By Jodi Peterson-Stigers
It all started with a simple request. A beloved DJ from Boise State Public Radio had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and a small group of people wanted to put on a fundraiser so he could travel to see family and friends before he passed. The General Manager of the Boise Co-op asked his marketing girl to connect with a musician who had just moved back to Boise and see if they could produce a show together.
At the end of that event, the musician turned to the marketing girl and said, “You did a great job helping to produce this.” He told her that when he lived in New York City, he performed every Christmas in a special fundraiser called Glen Burtnik’s Xmas Xtravaganza, where artists of all levels came together to raise money for the local food bank. He wondered aloud if they could create something like that here in Boise.
She said yes, but added with a smile, “I am Jewish, so let’s call it the Xtreme Holiday Xtravaganza.”
That musician is Curtis Stigers. The marketing girl was Jodi Peterson-Stigers. And that moment was the beginning of something none of us could have imagined.
What started as a one night show raising about $10,000 grew into a two night event that sold out so fast they had no choice but to add a second evening. Over the last twenty years, this wild and wonderful musical variety show has raised more than $4.5 million for Interfaith Sanctuary.
With twenty years comes a treasure chest of memories. There have been artists aged nine to ninety. The music ranges from traditional holiday tunes to remakes of rolling stones screaming for shelter. Basque dancers mingle backstage with cowboy poets. A Rabbi with his banjo sings of Hanukkah miracles. Choirs, divas and rockers fill the stage with over 100 artists donating their time and talents to the cause. Over the past 20 years it has become the don’t- miss holiday concert of the season.
The event has moved across the city, beginning at The Big Easy (Now the Knitting Factory), then The Morrison Center, settling for many years at The Historic Egyptian Theatre, taking a quick jump to Jump, then finally landing at Treefort Music Hall in 2024. And what a home it has become. The sound is incredible, the stage makes every seat a good seat, and the room just feels right.
As the show grew, something beautiful happened. The Xtreme learned how to be a fundraiser from the people who came to watch it. In those early years, a small table was set up in the lobby where guests could sponsor nights of shelter. Gift Certificates were made that said “a night of shelter had been sponsored in someone’s name”, and those certificates became holiday gifts that truly gave back.
One year, two dynamic men came up and said, “Hey Jodi, we want to sponsor one year of shelter, but only if the audience will match our donation.” At that time, a night of shelter was $9, which meant their challenge totaled $3,285. Jodi hopped up on stage and shared the challenge, and the audience leaped to their feet and rushed to the sponsorship table. The match was met fast and furiously, and from that moment forward, the heart of the Xtreme was fully formed.
Ever since then, The Xtreme has focused on inviting attendees to support the one thing that matters most. When the temperatures drop and the nights turn dangerous, our neighbors without homes will have a safe place to rest and people who care. To this day, the end-of-year call-out is all about sponsoring nights of shelter.
At this year’s 20th Xtreme, our Boise community came together to raise over 4,500 nights of shelter toward our 20,000 nights of shelter end-of-year challenge through Avenues for Hope.
You can help by sponsoring nights of shelter during this year’s Avenues for Hope online giving campaign beginning December 10 through midnight on December 31. Visit avenuesforhope.org and search for Interfaith Sanctuary or scan this QR code.
Twenty years later, so much has changed, but one thing has stayed the same. The Xtreme Holiday Xtravaganza has always been about peace, love, and music.
Scott Schmaljohn Designs 20th Year Art
By Molly Monroe
From the time he was six years old, Scott Schmaljohn could be found with a marker and paper in hand, drawing whatever came to his mind. To this day, he keeps a piece of paper and a Sharpie handy to doodle throughout the day as his “visual brain dump”. He has been doing art for around 20 years.
The musician joined and started bands including Treepeople, State of Confusion, The Hand and Play Dead which, of course, he designs the posters for.
The artist and musician studied graphic design at Boise State and eventually decided to create his own business called SDesign. He’s tackled projects from logos to T-shirts to advertisements to educational infographics.
“I try to take things and twist them a little bit to make it creative,” Schmaljohn said.
Schmaljohn had the honor of designing the art for the Xtreme Holiday Xtravaganza. After about 20 hours of concepting and sketching, then designing in illustrator, he gifted the art to Interfaith’s cause.
”I feel a deep empathy for people without shelter and I’ve always had a need to donate my services in time and give back to help the less fortunate,” he said.
His design was inspired by Interfaith’s mission and felt that the dove carrying a music note symbolized the peace, love and music that this event, and Interfaith, brings to life. “I wanted real, vibrant colors because I wanted to express the holidays, the joy, the love and the whole impact,” he said.
You can find more of his art on Instagram @sdesign.us or on his website design.us.
For the past twenty years, the Xtreme Holiday Xtravaganza has unveiled a brand new poster each season. The very first was created by a staff member at the Boise Co Op. After that, designer Andy Stauffer from Wirestone stepped in and created what became our signature theme, a fantastic bird that appeared each year in a completely new form. Every season brought a different bird with its own personality, colors, and costume, capturing the playful spirit of the Xtreme in a fresh and joyful way. This year’s design, to mark our 20th year, was designed by Scott Schmaljohn.
