"It's Your Turn" is the theme of the 50th annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration and many community acts will share the stage with L.A. professionals between 3 and 9 p.m. on Dec. 24.

The Colburn Children’s Choir, Taikoproject (a mix of Japanese drumming and hip hop), the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, the Harmonies Girls Choir (mostly low-income L.A. girls) are just a few of the 40 performers to take the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave. Admission and parking are free thanks to the L.A. County Arts Commission

About 10,000 people are expected to attend and more than 1 million are expected to watch it live on KCET. The show will also be broadcast on radio station KPFK 90.7 FM, and on the web at kcet.org.

Crowds usually arrive early, and between noon and 2 p.m., people in line will get a chance to take free swing dance lessons. Carolers will also be walking around with songbooks while acts like Taikoproject encourage the audience to join in the music and follow along with some shout-outs, Richard Guzmán wrote in the Los Angeles Downtown News.

First organized by late County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, the show was originally a 12-hour music marathon called the Christmas Program, and was held at the Sports Arena in Exposition Park. It moved to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in the 1960s when the venue opened. The 12-hour event was reduced to three hours in 1993 due to budget cuts. It increased to six hours the next year and was renamed, Guzman writes.

Information at (213) 972-3099 or holidaycelebration.org.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.