A free community Christmas Eve event will be held at the Lacombe Memorial Centre as a time to bring citizens together for the holidays.
The event will include refreshments and entertainment, with doors opening at 6:30 and the event running from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m.
“A couple of years ago, Wolf Creek Community Church, along with a few other churches in town, identified the need for a Christmas Eve service that is a little different than a service that you’d experience at a church,” said Peter DeWit, an organizer for the event.
“It’s not in a church building, so that makes it different. Some people may not be comfortable going into a church building so this way, it can bring the whole community together.”
There will be some Christmas carols and songs as well as two short skits that go along with this year’s theme of ‘gifts’.
The theme will translate into songs and entertainment as the community explores the various definitions of giving that are present in the season.
“Gifts to us come from the idea that God was willing to send his son to us as a gift for Christmas. Gifts don’t have to be wrapped up and opened from a box. Gifts can also mean giving the gift of time and showing our love to our neighbours,” said event emcee Kevin DeBree. “This is an hour-long celebration of the gifts that we’ve been given and a reminder of what Christmas is all about.”
The event is open to all ages and is meant to provide a fun way to include those who wish to spend time with their community around Christmas.
“There are some people whose loneliest time of year is Christmas – this event is an opportunity for them to come out and celebrate this day with the rest of the community. This is open for everyone to get together and have a good time on Christmas Eve. We want to share some fun in the community during the Christmas season,” said DeWit.