Erie's Nutcracker

09/29/2026

Erie’s Nutcracker Orchestra Fund Update:

We’re incredibly grateful to the 7 donors who have already pledged $1,090 toward our $27,000 goal to bring a live orchestra to Erie’s Nutcracker this December! 🎻✨

Every pledge brings us one step closer to filling the Warner Theatre with the sound of Tchaikovsky performed live alongside our dancers.

We still have $25,910 to raise by October 2nd, and every contribution can help keep this treasured collaboration between dance and live music part of Erie’s Nutcracker tradition. ❤️
To make a pledge, visit our website (link in the comments).

09/28/2026

🎱🩰 Bingo Fun Night is coming up!

Join us Sunday, October 11 for an afternoon of bingo, basket raffles, a 50/50, and plenty of fun — all benefiting Lake Erie Ballet Company and Erie’s Nutcracker. ❤️

📍 JPT Event Center
2319 W. 38th Street, Erie
🚪 Doors open at 11:30 AM
🎱 Bingo starts at 1:00 PM
🎟️ $25 donation in advance | $30 at the door

BYOB, bring your favorite snacks, bring cash for raffles, and most importantly — bring your bingo crew!
Every bit of support helps us continue bringing dance, music, and the magic of Erie’s Nutcracker to our community. 🎄✨

Tag someone who needs a bingo day
For more info & to purchase tickets for bingo, visit our website.

09/28/2026

We’re incredibly grateful to Erie News Now for helping share this story with our community. ❤️🎻

Please take a moment to read and share the Erie News Now story below. Every share helps our message reach someone new– and every donation or sponsorship brings us closer to hearing Tchaikovsky performed live at the Warner this December. 🎶❄️

We believe Erie’s Nutcracker belongs to this community, and we hope our community will help us keep its music alive.

Thank you for continuing to believe in local arts. ❤️

The Lake Erie Ballet Company is seeking $27,000 to bring a live orchestra back for its 68th annual Nutcracker performances at Erie’s Warner Theatre. The fundraising deadline is Oct. 2

09/26/2026

Erie’s Nutcracker has never been created by dancers alone. It is the work of an entire artistic community—and for decades, that has included the professional musicians who bring Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary score to life. 🎻🩰

As a nonprofit arts organization, Lake Erie Ballet Company depends on donations, sponsorships, ticket sales, and community support to produce Erie’s Nutcracker each year. Productions of this scale simply cannot be sustained through ticket sales alone.

This season, we need to raise $27,000 to fund the orchestra, and our deadline for pledges is October 2nd.

Before asking for donations, we’re asking our community to make a pledge: Will you commit to helping bring the orchestra back to Erie’s Nutcracker?

Your pledge, of any amount, helps us measure the community’s support and move closer to our goal. Once you’ve made your pledge, we invite you to fulfill it through a donation, become a sponsor, or share this campaign with someone who may be able to help.

That number represents more than an expense. It represents professional musicians, their artistry and livelihood, and an artistic collaboration that has been part of Erie’s Nutcracker tradition for generations.

We want to preserve that tradition—but we cannot preserve it alone.

Erie’s Nutcracker belongs to this community, and its future depends on this community choosing to support it.

Please make your pledge today and help us bring Tchaikovsky’s score back to the orchestra pit at the historic Warner Theatre this December. Every pledge brings us closer to making this collaboration possible. ❤️

Make your pledge and learn more:
lakeerieballetcompany.org/make-a-pledge

09/23/2026

For more than four decades, talented local musicians have given Erie’s Nutcracker its heartbeat, sharing their artistry, time, and extraordinary skill to bring Tchaikovsky’s beloved score to life alongside our dancers. 🎻❤️🩰

Lake Erie Ballet Company has been incredibly fortunate to share the stage with these artists year after year, and their contribution to this Erie tradition cannot be overstated.

This year, however, we are facing a difficult challenge. Due to a lack of available funding, we are currently unable to afford our traditional live orchestra for the 2026 production of Erie’s Nutcracker.

That loss reaches far beyond the sound of the performance. It affects the local musicians who have helped bring this production to life, the dancers who perform alongside them, and the collaborative arts community that has supported this tradition for generations.

We are actively seeking sponsors and community partners who believe in supporting local artists, live music, and performing arts opportunities here in Erie.

This is where we need your help.

Please SHARE this post. You never know who in your network may own a business, represent an organization, or know someone who would be interested in helping sponsor the orchestra and keep this tradition alive.

A share may seem small, but it could be the connection that helps put live musicians back in the pit this December.

To learn more about Lake Erie Ballet Company, sponsorship opportunities, and ways to support Erie’s Nutcracker, please visit our website. A link will also be posted in the comments below

Help us keep the music playing. ❤️🎶

09/22/2026

🎥 NEW VIDEO NOW LIVE ON YOUTUBE! 🩰✨

Ever wonder what the judges are actually looking for when choosing the cast of Erie’s Nutcracker?

Our newest video gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the audition and casting process — from technique and performance quality to the things you might not immediately think about, like professionalism, attitude, leadership, and how dancers encourage and support one another.

And we have to say: everyone who auditioned this year has been incredibly professional, supportive, and encouraging of their fellow dancers. That spirit is such an important part of what makes Erie’s Nutcracker special. ❤️

We’re also incredibly grateful to the dance studios, instructors, and teachers from across the entire region who pour so much time, knowledge, and care into shaping these dancers long before they ever walk into a Nutcracker audition.

🎬 Watch the full video now on our YouTube channel! We also added an interactive quiz there to better help you understand what we're looking for in the future!

And while you’re there, SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss the next chapter in our Journey Towards Erie’s Nutcracker as we follow the cast from auditions and rehearsals all the way to the Warner Theatre this December. 🎄✨

09/19/2026

🎄✨ IT’S OFFICIAL — MEET THE 2026 ERIE’S NUTCRACKER POSTER! ✨🎄

We’ve been teasing it all week… and now it’s finally time for the reveal. 👀

This year’s poster captures a little bit of everything we love about Erie’s Nutcracker — Clara and her beloved Nutcracker, the magic and mystery of the story, a touch of theatrical chaos, and of course the iconic Warner Theatre watching over it all. 🩰✨

For 68 years, The Nutcracker has been part of the tradition at the Warner Theatre, and this December, a new cast of dancers from throughout our region will help bring that tradition to life once again.

🎄 ERIE’S NUTCRACKER 2026
📅 December 12 & 13, 2026
📍 Warner Theatre
🎟️ Tickets: $35–$55
✨ On sale soon at ErieEvents.com — or scan the QR code right on the poster!

Share the poster, tag the people you want sitting beside you at the Warner this December, and help us spread the word as the Journey Towards Erie’s Nutcracker continues. ❤️🎁

09/17/2026

🍂 November Lucky Draw Fundraiser! 🍂

Want 30 chances to win for just $10? Lake Erie Ballet Company’s November Calendar Fundraiser is here!

Purchase one $10 ticket and your ticket is automatically entered into the drawing Every. Single. Day. of November — that’s 30 chances to win throughout the month! Even if your ticket is drawn, it goes right back in for another chance the next day. 🎟️✨

Your participation helps support Lake Erie Ballet Company and the dancers, performances, costumes, and experiences we bring to the Erie community — including Erie’s Nutcracker! 🩰🎄

Tickets can be purchased at:
📍 Dancewear Center
3834 Liberty St., Erie, PA 16509
📍 Sovereign Ballet
2539 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16505

Grab a ticket, support local ballet, and you could have a very lucky November! 🍀

$10. 30 days. 30 chances to win.

09/15/2026

What a PACKED room! 🎄🩰✨

Our first mandatory meeting for Erie’s Nutcracker 2026 brought together so many of the dancers, families, directors, staff, volunteers, and others who will help bring this production to life.

It’s actually pretty rare to have this many people involved in Erie’s Nutcracker all together in one room at the same time — and we likely won’t experience it again until those final rehearsals at the end of November and beginning of December!

Seeing everyone together made one thing very clear: Erie’s Nutcracker is BIG — and the countdown is officially on. ❤️

And speaking of big things…

👀 THIS WEEKEND, we’re revealing the official 2026 Erie’s Nutcracker poster!

Who will be on it? What will it look like?! 🎁✨
You’ll have to wait and see!

👉 Follow our page so you don’t miss the reveal, and share this post with someone who loves ballet, Christmas, Erie traditions, or a little Nutcracker magic.

The journey to the Warner Theatre is just getting started. 🎄🩰

09/12/2026

The cast is set… and the journey has officially begun!

Erie’s Nutcracker has announced its 2026 cast, our dancers have stepped in front of the camera for their promotional photoshoot (as you can see in our video), and now it’s time to Get. To. Work!! 🩰🎄

Rehearsals are beginning this week! Costume fittings are underway, and dancers are meeting the rest of the cast they’ll be sharing the Warner Theatre stage with this December.

From first rehearsals to final bows, there is so much magic still to come - and we can’t wait to bring you along behind the scenes as Erie’s Nutcracker comes to life. ✨

🎭 Erie’s Nutcracker
📍 Warner Theatre
📅 December 12 & 13