Free southern gospel Christmas concert coming to Harrisburg
Santa Claus isn't the only one coming to town this December.
A Southern gospel singing group is hosting a free all-star Christmas celebration Dec. 16 in the Harrisburg city auditorium, and the concert's organizer says he thinks the event will be a perfect fit for the holiday season.
"We decided we wanted to do a huge, communitywide concert, bring in a huge national Southern gospel artist and not cost the public anything," James Rainey said.
Rainey, who also sings with his family group, The Raineys, said Allison Speer is the headliner for the concert.
Speer is a popular Christian singer known for her performances as part of gospel musician, Bill Gaither's "Homecoming" celebrations. She has been the guest soloist at the national Southern Baptist Convention, Nazarene General Assembly and many praise gatherings and Family Fest events hosted by Gaither, according to her Web site.
In addition to Speer, Rainey said a host of other Southern gospel groups will be performing.
"We'll have 14 of the best Southern gospel groups in the entire state of Illinois with us, as well," he said. "Then, we'll also be having a 100-voice choir for the first 30 minutes singing Christmas carols, and we want the people to sing along."
The choir will be made of local volunteers.
Rainey said the concert is expected to last about 1 1/2 hours. It will include the different artists' telling of the Christmas story. Then, the various musicians will share humorous anecdotes from their travels.
"We hope the crowd will be doubled over with laughter," he said.
Speer will close out the concert with a powerful song, Rainey said.
Rainey said besides providing a Christmas-themed performance for the area, the concert will highlight the city's auditorium, which recently was extensively renovated.
"It seats well over 500 people and people can see what the community can use for other events in the future," he said.
Harrisburg Mayor Dale Fowler said he is excited about both the concert and the renovations at the auditorium.
The renovation had been a priority for Fowler when he first joined city council, he said. He met with fine arts personnel from local school districts to get feedback regarding use of the auditorium.
"We asked them if they would be interested in using it if we fixed it up," he said. "They all said 'Yes!'"
The city installed lift chairs, installed all new windows, repainted the walls, installed air conditioning, expanded the stage on the east and west ends and put down new flooring, Fowler said.
He said he happened to meet Rainey shortly after the renovations were finished, and Rainey jumped at the chance to book the concert.
Fowler also said he hopes shows in the auditorium will bring more people to the area.
"The whole idea is to bring people to downtown Harrisburg," he said. "Hopefully, people eat at our local restaurants and then come down here. We have a beautiful auditorium; let's use it."
Those interested in using the auditorium must contact the Harrisburg City Clerk's office at (618) 253-7451.
While December's concert is free, Rainey said a ticket is necessary. Tickets are available at Cherry Street Printing, Frannie's Beauty Salon, City Hall, or by calling (304) 421-1278. Rainey said if the event is full, a second concert will be performed.
Also, anyone interested in singing in the community choir that evening may call Frannie Roberts at (618) 926-7509.
Plus, Santa Claus will be on hand from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. that day at the city courtyard to hand out candy to children. Rainey said children who wish to see Santa can have a picture taken free of charge.
He also said while a "love offering" will be taken from anyone at the concert who wishes to contribute, it also will be used to benefit the community.
"It's not going in anyone's pocket," he said. "We're giving it to the local food bank to make sure people can eat this Christmas. We want to be able to double what they normally could get."