A SEA of Santa hats, tinsel, novelty Christmas attire, picnic blankets and prams will yet again flood Rosalind Park on Sunday night for the Rotary Club of Bendigo’s annual Carols by Candlelight.<\/p>\n
The popular annual event is scheduled to feature a mix of solo vocalists and acapella groups as well as Bendigo Theatre Company, the City of Greater Bendigo Brass Band, Bendigo Youth Choir and Bendigo Youth Orchestra.<\/p>\n
To top it all off, former-local Jess Chalmers \u2013 who has performed as a backing vocalist for the likes of Robbie Williams, Delta Goodrem, Colin Hay, Rob Mills and Guy Sebastian and placed in the top 30 of Australian Idol 2024 \u2013 will also grace the stage.<\/p>\n
New program director Steph McCorkelle, who is performing as part of the Red Sand Big Band, this year takes the baton from longtime organiser Valerie Broad.<\/p>\n
Ms McCorkelle said with such a variety of performances scheduled for the night, preparations have been “relatively complicated”.<\/p>\n
“But, there’s been some fantastic people who’ve been very willing to help out and make things run relatively smoothly,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got Cally Bartlett from the City of Greater Bendigo Brass Band \u2013 she’s been fantastic and has arranged a few new pieces for them.<\/p>\n
“Stephen Briggs, who works at Bendigo South East College and is also the chair of the Bendigo Youth Orchestra, he’s put together a rhythm section to play for the second half of the program.<\/p>\n
“Anita from Scott’s Mascots and Costumes Performing Arts Group has been brilliant and her team have been rehearsing a lot as well.<\/p>\n
“Tons and tons of different people have been putting in the hard work, which is wonderful.”<\/p>\n
New to the program director position, Ms McCorkelle said she has strived to put together an event that people enjoy coming along to, “something that’s fun for the whole family and something that really showcases Bendigo’s arts scene”.<\/p>\n
“Bendigo is full of lots of amazing performing artists and I wanted to feature as many as possible,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It’s all about that community gathering and sharing of music and all that kind of thing.<\/p>\n
“There’s lots of different things to consider, including what’s going to work well in what order.<\/p>\n
“Everyone’s fantastic, so the really high-energy stuff, we’ve put that a bit further into the evening so it keeps people interested throughout.<\/p>\n
“The other big thing that we’ve changed this year is that we’ve made it just one big event \u2013 one big concert.<\/p>\n
“In the past there’s been pre-carols entertainment and then another section for youth artists, then the main Carols kicked off.<\/p>\n
“This time it’s just one big Carols.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be a fantastic night, we’ve got some incredible artists performing and you don’t want to miss it \u2013 it’s definitely worth coming along to.”<\/p>\n
The Rotary Club of Bendigo Carols by Candlelight take place at Rosalind Park this Sunday evening, 21 December, from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.<\/p>\n
Entry is via Sidney Myer Place (beside the Bendigo Visitor Centre).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A SEA of Santa hats, tinsel, novelty Christmas attire, picnic blankets and prams will yet again flood Rosalind Park on Sunday night for the Rotary Club of Bendigo’s annual Carols by Candlelight. The popular annual event is scheduled to feature a mix of solo vocalists and acapella groups as well as Bendigo Theatre Company, the […]<\/p>\n