Elementary school students are ringing in the holiday season with carols at Victoria City Hall this week.
It’s a decades-old tradition for the city and this year marks the 54th annual Carolling Week.
“[It’s] just to bring in the holiday spirit and season with a little cheer,” said Victoria city councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe. “And what better a way of giving cheer than to hear young people sing?”
About 70 students from Marigold Elementary participated in the event on Tuesday and have been rehearsing their performance since the start of November. The school’s music teacher, Lena Palermo, said what makes the hard work worth it is the reaction she gets from the students.
“The children knowing that: I did something really neat today and people were clapping and smiling, I made people happy and it felt really good,” she explained. “It builds so much confidence in them. Music is such a wonderful thing.”
Marigold Elementary was joined by Torquay Elementary on Tuesday. At the end of both performances, they came together for a group sing-along with the audience led by musician Ron Berod. Berod has been playing the keyboard for the city’s carolling week for 40 years.
“How old am I?” Beron said, laughing. “I am 93.”
Every year, he comes back for the same reason.
“It’s the kids singing, that’s what it’s all about,” he explained. “To hear the children singing.”
Carolling continues at city hall for the rest of this week except Thursday, with two schools performing each day beginning at noon.
Jasmine Bala
