Tickets are now on sale for the annual Spirit of Christmas Concert, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at Glacier High School’s Performance Hall in Kalispell. As with prior years, ticket prices are being kept low; thereby allowing as many people as possible to attend, even those on a tight budget. Only 600 tickets are being made available for this year’s concert.

 

Tickets are available at the following locations: Glacier Bank locations/branches in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork; Herberger's in the Kalispell Center Mall; and, at Freedom Bank in Columbia Falls. Additionally, tickets will be avaible at the door for those who have not been able to purchase them yet.

 

Tickets for the 2009 concert are $12 each. Admission to the concert will be one ticket per person, plus a non-perishable food donation for the Food Banks in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

 

Pastor David Merkel and Penni Chisholm are combining forces again this year to produce a wonderfully moving show featuring themselves on piano plus additional area musicians and volunteers who donate their time to make the effort possible. Additional performers will include The Men's Quartet, The Columbia Falls United Methodist Church Choir and The Nutcracker Trio.

 

All money raised from ticket sales will go to benefit CASA for Kids in the Flathead Valley (see their website). The non-perishable food will be split evenly between the Food Banks in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish. Corporate sponsors are continuing to be secured in order to fund expenses associated with this event. Information and opportunities will be available at the concert to those who are considering become a volunteer of Flathead CASA for Kids.

 

The concert will include piano duets by Pastor Dave and Penni Chisholm, along with a slate of additional musical performances of Christmas, Christian and secular music. Pastor Dave and Penni are already working on additional duets to be performed this year; including 4-hands on one piano, and 4-hands on two pianos. The intent of the concert is to further nurture the Christmas Spirit in the area, and to raise awareness and much-needed funds for CASA for Kids.

 

 

Pastor Dave said, “Each of us is called to share our gifts and graces in a way that helps heal the brokenness, and helps to nurture relationships with one another and with God. And we are all called to live lives that build up life, not tear it down." Together, in just the past few years, Pastor Dave and Penni Chisholm have helped raise close to $40,000 for charitable groups and organizations in the area through their performances.

 

Beginning two years ago it was decided to sell tickets to the event due to audience numbers that exceeded the capacities of the venues. Performing in the Glacier High School Performance Hall this year allows the opportunity for seating and to make sure every seat in the house is filled in order to maximize the potential for raising funds for those in need. Chisholm added, “It also ensures the safety and comfort for all those in the audience gathering from around the valley to help make Christmas more like Christmas for our young, innocent neighbors who are hungry, down-trodden and broken.”

 

As we celebrate the gift God gave us 2000 years ago, we can respond in-turn by giving back to God through giving our gifts and resources to some of those most in need, in the midst of a season that is far less celebratory for them than most.

 

 

 

More information about the concert and a downloadable poster is available at www.columbiafallsumc.org/spiritofchristmas.