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After 31 years of the local holiday tradition, the Capitol Centre is still filled with the joyous chorus of holiday music for the annual Haleyfest.
Seven local and school choirs took to the stage to perform holiday music, including the North Bay Interlink Choir featuring Silver Birches, as well as performances from St. Hubert, St Luke, St. Theresa, Holy Cross, St. Francis, and Our Lady of Fatima.
Dennis Chippa, Artistic Director and Master of Ceremonies for the evening, welcoming the crowd of hundreds to the evening of melodies, offering both bad jokes and a plethora of holiday hats, silly and extravagant.
“There are two things that I’m known for,” he told the crowd with a great big smile and a silly hat on his head. “Hats and bad jokes.”
This year Chippa gave the crowd a special reading from his new children’s book, Crankpot the Underpants Elf, the third book in his annual holiday installment. And between each choir, he quipped with the crowd, a night full of joy and laughter.
Art Haley was the Chairman of the North Bay Santa Fund for over 40 years. He was a City of North Bay employee for 37 years and Fire Chief for four more, retiring in 1975. He and his wife Doris proved a powerful driving force behind the North Bay Santa Fund for those 41 years and beyond. Doris and Art are no longer with us, but their spirit and legacy live on year after year.
The Haleyfest concert was initiated and named for Mr. Haley by Mayor Stan Lawlor in 1986, as a tribute to the Haleys' dedication to the Santa Fund and to raise awareness for its annual drive to fill baskets with food and gifts for those people who are in need in the community.
It was evident from the first year that it was a great way to start the holiday season and Mayor Jack Burrows carried on the tradition, transitioning the celebration from the City to the Capitol Centre.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of this wonderful community event of a variety of local and school choirs gracing the stage with good holiday cheer.
