Even Santa Claus came to Carols, with Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer<\/em> guiding him onto the stage.<\/p>\n Singing alongside her partner, musical theatre star Landy was \u201chonoured\u201d to be part of the night of quality music.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m such a Christmas person. It\u2019s a magical time, and I love, love, love carols,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone involved in Carols by Candlelight were volunteers, and there was such a high standard of performances.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so special and exciting to have my two-and-a-half-year-old son see me perform for the first time on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Carols Crew\u2019 volunteer and orchestra violinist Tom Corcoran got to enjoy the show from a different angle to most, performing all night from the back half of the stage, and watching the joyful faces of children in the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved being part of the team bringing the Christmas cheer to everybody, and being a part of the Ballarat arts community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After these COVID times, Carols has been a real highlight of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n The evening was not only a space for song, but a chance to generate some funds for the 3BA Christmas Appeal, with donation wells at the Stadium\u2019s entry points.<\/p>\n But Carols\u2019 presenting partner Harcourts Ballarat almost stole the show, when director Peter Ludbrook made an extra special donation of $16,363 to the Appeal live on stage at the end of the evening.<\/p>\n \u201cOn behalf of Harcourts and everybody here tonight that\u2019s helped to raise funds, this is a little bit of a boost to the Appeal,\u201d Mr Ludbrook said.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully this will help to ensure that there\u2019s nobody in Ballarat that misses out this year.\u201d<\/p>\n 3BA general manager John Fitzgibbon received the cheque and said the \u201cgenerosity of Ballarat knows no bounds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBallarat has really stepped up and helped us out. We think we can fulfill our goal of making sure that everybody that wants to celebrate Christmas this year gets to celebrate Christmas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you to the organisers of the Carols, all the performers, the orchestra, and everybody out in the crowd that\u2019s donated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE triumphant return of Ballarat Carols by Candlelight had young and old in song, and in the Christmas spirit on Sunday evening, just six sleeps out from the big day. Approximately 10,000 residents rolled out their picnic rugs, unfolded their camping chairs and sat down to enjoy a classic list of traditional and contemporary carols […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/12\/A02I0679-300x200.jpg\")