The holidays are a time for sharing—sharing meals, laughter, and the traditions that make this season special. At Great Performances, we’re fortunate to work with an incredible team of individuals who bring their creativity and care to everything they do, both professionally and personally. This year, we asked a few of our team members to share their holiday traditions in their own words. Their stories reflect the joy, warmth, and meaning that make this time of year so magical.
Morgan Golumbuk, Senior Event Director
“This tradition came about purely by accident, which—I think—makes it all the better. Growing up, our Hanukkah gifts increased in value or size as the nights went on, but the first gift was always the same: scratch-off lottery tickets and candy bars. I knew that I had to offer these same foundational gifts to guests of my first solo-hosted Hanukkah last year, so I traipsed across the neighborhood in search of matzoh ball soup ingredients, spiked seltzers, and the gifting goodies. When I called my parents to tell them about my plans, they said that they didn’t even realize the gift-giving pattern; it was just a happy mitzvah.”
De’Enna Quinn, Inside Sales Associate
“Each year, I bring a southern tradition of a show-stopping dessert for my husband’s New Jersey family holiday gatherings. Since 2011, it’s become my personal holiday mission: no Christmas is complete without a show-stopping trifle to match the festive feast. My husband’s family has an incredible Christmas tradition—each year, they choose a different cuisine to center the holiday meal. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed homemade sushi and udon bowls, Southern fried chicken with all the fixings (a theme I proudly picked), and even a classic holiday spread.”
Ali Rea Baum, Senior Event Director
“When I was 9, my mother and I moved to California from New York. It was a very big move for me, as I was leaving most of my family (most importantly my dad). I grew up half Jewish/half Unitarian, so both Christmas and Hanukkah were big parts of my life. To ensure that we continued some of my New York family Hanukkah traditions, every Christmas Eve, my mother would make a brisket and latkes. This tradition continues to this day. Last year, I couldn’t be with my mother on Christmas Eve, so I made the brisket and latkes on my own for my husband, daughter, dad, bonus mom, and brother. It was delicious.”
Brandon Reichert, Director of Information and Technology
“Every Christmas, my apartment turns into the ultimate board game battlefield. Friends and family show up, each bringing a brand-new game, and from the moment the first dice roll hits the table, it’s game on. The stakes? Eternal bragging rights and the all-important game night lineup for the next year.
The day is pure chaos in the best way. Someone’s always dramatically flipping through the rulebook while another person insists, ‘I swear this is my first time playing!’ right before crushing everyone. Trash talk is flying, alliances are made and broken, and laughter fills the room—usually at someone’s ridiculous strategy that somehow works.
By the time dinner rolls around, the scoreboard is the center of attention. Who’s on top? Who’s the underdog? Over plates piled high with ham (because it’s not Christmas without ham), we argue about the best plays and the most epic fails. It’s all in good fun… mostly.
At the end of the night, we tally up the winners, and everyone leaves with a mix of pride, plans for revenge, and maybe a little too much ham in the belly. It’s the perfect mix of competition, laughter, and holiday cheer—and it’s the tradition I look forward to every single year.”
Linda Abbey, Executive Vice President
“Our apartment on LaSalle Street between Broadway & Amsterdam has a perfect view of the lighted tower that is Riverside, an interdenominational church modeled after the 13th-century Gothic cathedral in Chartres, France. The bells toll every Sunday at 10:15 a.m., at which time we open the windows wide to bask in the sound.
One of our holiday traditions is to attend the Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols at this stunning church. Classic and modern carols are interspersed with readings, and often a harp solo here, a piano and flute solo there. The organ music is moving; the singing of the choir stirring. A pocketful of tissues is a must. To slowly meander home afterward in the quiet winter chill is to appreciate just how blessed we are to have access to the magic that is Riverside.”
Brigid Randolph, Culinary Development Coordinator
“One of my favorite holiday traditions (that my mom in particular enforces!) is that our family doesn’t listen to any Christmas music until after Thanksgiving dinner is over. Once all the dinner plates have been cleared though, Christmas music is fair game, and we’ll bust out the classics along with the pumpkin pie—usually a Johnny Mathis Christmas album or the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
From scratch-off tickets and brisket to carols and competition, these traditions reflect the many ways our team celebrates the season. Each story reminds us that the holidays aren’t just about the food we share or the songs we sing but the people we gather with and the memories we create together.
Here’s to embracing traditions old and new, savoring the flavors of the season, and finding joy in every laugh, every note, and every roll of the dice. Happy holidays from all of us at Great Performances!
Being from the South, I know one thing for sure: every big meal has to end with dessert. And not just any dessert—it has to be delicious, plentiful, and the kind that leaves everyone talking. We’re especially partial to pound cakes, banana puddings, and trifles. So, when I first met my future husband and began attending his family holiday gatherings in New Jersey, I knew this was one tradition I could bring to the table.
Since 2011, it’s become my personal holiday mission: no Christmas is complete without a show-stopping trifle to match the festive feast. My husband’s family has an incredible Christmas tradition—each year, they choose a different cuisine to center the holiday meal. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed homemade sushi and udon bowls, Southern fried chicken with all the fixings (a theme I proudly picked), and even a classic holiday spread.
For every theme, there’s been a trifle to match. For an Italian dinner, I whipped up a tiramisu trifle. When we had a traditional Christmas feast, it was a pumpkin pie and gingerbread trifle. One year, the family opted for French cuisine, complete with beef bourguignon, and I created a crème brûlée trifle with raspberries and vanilla genoise.
This year, the theme is German, and I’m thrilled to dive into a Black Forest trifle. Layers of rich chocolate cake, kirsch-soaked cherries, and pillowy whipped cream—it’s the perfect sweet finale to a hearty German feast.
For me, these trifles are more than dessert—they’re a way of sharing a little bit of my Southern roots and adding a personal touch to a beloved family tradition. And no matter the cuisine, one thing remains the same: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a trifle on the table.
“Stay live till ‘25” was the chant we heard in 2021 as the hospitality industry struggled with the impact of Covid.
And here it is, 2025. We stayed very alive, found ways to thrive and redefine our business while discovering that some things just don’t change. The desire to gather for celebrations, in person communication and inspiration.
We are a quarter of the way through this century wondering sometimes how much progress we have made. It’s hard to know. Regardless, we look ahead with optimism and hope to unleash joy with everything we do. This year, we look to our farm and animal neighbors to shepherd us through the months ahead.
Animals contribute immeasurably to our lives and to the agricultural ecosystem. They sustain us on multiple levels, from companionship to nurturing the soil, and for many, as food. We have embarked on several culinary sustainability initiatives, including reduced meat portion sizes and rebalancing the plate with vegetables, grains and alternative proteins. We are giving meat-centered entrees lots of creative competition with our plant-forward menus. It is the “carrot” and not “the stick” approach.
We wish you a peaceful, healthy, meaningful and delicious year ahead.
With love,
The Great Performances & Katchkie Farm Families
Download our Calendar
Complete the form below to download our calendar or to request a copy be mailed to you.
As we said adieu to summer, our teams weren’t wasting any time getting ready for the September madness that started the instant the kids got back to school.
Coordinating all the details and ensuring each event goes smoothly is no casual feat. The high energy and pressure to deliver an incredible and perfect event every time fuels us to deliver delicious food, authentic service, and joyful hospitality. This is the moment we are all waiting for – a cross between a marathon and a sprint; high octane performance day after day. It activates our team spirit as each part of the company supports one another.
Our non-profit clients kick off fundraising season with galas, donor appreciation events and board gatherings. Corporations are hosting team building and business development events. Social gatherings included 15 weddings along with lifecycle celebrations. News and Documentary Emmys and the Latin Grammy’s joined the mix.
In addition to all of that excitement, September is Fashion Week and Climate Week. The UN General Assembly takes place just to make sure the traffic jams are that much more challenging for our fabulous logistics team. A presidential motorcade thrown in for extra chaos. (Our fleet of truck rolls at 4 AM!).
This year, we added in a handful of political events in time for, and our calendars have been blissfully overflowing! This is what we live for!
True to our name – Great Performances – we have always recognized that authentic hospitality experiences are theater with multiple acts and a cast of characters.
While we are happy to be the star of the show, we ecstatically welcome the opportunity to be behind the scenes in support of others…and nothing draws a crowd like a celeb chef!
It’s been a great few weeks for collaboration. For the 2nd year with worked with the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund on their Chelsea Market Benefit event. Dozens of restaurateurs filled the hallways with incredible bites and GP was there to help. Being invisible and keeping up with the endless bussing is the job of unsung heroes.
We are gearing up for 2 legendary events in October: the New York City Wine & Food Festival and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. GP has partnered with NYCWFF for a dozen years as the official caterer, providing kitchen space in our commissary for guest chefs for events like Burger Bash and working with countless brands and sponsors to get their product out to the thousands of participants.
‘Cookies’ is a spectacular fundraiser in the fight against childhood cancer. Each table has a chef preparing a unique meal from a fully equipped pop-up kitchen on the gala floor. I’ll name drop….Dan Kluger, Missy Robbins, Christina Tosi, Jonathan Benno and dozens more. GP works on set up, service and clean up – nothing sexy but just essential!
Our daily work with the James Beard Foundation at Platform by JBF at Pier 57 as the hospitality partner assisting every guest chef in the kitchen and the dinner guests with service, is the thrill of a lifetime.
Ali Rea Baum, Senior Event Director, is our seasoned and expert event planner who is laboring over these off premise events. “I truthfully love how different each of these events are, and how each one has their own personality. These events have an added complexity since GP is not supplying a standard catered menu. In the end, it is about creating an amazing experience for everyone from the client, to the planner, to the venue, to the guests!”
We are the bassline. Establishing rhythm, creating harmony, and providing a solid foundation for the main instrument. And we do it with pride!
About 10 years ago, thanks to Adam Kaye, I learned how to can…you know…what countless number of home cooks have been doing for decades – “putting food up”. The genie was out of the bottle and I became obsessed with preserving the delicious produce of the growing season.
More than the art of preservation, it was the joy of giving a jar of something that I made in my home kitchen to someone I loved – or to a new friend – that unleashed the urge to gather the best seasonal fruits and veggies and then invent and embrace creative recipes. It all sounds very romantic…and it is but for the reality of what it takes to make 1,000 jars in your home every year!
Buying the right sized jars is one task and they are often either out of stock or overpriced by greedy merchants. I have my outlets and I won’t share where they are, but I am a good customer. I have to haul them home to the dismay of everyone involved in my travels and schlepping.
Getting the fruits is another task – knowing when the apricots are in (or going out of season), buying locally, getting great seconds (because they are half the price and just as good if not better for my purposes). Egers, in Columbia County is the source of 95% of my fruit. Veggies come from my home garden or Katchkie Farm. Sometimes, another local farmer has something I just cannot resist. Hauling, storing, chopping, dicing produce is a full time job! Did I mention I already have a full time job?
Other details: Canning equipment; the right pots for cooking and sterilizing; pectin…and the right pectin; extra lids. The list isn’t endless, it is just detailed. This is a process that requires strict attention to detail. Yup. Sounds like fun…and it is….but you really need to pay attention.
Then there is the fun part of blending flavors. For example, I had some amazing melon that just called to be added to a blueberry jam last summer. Who would have thought that would be a match? There are the traditional blends of rhubarb with strawberry, ginger with apricot, etc. But then the other night, while roasting Italian plums for jam, I added some sweet tiny grapes, pears and peaches to the mix – and voila –,deliciousness!
I could go on forever about the magic of the stove top, things simmering away or roasting in the oven while the cauldrons of boiling water await; the flavors and accents that make their way to the stage; the beautiful produce that will have an extended life and travel to new homes. My husband calls it my Laboratory. It is my happy place.
