We are truly in the midst of the holiday season around here, with multiple events happening each week, and I am enjoying it! There were several holiday activities this weekend, which I (of course) attended. Some of these events were to celebrate the holidays, and some were to help prepare for the season.
The weekend started with the annual Ocrafolk Christmas concert on Friday night. I was blessed to be a part of it again this year, singing with my friends Sundae, Marcy, Jamie and DeAnna. We named our group the Madri-Gals, and we sang a couple of Christmas madrigal songs, one which I had never heard before we started rehearsing called "Masters in this Hall" and another more familiar one, "I Saw Three Ships. We also sang the traditional carol "We Three Kings". Our performance seemed to be well received by the audience, and was a lot of fun. I was wide awake after the show, and stayed up until midnight (which is quite late for me). The concert included many excellent performances by local musicians, including Noah Paley (who is from Hatteras Island). I enjoyed being in the audience as much as I enjoyed performing.
On Saturday morning, Ann Ehringhaus (a local photographer and B&B owner/innkeeper) had a yard sale. Ann has great, eclectic taste, so I knew I wanted to go. I was glad I did, picking up a Christmas gift and something for myself for a bargain. On Saturday afternoon, I helped the local Brownie troop create cute gifts for friends and family. The girls' enthusiasm was contagious, and my excitement about Christmas grew a bit more.
Saturday night (yes, Saturday was a full day!), we went to the annual Garage Party, which is the largest potluck of the year. I ate much too much, but thoroughly enjoyed it. At one point, we had a conversation about it being difficult to "weight watch" during the holiday season, to which my friend Charles quipped "well, you can watch...you just watch the weight piling on!" How true!
After the Garage party (Saturday still isn't over!), a small group of people went out to the beach to see the space shuttle as it went by the East coast after taking off from Florida. It was a beautiful clear night, perfect for gazing at all things (man made and natural) in the sky. The people gathered on the beach complained good-naturedly about the cold, but all the grumbling (in fact, most of the conversation) stopped when we saw the fast-moving light that was the space shuttle shooting across the horizon. It looked like a shooting star, only it didn't burn out quickly, but rather continued until it was out of sight. The whole thing was over within a few minutes, and we immediately headed back to the warmth of cars and homes.
Today, the shops on School Road had a holiday open house, including sale prices and sweet treats for shoppers. I went into each one and bought gifts in several of them. I spent a long time in Books to be Red, which is one of my favorite shops on any day of the year. But Philip Howard, owner of another of my favorite shops on the island (Village Craftsmen) was there even longer - he arrived before I got there, and was still shopping when I left. He was building a small pile in a corner of the shop, wandering back and forth into its different areas and adding items to his stack as he found them. We teased him for putting his items near the food, so each time he added a gift to his stash, he could get another treat too! Philip commented that he thought he would do all his shopping right there. It was a great example of the way island business support, rather than compete with, each other. Philip could easily get all his holiday shopping done in his own store, but he chose instead to shop at Leslie's place.
Thinking about that, I realize that all of the events I experienced this weekend have one thing in common: sharing. Musicians sharing our talents at the Christmas show, Ann sharing her extras with her neighbors, the Brownies sharing the gifts they made with friends/teachers/family members, the community sharing a meal at the Garage party, a hardy group sharing the experience of watching the space shuttle, and holiday shoppers "sharing the wealth" with store owners. This truly, is the spirit of the holiday season at work here in our community. No wonder I'm in a festive, joyful mood! I hope you have the opportunity to share some joy, peace and love with those around you, during the holiday season and every day.
To know more/related links:
Books to Be Red/Deepwater Pottery: http://www.deepwaterpottery.com/index.html
Village Craftsmen: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com
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