse has changed significantly since its first years in the 1990s. It now meets in the Vines Center, which allows for better sound, lights, and more people. Over 8,000 students now attend Coffeehouse each year. With the bigger space, Coffeehouse has been able to get more decorations and host more students.
Broadcast Story
On Saturday, Liberty University hosted the annual Christmas Coffeehouse// The show consisted of various dance acts, skits, acappella groups, and videos// This year’s theme was “Christmas Coffeehouse: Unwrapped// For the first time, next semester’s Spring Coffeehouse theme was announced at this semester’s Coffeehouse// The theme will be the 2000s// Tickets were $5 the day before and $7 the day of the show//