The Sunrise Rotary Club will be getting the community into the Christmas spirit at Southminster United Church, Dec. 7 with their fifth annual reading of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol.”
If Charles Dickens was alive today, he’d be 200 years old. So this year is special,” said Sunrise Rotary Club representative Kristy Jahn-Smith. She observed the event is something Dickens would have appreciated as he lived in an era surrounded by poverty and orphans and consequently became a champion of rights and raising funds for the poor.
This will be the fifth year the Rotary Club has been raising money for both Lethbridge food banks through the increasingly popular event.
There will be several familiar faces reading the story this year including Ed Bayly,who will be playing Charles Dickens, and Brian Quinn, who are familiar faces with Playgoers of Lethbridge and Hatrix Theatre respectively. The other readers are Morgan Day, Derek Hoare, Judith Buchan, Bill Laycock and Adam Mason.
“Most people know the story because of how often it has been dramatized on television and on film. It’s always original, except this is a reading of the story, not a dramatization,” Jahn-Smith continued.
But the readers will be wearing Victorian era costumes from the University of Lethbridge and will be using a few props as well. They will also be performing in front of a Victorian era set.
While this event is a more conservative, traditional celebration, there will also be music with the U of L Faculty Brass Quintet, Dave Mikuliak, Sheldon Arvay plus Kade Hogg and the U of L Youth Singers.
All proceeds from the $10 tickets are split between the Interfaith Food Bank and Lethbridge Food bank, as are any extra donations collected at the door by Sunrise Rotary Club members “Scrooge” Richard Tamkin and “Marley” Jim Campbell.
“Cash allows them to buy what they think is missing,” Jahn-Smith continued.
“ It’s all about raising cold hard cash. Cash speaks volumes when you wave it in front of people. And who better to say that than Scrooge,” deadpanned Tamkin spreading the word about the show, dressed as Scrooge at the Lethbridge Senor Citizen’s Organization.
He brought the idea with him to Lethbridge after hearing CBC performing it on the air in Toronto.
“ The CBC performance is quite professional as their announcers. So when we moved to Lethbridge I thought I’d try it as amateurs,” he said.
“CBC helped us in the first year, but then stopped and people like (director) Carol Laycock came on board. So we completely rely on volunteers donating their money and mostly their time,” he said.
Tamkin isn’t actually in the performance, he will just be collecting money at the door.
“I just stand around and look pretty and throughly depress people,” he said.
Rotarian Jim Campbell, dressed as the ghost of Jacob Marley, has also been involved with the production since its inception.
“Carol Laycock is a spectacularly good director,” said Campbell.
“They have become increasingly more entertaining,” he observed.
“ It is set in a theatre of the round. It’s a very minimalist set but it gives the flavour of the Victorian era,” he described.
“ Scrooge and I will be taking donations along with Tiny Tim and the orphans, he said.
The goal this year is to sell 500 tickets to the show at $10 each for a total of $5,000.
“But the Southminster United Church does seat 1,000 people. There is an upstairs, so we won’t be turning anybody away,” said Jahn-Smith.
“It’s just going to be a great show,” Campbell continued.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, with the entertainment beginning at 7 p.m. and the reading beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10.
