The 26th annual In From The Cold benefit concert has raised $21,336.58 for YES Shelter for Youth and Families, according to organizer John Hoffman.
Two performances of the concert were held on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough, with Saturday’s performance taking place in the afternoon for the first time.
This year’s proceeds bring the concert’s 26-year total for YES Shelter for Youth and Families to over $230,000.
As in previous years, local businesses and organizations contributed a significant amount in monetary donations, adding to proceeds raised by ticket sales and individual donations.
“I must salute our generous sponsors who, truth be told, contribute considerably more to our fundraising total than the proceeds from our modest (affordable!) ticket price,” Hoffman on Facebook.
Presenting sponsors for this year’s concert were Juniper Community Bookkeeping, kawarthaNOW, and Wild Rock Outfitters’ The ComPassion Project. The streaming sponsor was Jo Pillon of Royal LePage Frank Real Estate. Concert patrons were Ashburnham Funeral Home, Herod Financial Services, LLF Lawyers, and Richmond Global Wealth. Concert supporters were Camp Ponacka Inc., Long & McQuade, Part Time CFO Services, Dayle and Reid Finlay, and the Whitfield Family.
Hoffman first organized In From The Cold in 2000 along with fellow musicians Susan Newman, Rob Fortin, and Curtis Driedger, and the annual concert has become a Christmas tradition in Peterborough, beloved for its presentation of seldom-heard holiday music.
This year’s concert once again saw Hoffman, Newman, and Fortin performing as Carried Away along multi-instrumentalist Michael Ketemer and Celtic harpist Tanah Haney, as well as the 30-voice Convivio Chorus led by Newman, and Driedger with his youth performers The Claveer Cousins (Cora Lai, Iris Lai, Charlie Watson and Meara Watson).
Along with the Saturday matinee performance, another first for this year’s concert was the addition of a special musical guest, in the form of roots singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Benj Rowland. Another musical guest was Dan Fortin, one of Canada’s top jazz bassists and the son of Newman and Fortin.
Songs performed by Carried Away included “In Praise of Christmas,” “Candlemas Eve,” “On A Night Like This,” and “Shine Over Lake And Strand,” with songs performed by the Convivio Chorus including “The Holly And The Ivy,” “Fairytale Of New York,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”
“For us performers, In From the Cold has always been about the music,” Hoffman wrote on Facebook. “It’s the music that brings forth the joy that keeps us wanting to do this show every year.”
If you missed this year’s In From The Cold concert, you can listen to Trent Radio’s broadcast of the recorded concert throughout Christmas Day on 92.7 FM and at www.trentradio.ca/stream.htm.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time sponsor of In From The Cold.
