Children's choir practicing for midweek performance at Riverside Park

The Kamloops Thompson Honour Choir is working hard this year to spread seasonal cheer.

The choir is made up of about 45 students in grades three through seven from across the Kamloops-Thompson School District.

Jennica Alpaugh, choir director, said the group has been gathering donations for people in need while practicing for a special upcoming performance at the Big Bear Child and Youth Advocacy Centre’s fifth annual Bright Lights event.

Alpaugh said the choir’s acts of kindness are inspired by a Christmas musical the group will be performing in early December.

“This year, we took on a Christmas musical called CAKE. And it stands for the Christmas Acts of Kindness Experiment. And so in the play, the students in the play are challenged to do an act of kindness that lines up with all the elements of the Christmas story,” Alpaugh said.

“So we've taken on all those acts of kindness as a group.”

Alpaugh said choir members are sending Christmas cards to seniors homes, collecting winter clothes for families in town, and the group has brought together a hamper of food for a family through Christmas Amalgamated.

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, the choir will be part of Big Bear CYAC’s Bright Lights, carolling through Riverside Park at 4:30 p.m.

The choir will sing and help with the tree lighting countdown, which will happen around 5 p.m.

“We always try to better our community and engage with our community. And what that looks like every year is a little bit different,” Alpaugh said.

“The point of being in choir is to use your gifts to brighten the lives of the people around you. So singing for people and sharing your voice. And we're taking it one step further this year through sharing our love in an active way.”

Choir member Olivia Lightfoot said the group has planned a number of things “to spread Christmas kindness — because that’s what our musical is about.”

“We are going to give gloves and mittens and that kind of thing to some people who need it,” Lightfoot said.

“I think that kindness is important, because there are some people in the world that just really need kindness. And spreading it to people, it just makes everybody happy and more joyful, and makes the world a better place.”

Hannah Frier, another choir member, said spreading kindness goes with the season.

“I think it's important to do it because it's just spreading joy and kindness in this type of season that people enjoy,” Frier said.

Residents can see the Kamloops Thompson Honour Choir perform at the Big Bear CYAC’s Bright Lights event on Wednesday.

Alpaugh said the choir’s upcoming Christmas musical is open to everyone, and will be held at the Paramount Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Anyone interested in finding out more information can reach out through the choir’s Facebook page.