PREECEVILLE — The annual Christmas reading night features a full audience listening to Christmas stories, followed by entertainment and visiting after the performance.
Stories featured will range from light-hearted to more traditional and will be followed by musical entertainment. The event will be held on Nov. 30 at the Preeceville Trinity United Church at 7 p.m.
“Over the past years, we have read the stories ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens; The Best Christmas Pageant by Barbara Robinson, and a collection of stories from different countries in the world,” stated Sheila Ivanochko, organizer.
Through these evenings, organizers have provided peacefulness, laughter and love-filled times in the Christmas season. Proceeds from the freewill offering at the door are distributed to the local Family Resource Centre and Filling the Gap Christmas hamper programs.
This year, readers will share a collection of stories from all over and from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean.
Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe is a cherished holiday tradition for many Canadians. The stories focus on Dave, the owner of a vintage record store, his wife Morley, and their children Stephanie and Sam, as well as a host of neighbours and friends. It all started the year Dave cooked the family turkey — the very first Vinyl Cafe Christmas story — which turned Christmas into quite an ordeal for them.
The Vinyl Cafe aired weekly on CBC Radio, on select public radio stations in the United States, and via podcast. The radio show was written and hosted by the late Stuart McLean and featured stories, essays and music, often recorded at live concerts across Canada and the U.S. It was on the air from 1994 to 2016.
The Vinyl Cafe stories are about Dave, owner of a second-hand record store called “The Vinyl Cafe.” The stories also feature Dave’s wife, Morley, their two children, Sam and Stephanie, and assorted friends and neighbours.
The motto of Dave’s store — and of the radio show — is “We May Not Be Big, But We’re Small.”
Vinyl Cafe has been broadcast on CBC Radio for years with many tours across Canada. The annual Christmas stories became one of many traditions and, over 21 years, the annual Christmas concerts grew from a single show to a 36-show national tour.
