The Elves Club, a community volunteer group that helps local people in need, is busy collecting money and goods for their Christmas hampers.
Traditionally, one of their most successful fundraising efforts is the annual Elves Club Telethon that takes place on Saturday, Dec. 7. It's been running since 1985, recalls Steve Sleep, the cable TV producer who has participated since early days. The first year raised $3,500 and they were delighted, but compare that with the 2012 total, just a few dollars short of $20,000.
The entire Coast is generous, but Sleep notes that one group that always comes through each year is the fire department.
"They stand outside in turnout gear and hold their boots up to the passing cars, asking for change. They make the single largest donation of the day," Sleep said.
At first the telethon was broadcast from a school studio that they quickly outgrew and it moved to the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt and then the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. This year it will return to an earlier location at Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons.
"It's an attempt to bring in a much larger and very much needed audience," said entertainment coordinator Chelsea Sleep.
Rather than have a huge audience for one performance and no audience for another, they hope to catch the steady flow of shoppers who will stop and listen. As the show broadcasts on Coast TV, the phones light up with callers giving donations.
The talent is shaping up just fine, according to Chelsea. The non-stop show is booked from 2 to 8 p.m. with music of all types plus favourite Christmas stories read aloud by local actors.
The opening ceremony includes pipes and drums and an Aboriginal welcome. The Awesome Thursday fiddlers will lead off followed by Dominique's School of Dance. Later in the afternoon, students from the Coast Academy of Dance and Danceworks will perform.
Professional musicians Joe Stanton and Simon Paradis form a guitar duo that has been rocking the local restaurant scene lately. They will play from their new CD, to be released in January.
"The Elves Club is all about helping out our neighbours at Christmas time," Stanton said, "and I'm proud to have been a part of the telethon for the last few years. I wish them the best year ever."
The audience will also hear from guitar guru Bonar Harris and blues musicians the Brown Brothers. Sarah and Dave Poon on cello and piano play classical, while Katherine Hume's piano students also perform.
Elaine Hunter of the Halfmoon Bay Performing Arts notes that she always took her students to help the community when she taught in Ottawa, and now after three years of her local school, she feels ready to do some giving back.
"I knew about the Elves Club telethon," Hunter said, "and thought it wouldbe a great way to begin our journey of performing on the Coast to help our community."
The eight singing students will combine on a group number, Smile, and Anika Kilroy,Isabelle Stevens and Cadence Tuplin will sing solos from Les Misérables.
In the spoken word, Margaret Page reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Erika Bennet reads Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and Radhika Samwald gives the audience The Gift of the Magi.
Popular acts that return every year are the various groups of the Coast String Fiddlers Association. Bad to the Bow is going through a bit of an evolution right now, Chelsea said.
"Our eight most senior members, as well as the guitar and bass player, either graduated or moved away at the end of last year, so the group is learning to take over their parts and move up in their playing to learn to back up themselves on fiddle.They're doing very well," she added, "and a new junior group is sprouting up too, so keep your eyes peeled!"
Bad to the Bow should be performing around 4:40 and the Coast String Fiddlers will be on earlier at about 3:20 p.m.
The show closes at 8 p.m. with a carol sing-along and, they hope, a successful dollar total posted on the board. Stop by the mall or watch it on Coast TV.
