Equal parts laughter and tears were shared Saturday afternoon in the crowded gymnasium of Newburgh Public School.
On stage the cast of the Community Christmas Concert were performing their final show, putting a bow on a 44 year tradition that has brightened the holidays for many people in many ways.
As always, the show opened with director Mae Whalen, who has had a hand in all 44 shows, giving a brief overview of the humble beginning of the show, which was born during an evening chat around a kitchen table with her mom, reminiscing of old holiday tradition. The net result led to creating a new tradition, unique to the Stone Mills community.
That custom was well established by the time this reporter attended his first concert, some 16 Decembers ago. Then editor Seth DuChene stressed the importance of covering the event and making sure to be on time as seating capacity fills up quickly. Eager to follow through and capture the perfect front page photo this cub photographer jumped in his 1997 Ford Escort and set course for Newburgh-and then promptly got lost in the quaint village of fewer than 800 people. (One would think the school would be on the main street, no?) Needless to say capacity was full by the time the school was finally located-but the story had a happy ending as the newbie reporter was all the earlier for the evening show.
Flash forward to 2023 and the Beaver now had its own reserved seat (thanks Mae), with two young assistant reporters in tow. Fortunately they got to witness a handful of shows (the seven-year-old will remember them, the two-and-a-half year old likely won’t, despite her unwavering desire to try to climb on stage to chat with Santa or even join the cast in its closing musical number.)
Everything about the show screamed ‘amateur’-in the best possible way. The cast and crew dedicated countless hours to preparing the show, starting in early fall with the writing process and then rehearsing their skits to make sure they could deliver the laughs. Their commitment to a bit was commendable and likely not always easy to do-especially knowing they’d have to show their face around town the next day. But they always went for it for the entertainment of the hundreds of people gathered-and they never disappointed. Even more noble was the fact they did it all for donations, which they used to purchase toys for those in the community who could use a little cheer this time of the year.
And so, as the old cliché goes, all good things must come to an end. Most events of this nature are typically one-offs, or maybe run for a couple of years before petering out. That the community got 44 years of laughter-and donations-is something for which everyone involved in should feel very proud.
Hopefully something similar will take its place for next holiday season-though nothing will ever quite be like this show. It really was one-of-a-kind.
-Adam Prudhomme