Community Messages

BARRY YUEN AND HIS TRIO and friends present a live reading of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A CHRISTMAS CAROL.   Done in the style of a fun Old-Time Radio Programme, with sound effects and some live music accompaniment.  For those who remember radio plays, this will bring a warm glow of nostalgia.  Where and When:   St. Mark’s Lutheran Church on 263 Victoria Street on Saturday, December 21st, at 2:00 p.m.   As a fundraiser for the church, this will be a “pay what you can” event.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Live reading in the style of an Old-Time Radio Programme

Dec 21 at 2:00pm
St. Marks Lutheran Church 263 Victoria Street

Free-will offering at door

St James Church will host a "Longest Night" service on Sunday 22 December at 5pm for those experiencing grief, loss, or hardship during the Christmas season. The service is an opportunity to acknowledge losses experienced, to grieve, and with God’s grace to receive consolation, hope, and the light of Christ amid darkness. St James Church is at 10 Union St in Kingston. ALL are welcome to attend. Visit stjameskingston.ca

Holiday festivities usually emphasize joy and cheer, leaving little room for grief and pain, so for some this season can be trying and difficult. Christ suffered for us once on the cross and he suffers with us in sorrow. “Come unto me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

Christmas Eve Service December 24th at 4:30 pm at  Cooke's-Portsmouth

United Church 200 Norman Rogers Drive. Family Service.

Come feel the traditions and meanings in a service full of music, story,

ritual and candle lighting.

It's her fourth and final plunge! Come to the Kingston Grandmother Connection Polar Plunge Party at noon on New Year’s Eve 2024.  Our Intrepid 80-year-old Grandma Gail will take her 4th annual plunge into Lake Ontario’s wintry waters to raise funds for grandmothers in Africa. 

Celebrate an early start to New Year’s Eve! Join the party at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour on Tuesday December 31.   Cheer Gail on as she dances in the water in support of African grandmothers who are caring for their grandchildren on their own. Bravely dip your ten toes into frigid water or stay warm and dry and dance with us on shore.

Families and kids, neighbours and passers by, all are welcome to join in the fun and help us raise funds to support our African grannies (whose families have been devastated by the on-going AIDS epidemic).   

We accept donations on-site by credit or debit, cash, cheque, or etransfer. If you can’t be there in person, you can still donate through e-transfer by following instructions on our website: g2gkingston.ca. You will receive a charitable tax receipt for donations of $20 or more.

All proceeds to the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign https://stephenlewisfoundation.org.   

On Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 2:30 p.m. at The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, the Kingston Symphony presents the fourth Masterworks concert of the season, Hindemith & Haydn. Our own Principal Flute, Amelia Lyon, will dazzle you with a reimagining of Hindemith's Flute Sonata, newly orchestrated for flute and strings. This concert features music which showcases the different sides of composers - like Respighi, Wagner, and Haydn - and how multifaceted they can be, reflecting the variety of their compositional personalities. Not to be missed!

The Kingston Baroque Consort presents “Viva Vivaldi!” on Friday 17 January, 5:15pm, at St. James Church (10 Union St, Kingston), featuring vivacious music for strings and winds by Antonio Vivaldi, with special guest artist Bassist Shanti Nachtergaele from Montreal. The program will include Vivaldi’s Concerto in B minor (RV580) for 4 violins, cello, strings, and continuo.

Tickets cost $25 (Adults), $10 (Students), and free for under 17, and are available at Novel Idea (156 Princess St) or by emailing/calling legerek@queensu.ca, 613-217-5099.  Visit  Kingstonbaroqueconsort.ca.

Shanti Nachtergaele specializes in historically informed performances of music from the 16th through 19th centuries and has performed with ensembles such as the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), American Bach Soloists (San Francisco), Accordes! (Oxford), and Les Méandres (Montreal). She holds a BMus in performance from Shenandoah Conservatory, an MMus in early music from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, an MA in music theory and history from Pennsylvania State University, and a PhD from McGill University.

The Kingston Baroque Consort was founded in 2021 as an orchestra devoted to historically informed practice of music from the Baroque era. Founded by Katie Legere, Jeff Hamacher, Julia McFarlane, and Michael Capon, the KBC is a collective of professional musicians drawn from the Kingston Symphony Orchestra and the wider community.