Rike's Holiday Windows Canceled

Ten days after announcing that Dayton's beloved holiday tradition, the Rike's Holiday Windows, would again be on display at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Center this December, Dayton Live announces that the windows will not be on display this year after all.

"Due to the state of pandemic conditions and in compliance with the recently announced shelter-in-place/stay-at-home advisories from Montgomery County, we've decided the Rike's Holiday Windows will not be on in-person display this year," explained Dayton Live President & CEO Ty Sutton. "Obviously this is a huge disappointment to all involved as thousands of patrons had already made reservations to come and visit the Schuster Center this December. Dayton Live is working on a virtual experience instead which will include behind-the-scenes glimpses of the elves and other characters, history and more. If anything were to change with county health orders that would allow us to open for public visits, we will announce that at a later date."

Dayton Live would like to thank our sponsors for their commitment to the Rike's Holiday Windows: Emerson, Mary Koch, Winsupply and The Winsupply Family of Companies, and Heidelberg Distributing Company.

Fans of the windows from all around the globe are directed to daytonlive.org/holiday for exclusive video content, contests and more. The virtual content will be ready for viewing on December 2, 2020.

About the Rike's Holiday Windows

Newly designed by critically acclaimed theatre and opera scenic designer and Dayton native Adam Koch, along with partner Steven Royal, the windows featuring animated elves, animals and other figures have been a holiday tradition for countless Dayton families since the elves first appeared in the windows of Rike's Department Store in the 1945.

In 2018, two of the redesigned windows, "The Nutcracker" and "The North Pole," debuted to the delight of thousands of visitors. Four more windows were revealed in 2019: "Woodland," "Silent Night," "Snow Day," and "Christmastime," each with characters from the original windows as well as some newly discovered and donated figures. The boxes were constructed by internationally acclaimed set and stage designers, Scenic Solutions from West Carrollton, Ohio, with costumes created by the Dayton Sewing Collaborative.

About Designer Adam Koch

Over the past several years, Adam Koch's definitive set designs for theatre, opera and nightlife have been seen in New York City and across the country. Theatre credits include commercial productions at The Goodman Theatre, The Apollo Theater, New World Stages, and Theatre Row NYC, as well as Signature Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Ogun quit Playhouse, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Syracuse Stage, Portland Stage, Geva Theatre Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Serenbe Playhouse, Casa Manana, Playhouse on the Square, 1st Stage, The Human Race Theatre Company, The Engeman Theater, Mazeppa Productions, Algonquin Arts Theatre, Metro Stage, Bristol Riverside Theatre, The Gateway Playhouse, Vital Theatre Company, Brevard Opera Festival, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Wright State University, Queens College, and Montclair State University. A 2015 Helen Hayes nominee for Outstanding Set Design (1st Stage Theatre's Bat Boy), a 2015 Syracuse SALT Award nominee (Syracuse Stage's Hairspray), and a 2009 Helen Hayes nominee for Outstanding Set Design (Signature Theatre's Kiss of the Spiderwoman). A recipient of both the USITT Oren Parker Award for Excellence in Scene Design, and the 2007 Kennedy Center Design Fellowship. Adam is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Andrew Carnegie Society. Mr. Koch is a credited contributor to the widely used collegiate textbook Scene Design and Stage Lighting by R. Craig Wolf & Dick Block (Wadsworth 2009 - 2014).

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