Singing in the holidays

It’s official. The 2015 holiday season has begun.

Maple Hall was decked out in holiday splendor when the Christmas concert started Sunday evening.

The musical event was coordinated by Madeleine Roozen Cook and featured our fabulously talented Skagit Valley musicians and singers. An incredible amount of musicians were there to entertain the packed house, singing and playing all our favorite carols, from “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas,” to “Baby it’s Cold Outside.”

Members of our prestigious Skagit Symphony orchestra, led by Maestro Roupen Shakarian, opened the concert with “Oh Come all Ye Faithful,” and the wonderful Shelter Bay Chorus and Friends, led by Lyle Forde, closed the evening with a “Happy Holiday Medley.”

In between, we were entertained by Mayor Ramon Hayes on the piano, playing his adaptation of Christmas songs, Cantabile, led by Dr. Stephen Marshall-Ward, the La Conner Union Methodist Church choir, led by Lynette McCormack, with an amazing cast of singers and musicians playing all our favorite carols.

Wow what an evening!

The concert was put on benefiting Conner Waterfront Park, and it appeared half the Town of La Conner was there to help kick off the holiday season, listening to Christmas music while filling the donation jar with money to help build our park.

Even Santa showed up, taking time out of his busy schedule to listen to children’s Christmas wishes prior to the event. All told, it was a great concert put on by wonderful singers and musicians for the benefit of all us who live in and around La Conner.

During a break in the concert, I explained to everyone our total estimated cost of developing the waterfront park is $465,000 — we’re almost halfway there.

While people were leaving Maple Hall at the end of the concert, our local Kiwanis club passed out candy canes they had supplied, attached to a donation card for all the attendees at the concert.

A hearty and huge thank-you to everyone involved in the concert and to those who attended the concert.

The writer is a member of the La Conner Parks Commission