There have been about half a dozen performance submissions for the virtual community Christmas Carol Festival, hosted by the Quota Club of Weyburn this year instead of a live in-person event. Heather Sidloski of the Quota Club said that the online Carol Festival will be a good mixture of submitted videos, and archive videos from the past.
The Quota Carol Festival, which is held the first Sunday in December, has been a part of the Weyburn community’s start of the Christmas Advent since 1954. The Quota Club of Weyburn had decided that despite all the roadblocks and rules courtesy of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, they would continue this tradition with the 66th Annual Quota Carol Festival.
The event won’t be held at Grace United Church nor will they have a stage filled with performers or have the community in the audience, but the club hopes that with the help of the community, they can bring the joy of the season to the community. Quota is excited to be working on this project as a partner with Access Communications. Cory Morrisette is helping the club to have a “virtual community Christmas Carol Festival.”
“We know that a virtual festival will not have the same excitement in the air as when the children are all dressed up and gather to perform in front of a live audience or the ambience of beautiful Grace United Church Christmas décor, but it will still feature Jean Fahlman reading the biblical advent story and choirs singing your favourite Christmas carols and bringing the spirit of Christmas into your home,”addedSidloski.
The planning committee hopes that groups (which means a minimum two performers), perhaps a “family or friend bubble,” will prerecord their Christmas carols which will be uploaded to be featured in the program. This year’s plan also includes using archival editions of past performances.
The Carol Festival program be available to be viewed on AccessNow TV Channel 7 for subscribers throughout the Christmas season as usual. More details will follow as they become available.
Members of the Quota Club will be approaching businesses to display a Carol Festival Jar, to replace the silver collection that usually is taken at the door. The funds raised by Quota Club of Weyburn areinvested back into the community to charities that the club supports, such as the Weyburn Public Library Toy Lending Library, FM hearing systems, Envision, scholarships at Southeast College, and other donations.
Donations can also be dropped off at McMahon Chartered Professional Accountants at 604 Government Road South in Weyburn, or by e-transferring quotaweyburn@gmail.com.
