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(Posted 8:30
a.m., Nov. 29)
Choirfest
a musical reminder of true spirit of Christmas
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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|  The
26th annual Orleans Christmas Choirfest was brought to a close with the iniging
of 'O Sing A Song of Bethlehem' and 'Peace, Peace' by the 10 participating choirs
who sang en masse. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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As society
hurtles head long into the 21st century and Christmas becomes increasingly more
commercialized, it's often easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the
holiday season at the expense of the spiritual aspect of the holidays. On
Sunday, over 1200 people packed the Community Pentecostal Church on St. Joseph
Blvd. for the 26th annual Orléans Christmas Choirfest featuring performances by
10 local choirs punctuated by readings from the Bible. For
the second year in a row the audience was serenaded by the heavenly tones of harpists
Joanne Griffin and Heather Flinn as they took their seats and settled in for the
performances to come.. The
task of opening the Choirfest is traditional given to the massed children's choirs
which this year consisted of the Community Pentecostal Kidz Choir, the Cross Town
Youth Chorus, the St. Peter Catholic High School choir and the Sonshine Singers. After
performing "Emmanuel" with soloist Ivana Brainerd, the junior choirs
left the stage to the Sonshine Singers who sang a medley of "The Virgin Mary
Had A Baby Boy", "Behold That Star" and "Go Tell It On The
Mountain" under the direction of Cathy Goddard.. The
Community Pentecostal Kidz Choir kept the show moving with a spirited version
of "Christmas Time Is Here", followed by the Community Pentecostal Kidz
Choir who sang "Hope Of The Future" with solos by Sophie Letel, Germaine
Konji and Clarence Jura. One
of the nicest aspects of the Chirstmas Choirfest are the audience participation
numbers that are sandwiched in between the senior choir performances. Since the
audience is mostly made up of choir members, the singing of traditional Christmas
carols like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "The First Noel"
are truely magical. The
Community Pentecostal Kidz Choir was followed on stage by the St. Helen's Anglican
Church choir whose powerful rendition of "O Night Divine" provided the
first true highlight of the evening. Following
a communal performance of "The First Noel", the Community Pentecostal
Church choir delivered their version of "Angels from the Realm of Glory"
and 'Hope of the World".. The
Queenswood United Church Choir turned things up a couple of notches with their
uplifting performance of "Run to the Manger" followed by the spiritual
"Glory to God in the Highest". After
a communal singing of "Il Est N�", the St. Peter High School choir performed the
traditional African celebration "Eewaa, Eewaa" followed by the song
"Hail Holy Queen" from the movie Sister Act which brought the audience
to their feet. After
a freewill offering during which the audience was treated to a vocal performance
by local gospel artist Cathy Goddard, the Divine Infant Roman Catholic Church
choir took the stage to perform "Born in the Fullness of Time" and "Welcome
to the World'. They were followed on stage by the Orleans United Church choir,
who sang "If You Would Hear the Angles Sing" and "Keep On Following
the Star". The
Cumberland Community Singers were up next and chose to perform the traditional
holiday classi "Silent Night" and the less familiar "Jesus Child"
which received another loud ovation.. As
the audience sang "Joy To The World", all the participating choirs gathered
on stage to sing the "Celtic Advent Carol" and "O Sing A Song of
Bethlehem ". For the finale, the choirs encircled the entire room to sing
"Peace, Peace" which has brought all 26 Choirfests to a close. During
the previous 24 Choirfests, the organizers have managed to raise more than $85,000
for the local Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre food program and the
Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard. Sunday
night's program was expected to raise over $3,500 for the local foodbanks, which
is music to the ears of the Choirfest's founder and spiritual leader Lynne Stacey. "Every
single year it just keeps getting better and better," said Stacey. "We're
so blessed to be able to bring all these terrific choirs together and raise money
for the local food programs." This
year's Choirfest was taped by Rogers Channel 22 which will broadcast the event
at various times during the holiday season.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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TAPROOM 260 presents Crooked Creek live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
MATT LULOFF W/ EDISON RUPERT performing at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. To register your team visit 
OTTAWA CARLETON MALE CHOIR in concert at the Navan-Vars United Church 1129 Smith Rd. in Navan at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $20 at the door.
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. presents Oyster Wednesdays every Wednesday. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near McDonalds.
BLACKBURN HAMLET COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! Please keep visiting blackburn.ca for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
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