It is a rite of the holidays that spans generations.
The annual Haleyfest celebration, in honour of Art and Doris Haley, lit up the Capitol Centre Wednesday night.
Haleyfest is the chance for local elementary school students to have their moment in the spotlight, literally, in front of a packed house.
The Capitol Centre’s Nicholas Clement says after changing from two nights to one, Haleyfest was indeed a hot ticket.
“This year we had the big one night only and we had eight choirs performing and it was absolutely a packed house and it was just filled to the brim. It’s always nice to see all these parents come out to not only support their children but to support an amazing and long standing and cherished event here in North Bay.”
The performances featured the CMHA-Near North School Board Interlink choir, featuring seniors and students from M.T. Davidson school, as well as performances from Ecole St. Raymond, St. Theresa, St. Hubert, St. Francis, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Luke, and Holy Cross schools, all of which put their best foot, and voices forward.
Clement says the performances represent weeks of work on the part of students, teachers and choirmasters.
“It’s a lot of work a lot of effort especially on the choirs part to get all the students together. Not only that but the songs. Each choir performs two amazing songs and it not only involves not only getting all the students together but putting sometimes a little song and dance or a little tapping of the drums and playing a bit of the piano. It’s really nice to see all these schools come together and create such an amazing event here.”
The event is often considered the official kick-off of the Santa Fund, and was capped off, as always, by hot chocolate and cookies.
A sweet way to get into the Christmas spirit.
