Christmas time truly is the “most wonderful time of the year.” Help keep the Christmas spirit flowing with a gigging tournament on Friday, Dec. 10 and music, fun and food at the Suckers for Kids and Caroling Around the Bandstand event on the Mountain Grove square Saturday, Dec. 11 from 12-6 p.m. In this season of gift giving, the Heritage Festival Committee wants to help raise funds and gift it to support Suckers for Kids Gigging Tournament and Fish Fry. Many are suckers for kids at Christmas time. All proceeds will go to the “Play For All” Inclusive Playground at the Mountain Grove Cedar Center! For those who enjoy gigging and eating fish, this is the event for them to attend. The Gigging Tournament is Friday, Dec. 10. Tournament registration is available at Spiceberry Flowers Gift and Catering and at Hawkins Home and Lawn. Get a team together and share the information with all gigging buddies. And for those who don’t like eating fish, the event will have chicken and noodles and brown beans and cornbread. It will be heartwarming!
There will be two fire pits and Suckers for Kids will be selling smores kits to make smores. Roasting sticks will be provided. Interested groups and churches are invited to participate in several ways. For those who have an adult choir or a children’s choir that would like to sing some Christmas carols, please let organizers know how much time is needed, and a time slot will be arranged for the participants. Solo artists are invited as well. If a church or organization would like to sell baked goods or hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee or hot tea, there will be an opportunity for this. There is no charge to set up a booth and the proceeds go to the church or organization. Christmas melodies from musical groups will be part of the Christmas music line up. Groups that have committed to participate include the Mountain Grove High School Jazz Band, The McCunes and the First Christian Church band and choir. Organizers are hoping to add other local or regional musical groups. For churches or organizations that would like to participate in any of these ways, please email mghistoryandartscouncil@hotmail.com or contact Spiceberry.
Sheep and shepherds, angels and animals, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus will be on the square in a live nativity with a visit from the wisemen and a reading of the beloved Christmas story at the end of the afternoon.
The event winds up in the evening with the singing of Silent Night, Holy Night accompanied by a guitar just as it was originally performed. This beautiful hymn was written for the guitar at Christmas 203 years ago, three years before Missouri became a state in 1821. In a small village in Austria in 1818 right before Christmas service, the church organ broke. Joseph Mohr had written a poem two years earlier in 1816. He gave these words to Franz Gruber and asked him to compose the music for them on the guitar. That collaboration resulted in Silent Night, Holy Night one of the most famous and beloved Christmas hymns of all time. So everyone is encouraged to put on their hat and warm mittens, bring their lawn chairs and cozy quilts and join together in this musical celebration of the “dear Savior’s birth.”
