St Nicholas would be proud!!
On St Nicholas Day, December 6, 2019, over fifty NWARTA members and guests gathered at the Stonebridge Hotel (Grande Prairie) for a short members’ meeting, great conversations, laughter and a celebratory feast dedicated to St Nicholas.
Preceding the Feast, members joined in reading a St Nicholas prayer of thanks and request for blessings. Members enjoyed this wonderful feast followed by entertainment provided by two groups. First, the Studio 50 Readers’ Theatre (with a full cast of 14) performed an incredible version of The Christmas Carol. This group has dedicated itself to providing entertainment to seniors in the community and we thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated their polished presentation.
Afterwards, members of the Grande Prairie School District Orchestra, directed by Krista McLauchlan, delighted the audience with traditional Christmas music as well less-known pieces including one from a Harry Potter movie. Gail Schau, sew-person extraordinaire, made stocking which were filled with goodies and Yvonne Mury, outstanding cookie-maker, made cookies to present as gifts of thanks to performers.
December 6 recognizes the day St Nicholas died in 346 AD as well as “the beginning of the Christmas hope for generosity, gift-giving and service”. NWARTA once again received a license to sell 50-50 tickets at this event, with proceeds to go to the St Lawrence Centre.
Over $150 represented half the proceeds and Myna Lamay, in the true spirit of St Nicholas, also donated her winner’s portion to the Centre.
And a thank you to Angus Sutherland who once again volunteered by being a walking billboard and ticket seller.
Also, a personal note of thanks for the support of the planning team: Maxine Maxwell, Sue Mills, Yvonne Mury, Karen Patten, Gail Schau, Linda Schofield, and Russ Snoble.
