Tickets for the 2026 CBS6 Melodies of Christmas go on sale at noon on Tuesday, with four performances scheduled December 17 through 20 at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. Prices run $37 to $41, and every dollar of net proceeds flows to the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center, the beneficiary this beloved holiday tradition has supported for nearly five decades.
The event has become a fixture of the Capital Region's holiday season, with Albany.com noting it has raised funds for the Melodies Center for 47 years running. This year's show returns to Proctors for the familiar four-performance run, according to WRGB, with the Sunday, December 20 show set for 3 p.m., per Albany.com. Tickets will be available through Proctors.org once the noon sale window opens.
Who's on Stage This Year
The Empire State Youth Orchestra and the Melodies of Christmas Chorale headline the 2026 lineup, joined by Northeast Ballet, Grand Central Station, and what organizers describe only as special surprise guests, according to the same Albany.com listing. The show has grown considerably since its earliest days — Albany Medical Center's foundation says what began as a single well-attended performance has expanded into the current four-show run each December.
The night traditionally ends on an emotional note. The foundation for Albany Medical Center, which runs the Melodies Center, says the show closes with patients from the center singing “Silent Night” — a moment that has become the fundraiser's signature send-off.
A Partnership Nearly Five Decades in the Making
The fundraiser is made possible through a longstanding partnership between CBS6, Freihofer Baking Company, and Market 32 Price Chopper, according to Albany.com. That backing has helped the event raise nearly $11 million for the Melodies Center to date, per WRGB's reporting. A 2024 CBS6 report put the total at more than $10.2 million raised since the fundraiser launched in 1980, underscoring how steadily the campaign has grown year over year.
The money supports real need: Albany Medical Center's foundation says more than 1,500 children receive care at the Melodies Center annually, with the program supporting patients and their families as they face childhood cancer and blood disorders. Last year's run, by comparison, was priced between $36 and $40 and ran December 19 through 22, also at Proctors, according to CBS6's earlier coverage — a sign ticket prices and the calendar shift modestly from year to year even as the mission stays constant.
Getting Tickets
With the noon sale window arriving Tuesday, families hoping to catch one of the four Proctors shows will want to act quickly, especially for the popular Sunday matinee. Tickets will be sold through Proctors.org, with net proceeds again directed entirely to the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.
