Concert heralds Christmas season
Hundreds line up for tickets to Star’s carolling event
A little bleary-eyed, Ross Slaughter and his sister, Maggie, waited patiently near the front of the line for tickets to the Star’s annual Christmas Carol Concert fundraiser for the Santa Claus Fund.
Their family has gone for the past eight years and didn’t want to miss the one-day ticket giveaway. Ross and Maggie woke up at 5:30 on Tuesday to line up with hundreds of others inside 1 Yonge St.
“I really like to sing the Christmas carols and, since I used to go to the concert as a kid, it’s really nice to go back,” said Ross, a U of T student who used to sing with the Mississauga Children’s Choir.
For Maggie, part of the fun is listening to Dr. Giles Bryant make his pitch for donations to the Santa Claus Fund, the Star’s not-for-profit charity, which provides 45,000 underprivileged children across the GTA with Christmas presents. Bryant, an Anglican canon and the Star’s “Christmas messenger,” has emceed every concert since its inception in 1979.
“He’s got this big bushy beard and looks a lot like Santa Claus,” Ross said. “He always makes people chuckle.”
This year’s concert will be held on Dec. 5 in St. Paul’s church, at Bloor and Jarvis Sts. Organizers hope to raise even more than the $46,236.35 they did last year. About 1,500 people attend each year.
The program features two children’s and six adult choirs, in addition to the Canadian Staff Band of the Salvation Army.
As usual, tickets to the concert went fast, disappearing in about 45 minutes, according to Barbara Mrozek, the Star’s director of charities and philanthropy.
“It’s heartwarming to see some of the concert attendees return year after year, to the point where we start to recognize one another,” she said. “For many, it marks the beginning of the Christmas season.”
That’s how it is for the playwright Alison Lawrence, who has been going with her family for 20 years. “It just feels like the beginning of Christmas,” she said, standing in line.
“I remember standing beside my father, who’s not with us anymore, and singing ‘Good King Wenceslas.’ It’s lovely.”
Helga Breier, a market research consultant, was waiting a little farther ahead in the queue to get tickets for herself and her two teenage kids. For the past two years they have also volunteered to deliver Santa Claus Fund gift parcels.
“It’s great to help kids close to home,” she said. “You go to those apartment buildings and deliver those gifts and you wouldn’t want to be living in that situation if you can avoid it. To give them a gift personally, it’s amazing.” With files from Janice Bradbeer If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.