73rd Rotary Christmas Carol Festival
Rotary Carol Festival
The 73rd Annual Rotary Christmas Carol Festival was a success on all counts. In the traditional venue of the Knox Metropolitan United Church the 73rd festival started on Monday 2 Dec 2013 and ran until Thursday 5 Dec 2013. The congregation or audience sizes were at record levels as Reginans came down and enjoyed the festive atmosphere, the choirs' enthusiasm, and the superb acoustics of Knox Met. The programme on Access Communications Channel 7 will be re-broadcast during the Christmas week.
All the usual and traditional elements were in place, including VIP and celebrity visits, interviews with the four Charity partners, the Access Cable 7 Telethon, and above all, the always delightful entertainment by the dozens of chorale groups.As each year's holiday season becomes busier, no single Rotary Club can easily provide the 120 hours of volunteer service needed each evening. Since 2008, all five Regina Rotary Clubs have collaborated not only in providing volunteer marshals, ushers, receptionists, and on camera principals, but have shared the selection of Charity Partners and ensured that the festival proceeds are delivered promptly where most needed in the local community.
The Festival continues to be one of those traditions that gives to everyone; the choirs, the volunteers, the charities, and the citizens of Regina and area. The purposes of the festival remain to showcase local choral talent, to signal and to celebrate the arrival of the Advent Season, to provide some uplifting free entertainment to our community, and to exemplify Rotarians' "Service to others". Since 1941 the festival has also been used to collect donations for key local Charities, which this year were the Leader Post Christmas Cheer Fund, The Access Communications Children's Fund, The Salvation Army, and the Regina Rotary Community Fund. Thanks to the generosity of the choral groups, the Rotary volunteers, the Knox Metropolitan hosts, the congregations and the telethon donors, the unofficial objective of $20,000 was exceeded. Thank you all ... and Happy New Year 2014.