Concerts and feel good stories in time for Christmas

Carol Baldwin/LJI Reporter/Wakaw Recorder école St-Isidore pre-kindergarten - Grade 6 concert

Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder

Last week was the week to take in concerts and nourish one’s Christmas spirit.

School concerts showcase student’s learning as individuals and in ensembles.Their participation can build confidence and skills in areas such as public speaking, presentation, and managing nerves.

Students learn to work together to produce a play or a piece of music for the enjoyment of others, and the appreciative acknowledgement of their efforts can build students’ self-esteem, but Christmas concerts can do even more.

Kathleen McGuire, a researcher and lecturer at the Australian Catholic University, states that concerts can provide an important connection and build community at a time of year many find difficult. For those who have lost, or are separated from loved ones, the festive season can be very stressful and lonely.

However, community music concerts and festivals can have a broader social purpose and be a support network. So, although school Christmas concerts are sometimes seen as another thing to do at an already busy time of year, they are important. Besides enhancing a student’s learning and well-being, they unite communities and are a fun and rewarding social activity for families and other community members who may need something to lift their spirits as they face a family-oriented holiday season alone.

Thursday, Dec. 12, seemed to be the night of choice for concerts. In Wakaw, the students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 6 presented their concert, The Voice of Christmas, a take-off of the popular television show, to an appreciative crowd that filled nearly every seat in the Diefenbaker Auditorium.

The celebrity judges in this play are Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph and the play is about their quest to find amazing musical talent. The students appeared to have as much fun performing it as the audience loved watching it. The junior concert was supplemented with musical selections performed by the Senior Choir.

The école St-Isidore concert was also held on Thursday, Dec. 12, in the Bellevue Community Hall. Being a francophone school, the concert was naturally, in French. The students’ enthusiasm was not lost on the parents, grandparents, and other members of the francophone Métis community, even if they didn’t understand everything.

A play, December in St-Isidore, performed before a full house, was interspersed with musical selections by the different grades from pre-kindergarten to Grade 6. As the students finished the concert with the songs, I Love Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock, Père Noël (Father Christmas) and some of his elves appeared to give treats to the school children.

Another event in Wakaw on Dec. 12 was a supper with musical entertainment for Club 99 members and guests. The local bluegrass-country gospel group, BJ & Friends from Waldheim, entertained with many Christmas songs and “a couple of heartwarming stories” that embodied the spirit of Christmas.

The group comprised of Bill and Vi Johnson, Clarence and Ruth Peters and Sam Bueckert, never fail to draw a crowd and provide a great show for their friends and neighbours. Patti Parenteau catered a traditional turkey feast for all to enjoy. A raffle for a large Christmas Basket was held along with the regular 50/50 draw, and numerous door prizes were given away. The money raised from the raffle along with the non-perishable food donations that were collected are going to the Wakaw Lions Food Bank.

In Rosthern that evening, the Seniors Club hosted its annual Christmas banquet ahead of the monthly entertainment evening. About 100 people enjoyed a meal catered by King’s Chicken & Pizza and 50 went home with door prizes provided by local merchants. Providing entertainment this year, with a combination of Christmas and gospel music, was Rosthern’s own Derksen Family.

The Derksens are well-known not only because they are a local family, but also for their musical performances where the audience can enjoy any combination of a brass quintet, a string quartet, solos and vocal harmonies in the same program. The family began performing publicly when the now adult family members were still youngsters. As the six children have grown and married there are now little ones to add to the musical presentation, who of course, add their own special touch to the performance.

The staff and students at Wakaw School and école St-Isidore wished all those in attendance a Merry Christmas, as did the Boards of Club 99 and Rosthern Seniors’ Club. All expressed their appreciation for the support they have received in 2024 and are looking forward to 2025.

-Advertisement-