For an event that features “cold” in its title, it sure emits a lot of warmth.
“In From The Cold,” an annual benefit Christmas concert for Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families, returns at 8 p.m. on Friday, December 6th and Saturday, December 7th, with the venue again being the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
Tickets to either 8 p.m. performance cost $29 for assigned seating ($34 for assigned cabaret table seating) and are available online at tickets.markethall.org.
Featuring an enchanting mix of traditional and contemporary Christmas and winter-themed songs, most of which are rarely heard in these parts, the benefit has raised more than $200,000 for YES since debuting in 2000. That makes this year’s two-concert benefit the 25th — a milestone that co-founder John Hoffman finds “amazing.”
“There are two things that mean a lot to me,” says Hoffman, a longtime Peterborough musician. “One, there’s a lot of people that have been involved for 20-plus years and still want to do it, and two, people still come.”
“When we started, outside of the Peterborough Singers and school and church concerts, there weren’t that many Christmas shows. There are lots now. I thought, eventually, we might get shoved off, but we still have our constituency that comes. That’s the real gratification — not that we’ve hung on for 25 years, but that people are still enthused.”
Come people have, as In From The Cold remains a perennial sellout, with last year’s event raising just more than $23,000 for YES — the highest single-year return to date.
VIDEO: “In From the Cold” – A Film By Rodney Fuentes (2017)
Front-and-centre since day one has been Hoffman and co-founders and Carried Away bandmates Rob Fortin and Susan Newman, along with Curtis Driedger.
Each is returning this year, along with regular performers harpist Tanah Haney and guitarist Michael Ketemer, the Convivio Chorus, and a few of Driedger’s students who will join him when he performs as his stage persona Enriqué “Roy” Claveer.
“In the beginning, when I heard that John, Rob, and Sue were planning this, I wanted in on it,” recalls Driedger.
“I’ve always just loved Christmas in terms of what it means in the year — the cycle of the earth and all that kind of stuff. I would get frustrated (when) I’d go to shows and it was too religious or too commercial. This offered the possibility of something I had a feeling would suit my view. And I knew these people and trusted them, so it started off on a very good footing. That, I think, is what has sustained it over these years.”
Both Hoffman and Driedger agree the bond between the performers has been, and remains, key to In From The Cold’s success, both musically and emotionally.
“These are all people I like, and that I like being with,” says Hoffman, adding “We’re compatible musically. These are people I can make good music with.”
Driedger says the In From The Cold experience harkens back “to the old days when you’d meet in a church or the community hall. You know everybody. It’s kind of a community thing.”
Speaking to the choosing of the musical selections for this year’s concert, Hoffman hasn’t strayed from a process that has worked out quite well for a number of years.
“Every year, I Google Christmas songs,” he says. “I’m looking for something different. I’ve Googled Christmas songs from Greece, Dutch Christmas songs, Polish Christmas songs, Czech Christmas songs … stuff like that. There’s great music out there. It does amaze me that every year, for 25 years, we’ve found new stuff that is really cool, that is really interesting, and that we wanted to do.”
As Hoffman points out, In From The Cold is known for showcasing holiday music you are unlikely to hear in the grocery store or anywhere else.
“For example, we’ve got this song that I stumbled upon on YouTube about 15 years ago. We do it every year. It’s called Winter Grace by Jean Ritchie, an Appalachian folklorist and dulcimer player.”
“One song we’re doing this year you can hear elsewhere, but probably not at too many concerts, is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues. In some survey, it was the most popular Christmas song in Ireland. Maybe England too. We’ve never done it before. It’s kind of a tricky song.”
For those fond of more common seasonal music, In From The Cold will not disappoint.
“We’re also doing In The Bleak Midwinter,” Hoffman notes. “It’s a traditional carol, but we do it folky with guitars, mandolins, and fiddles instead of a church organ or piano.”
As for Driedger, he says the varied song selections emanate from a group of performers who are “musically curious.”
“John and Sue have developed the knack of adapting these songs to our situation, be it the choir or their group. These songs are not only discovered, but they come to life in this sort of unique way.”
While the music performed is the main event, the feeling it creates — for both the performers and audience — is what makes In From The Cold a perennial favourite.
“There’s a relaxed atmosphere — not that prim and proper concert feel,” says Hoffman. “We got a review years ago that used the term kitchen party. I think we create that feel. I’m sure there are all kinds of concerts that have a great feeling in the room. We have ours and I think it’s part of the reason that people come.”
As recalled by Newman and Fortin in a previous kawarthaNOW story, what became In From The Cold sprang from a pre-Christmas dinner gathering at the home Hoffman shares with his wife Holly, during which Hoffman, Newman, and Fortin played and sang Christmas carols.
“It was like ‘Boy, this sounds nice’,” Fortin said. “That was it. We thought we had better try this out on the public.”
That they did, initially as part of the now-defunct Peterborough Festival of Trees entertainment lineup. That led to a one-night performance at Market Hall and the inclusion of the Convivio Chorus, a small choir of eight singers that had formed for the 4th Line Theatre production of The Devil and Joseph Scriven. From those humble beginnings, In From The Cold was born.
While Hoffman’s main objective for In From The Cold was to present a stellar musical performance and to do so with musicians he likes and respects, the emergence of YES Shelter for Youth and Families as the beneficiary has been the icing on the cake.
“David Haw wanted to put together a shelter for homeless youths,” Hoffman recalls, referring to the executive director of YES back when it was a not-for-profit organization without a home.
“I thought ‘OK, I can get behind this.’ You never know whose kids are going to need shelter. If there are kids out there, you want them to have a place to go, so what a great thing to support.”
Later, Haw told Hoffman that the proceeds raised at an early In From The Cold concert covered the shelter’s food budget.
“YES wasn’t on the radar the way it is now,” Hoffman points out. “They really needed something. I like to think that we were a bit of a lightweight champion for them.”
Twenty-five years and more than $200,000 later, heavyweight champion would now be a more apt label.
Funds raised aside, In From The Cold’s annual shining of the spotlight on YES Shelter for Youth and Families has resulted in another benefit for the not-for-profit organization, which helps youth and families experiencing homelessness in Peterborough with shelter, education, and transitional supports.
“The awareness that In From The Cold raised about YES was as valuable as the money that was raised,” Hoffman reflects. “I like the feeling that we were part of that and still are. We’ve grown together.”
For In From The Cold tickets, visit tickets.markethall.org. For more information about the services of YES Shelter for Youth and Families, visit yesshelter.ca.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a longtime media sponsor of In From The Cold.
