Yellowknife (Nov 17/06) - Imagine this scenario: it's Christmas Day and you, unlucky as you are, are working as a DJ at HOHO radio.

To your horror, you find the CD player broken, leaving you with one piece of music in your collection: a dusty old record that reads "Rick and the Relics, Live at the Top Knight."

Jim Taylor got some laughs out of his fellow cast members during a warm-up for this year's Ho Ho Christmas show at the Top Knight. - Adam Johnson/NNSL photo

It's the premise behind this year's Ho Ho Christmas Show at the Top Knight, a winter tradition of food, theatre and music, put together by Rick Poltaruk (the "Rick" in "the Relics"), running tonight and tomorrow at the Top Knight.

"It's just this radio broadcast, with local news and local weather," he said. "It's just going to be a blast."

This year, the show features a 12-piece band (as well as hapless host/DJ Sean Daly), running through Christmas standards and a few originals.

The band includes the Relics (Percy Kinney, Gary Tees and Poltaruk) with guests such as Jim Taylor, Jo Russell, Bill Gilday and more.

On Tuesday, the cast gathered at the Top Knight for a technical rehearsal, putting the gears to four months of work and planning.

The Christmas present set is together, the festive lights are strung, and everyone seems to know their places - keeping a reins on random, snorting laughter, however, seems to be a priority.

"Half the battle up there is trying to keep things together," Connie Hinchey said.

Poltaruk held the first Ho Ho Christmas Show in 1988.

After some 15 years down south, he decided to resurrect the idea to give Northern performers a boost.

"It started out as the Rick Poltaruk show with friends, and now it's friends and Rick Poltaruk," he joked.

He said the jam-packed weekend (featuring the celebrity auction, Knights of the Rad Table and Kim Mitchell) had him worried for a time, but sales seem to be doing well.

"It's a last minute town, and I'll be surprised if we don't sell out."

So there's just one question left. Is finding that Rick and the Relics album a shining beacon in an otherwise dark day?

"That depends on who's listening," Poltaruk said with a laugh.

"(The DJ) is basically saying, 'This is what I got, this is what you're going to listen to.'" The Christmas show runs tonight and tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Top Knight.