‘Christmas Carol’ dramatic recitation
Get into the spirit(s) of the season in “A Christmas Carol in Prose” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at the Sweet Home Public Library, 1101 13th Ave.
Reader Ricki Birran will perform a dramatic recitation of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the four ghosts who set him straight on his life course.
Birran has performed the story 124 times, bringing 25 distinct characters to life through vocal characterization, with assistance from bronze busts of the four ghosts created by world-renowned artist Dan Chen.
Admission is free and no library card is required to participate. For more information, call (541) 367-5007.
Longest night at
St. Martin’s church
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church will host its annual Longest Night Service at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at 257 E. Milton St. in Lebanon, at the corner of Milton and Williams streets.
The service of remembrance and the liturgy of candle lighting and sharing – of singing and quiet time – is intended to be a time of healing for participants. Individuals who are struggling with the loss of loved ones, illness, disappointment, anxiety, or simply the chaos of the world, are encouraged to participate.
They are invited to bring family and friends to the service, along with photographs or memorabilia of those mourned.
For information, call (541) 451-1159 or email [email protected].
Concert band to perform Dec. 21
Willamette Valley Concert Band Christmas Concert will perform its annual Christmas concert at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Russell Tripp Performance Center at Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd., Albany.
Mike Rogers will direct “A Christmas Festival,” by the late popular music composer Leroy Anderson. This piece includes “Joy to the World,” “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “The First Noel,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
In addition to performances by the 50-member band, singer Paul Pritchard will perform numbers from “A Christmas Portrait,” arranged by Jerry Nowak. Songs will include “It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” and “We Need A Little Chlristmas.” Pritchard also will be featured in “I Wonder As I Wander,” a traditional Appalachian carol arranged for band by Larry Clark.
Director Emeritus Dr. Richard Sorenson, who retired recently after almost half a century as the band’s leader, will direct a sing-along version of “Adeste Fidelis” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”) toward the end of the program.
The performance also will include “A Canadian Brass Christmas Suite,” which begins with an original rendition of “Jingle Bells,” featuring two trumpets, then segues into a snippet from George Frideric Handel’s “Water Music.”
The compilation also includes “Good King Wenceslas,” “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming,” “Carol Of The Bells,” “Silent Night,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
As is traditional for the band, Leroy Anderson’s famous “Sleigh Ride” will be featured toward the end of the concert.
Band member Bob Clausen will be featured as a soloist on another Anderson favorite, “A Trumpeter’s Lullaby,” a short composition for solo trumpet and orchestra, written in 1949.
Although the concert is free, audience members are welcome to make a contribution at the end of the concert.
The money is used to defray expenses and to help local students who are studying music.
Meals on Wheels
weekly menu
Meals on Wheels offers lunch at the Sweet Home Community Center to seniors over 60 at noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Senior Center serves a separate lunch on Wednesdays.
First-time diners are invited to come in and have a free lunch to give it a try.
Suggested donation is $3.50. All meals are served with milk, coffee or tea upon request and diabetic desserts are available on request.
The menu on Friday, Dec. 20, is a Christmas Special dinner of rotisserie chicken with cranberry sauce or sliced ham with raisin sauce, chantilly potatoes, green beans, French bread and baked pumpkin custard.
The menu on Monday, Dec. 23, is a Christmas Special dinner of hamstyle turkey patty or pork choppie, both with gravy, whipped potatoes, broccoli, herb French bread and key lime bar.
No dinner will be served Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, due to the holiday.
Volunteers are needed for both kitchen help and meal delivery.
For more information, contact Norene at (541) 367-8843.