Explaining the Newburgh Community Christmas Concert to an outsider is difficult.
While most longtime residents in this area know all about the variety special that’s been staged at Newburgh Public School over the last 40 years, it remains largely a best-kept secret to those outside the Greater Napanee/Stone Mills bubble.
This reporter can recall his first experience with the concert. With just a little over six months experience at the Napanee Beaver, it just so happened the 2008 edition of the Newburgh Community Concert fell on this reporter’s weekend to work. Then editor Seth DuChene stressed the importance of attending the event to get a front-page photo. He also added it’s always good for a laugh and probably one of the more fun events to cover in the weekend rotation.
Being a rookie, this reporter pulled up to the school about 10 minutes before opening curtain. Part of the reason was Newburgh Public School is surprisingly difficult to find to those who don’t know where they’re going. Surely there’s no way to get lost in the hamlet of Newburgh, right? Wrong.
With still a few minutes to spare things were looking good until arriving at the door. No room in the inn. The gymnasium was full to capacity and they weren’t letting any more people in.
Fortunately that was just the matinee and there are always two shows. This reporter knew to be much, much earlier for the evening showing. In subsequent years concert director Mae Whalen was great to reserve a spot for any hapless reporter who stumbled in too close to show time.
And so for the last 11 years it’s been one of the favourite events to cover.
As this year’s date approached it soon became clear stuffing a few hundred people into a school gym wasn’t going to be possible. The thought of the concert ending its 40-year streak of delivering holiday joy was becoming more plausible. Fortunately the cast and crew are great at improv. And so this Saturday the show will go on, albeit in online format, broadcast at www.woodcreativegroup.com/ccc-2020 starting at 7 p.m.
As mentioned in the Nov. 12 Beaver, this year’s show will be a retrospective of sorts, combing new skits with clips of previous shows from the last decade. Though not quite the same as a live performance, it certainly beats the alternative of no show at all. On the bright side, the online broadcast will give audiences outside of Newburgh a chance to watch the show, whether they be former residents who have moved out of province or anyone who has heard of the wacky one-of-a-kind Christmas show but has never been able to make it.
As always the cast is doing it all for donations, which will be used to provide toys for families in need this holiday season. In a year where so much has been cancelled, it’s nice to know this tradition will continue to bring laughter and cheer to families this Christmas.
-Adam Prudhomme