Christmas concert benefits local CISMBC
Christmas concert benefits local CISMBC Vaishali Patel The Union-Recorder The Union-Recorder Mon Dec 09, 2013, 08:00 AM EST MILLEDGEVILLE 鈥� Georgia Military College will once again serve as the host of the third annual outdoor community Christmas concert to support the mission of Communities In Schools of Milledgeville-Baldwin County (CISMBC).
The concert will feature area school bands and choirs filling the campus with the spirit and sounds of a traditional holiday season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e setting up 700 seats on Grant Parade, and people are free to bring blankets and walk around. Since it鈥檚 an outdoor concert, it has a festival feel to it,鈥� GMC Fine Arts Director Mark Weaver said. 鈥淭his is a complete community Christmas concert. With roughly 350 students in attendance, we鈥檙e hoping for a good crowd.鈥�
The event is slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10 on Grant Parade at GMC. Admission is $5 at the gate.
鈥淪anta will make an appearance, and it will snow regardless of the temperature,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淚f it rains or the temperature drops below 30 degrees, the show will be canceled.鈥�
With a backdrop of the Old Capital Building lit up in festive lights, this year鈥檚 concert will feature some new talent. Christmas carols and popular holiday songs will be performed by choir and band students from GMC, Baldwin High School, Putnam County High School and Washington County High School.
鈥淲e鈥檙e adding the Baldwin High School band this year since they weren鈥檛 able to participate in the past due to scheduling conflicts. We鈥檙e also adding the eighth grade Oak Hill Middle School band,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淐hristmas music will range from sacred to popular holiday music to get everyone in the spirit. We will also have a sing-along with Santa.鈥�
Also new this year will be special performances from 鈥淭he Tale of the Grinch鈥� by the Vibe Dance Center and 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� by Georgia College鈥檚 Department of Theatre and Dance. April Bragg, CEO of the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce and Walter Reynolds of Z97 FM will serve as hosts of the event.
鈥淚 encourage the community to bundle up and come out to support [CISMBC] and the students,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淭hese students put in a lot of hard work; this event is not their only performance since they also prepare for their own school and community shows.鈥�
During the one-hour program, attendees can donate additional funds to support CISMBC, which will help provide Baldwin County students with school supplies and uniforms, as well as tutoring and mentoring opportunities.
鈥淲e are thrilled to be the recipient of any funds raised from the community concert at Georgia Military Concert. We thank [GMC President] Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, [GMC emeritus] Maj. Gen. Peter Boylan and [Weaver], who pulled all of this together,鈥� Baxter said. 鈥淭he funds raised help us finish out the school year. This is really a shot in the arm for us in the holiday season to get help from the community. This is a wonderful event and a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.鈥�
