There are holiday shows, and then there is Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold. If you’ve never seen a touring comedy built around a no-nonsense parochial school teacher turning the nativity story into a whodunit—with audience volunteers, a local choir, and forensic-level scrutiny of the Magi’s whereabouts—this is the one to put on the November calendar. It plays Harris Center for the Arts in Folsom on Saturday, November 28 at 2:00 PM, which happens to be the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
What It Is
Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold is a live comedy produced by Entertainment Events and written by the same team behind Late Nite Catechism, the long-running touring hit that has played for more than 20 years. The concept puts Sister—a veteran parochial school teacher with zero tolerance for imprecision—at the front of the room to solve a puzzle that has nagged historians for centuries: what actually happened to the gold the Magi brought to Bethlehem?
Sister walks the audience through the nativity with her own particular brand of certainty (“We know that Mary used the frankincense and myrrh as a sort of potpourri—they were in a barn, after all.”), enlists a local choir as her supporting cast, drafts audience members into a living nativity, and presents gifts along the way. It is part detective story, part seasonal pageant, and entirely its own thing.
The format leans heavily on audience participation, so expect to be called on. It is family-appropriate comedy—think dry wit and liturgical in-jokes more than anything edgy. People who grew up Catholic tend to find it especially funny, though it lands for a broad audience.
Why It Works as a Thanksgiving Weekend Show
The timing is useful. November 28 is Small Business Saturday and the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a day when out-of-town family is still around and most people are looking for something to do besides shop. A 2:00 PM curtain means dinner plans afterward are easy to arrange in Historic Folsom or the surrounding area. Harris Center is also less than 30 minutes from most of Sacramento, so this is a straightforward afternoon outing rather than a production.
Harris Center has put on similar holiday comedy and music shows in recent seasons—Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party plays there on November 20, and ELF The Musical runs November 4 through 9. Sister’s Christmas Catechism is the one performance between those two and the December cluster, making it the de facto option for anyone who misses the earlier shows or wants something a little more unusual than a traditional musical.
The Details
- Show: Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold
- Date: Saturday, November 28, 2026
- Time: 2:00 PM
- Venue: Harris Center for the Arts, 10 College Parkway, Folsom, CA 95630
- Tickets: harriscenter.net/christmas-catechism or call the box office at (916) 608-6888
- Box office email: TicketOffice@harriscenter.net
- Parking: Folsom Lake College lots adjacent to Harris Center; details at harriscenter.net/events/parking
Harris Center sits on the Folsom Lake College campus. GPS the college address and follow signage to the parking lots—most are free for events. The venue has accessible seating; contact the box office if you need specific accommodations.
Bottom Line
Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold is a single-performance show—no second chance at a later date. If Thanksgiving weekend in Sacramento is busy with visitors who want something live and funny rather than another movie or mall trip, the 2:00 PM curtain at Harris Center on November 28 is worth booking in advance. Tickets are available now at harriscenter.net/christmas-catechism.
For more holiday shows in the Folsom and Sacramento area this season, see our guide to B Street Theatre’s holiday shows in December.
