BUCKHANNON – Grab your friends and loved ones and march over to Buckhannon-Upshur High School this Friday, Dec. 10 to celebrate ‘A B-U Family Christmas.’
Members of the Buckhannon-Upshur High School Performing Arts Department are hosting this new event, which will begin at 5 p.m. and guarantees family fun for all, with opportunities to listen to holiday performances by the Buckhannon-Upshur High School Marching Band, as well as the B-U Drumline, majorettes, Soundwaves and concert choir.
Buckhannon-Upshur High School Principal Jonathan Pollock said he is excited for the BU Family Christmas and wants to invite the community to come and celebrate with the students.
“The B-U Family Christmas will be a great time to see everything our Fine Arts Department has to offer,” Pollock said. “Be sure to come out and support our students as they earn money for upcoming trips in 2022.”
Carrie Stark, president of the Buckhannon-Upshur Band Boosters, said the event is designed to evoke memories of old-fashioned Christmas bazaars, while simultaneously enabling performing arts students to earn much-needed money for upcoming educational trips.
“Our performing arts students at the high school – our band and our choirs – are getting ready to travel this spring,” Stark said. “Our band is going to Nashville, and our choir is going to Washington, D.C., and so we are hoping this will be a profitable fundraiser for our kids.”
Admission to the first-ever B-U Family Christmas event is $5 per person, but children ages 3 and younger will be admitted for free. Stark said the event will include musical performances throughout the evening, a chance to purchase items from crafters and vendors, a silent auction, holiday refreshments and an opportunity for folks to have their photographs taken with Santa Claus.
“All of the kids will be performing throughout the evening including those in the Jazz Band, the full band and the Soundwaves,” Stark said. “This will be a great event with fun things to do, lots of great performances to see and will help our students earn money to pay for their upcoming trips.”
As of Monday, Dec. 6, about 25 vendors and crafters had signed up to come and sell their wares, Stark said.
“We will be selling some homemade baked goods and drinks,” Stark said. “Of course, our guest of honor will be Santa Claus. At the very end of the evening, the B-U Band will be playing some songs to welcome Santa to the event. If children want to sit on Santa’s lap, there will be time for that as well as an opportunity for photos with Santa.”
Other B-U performing arts groups scheduled for the evening include the orchestra, the B-U Rock Band (which is new at the high school this year), the concert choir, the Soundwaves and the full B-U Band.
“This is the first year for this event, and we decided to host this event to showcase the many talented students,” Stark said. “The band boosters joined forces with the choir boosters, and we thought this would be a good, fun way to raise funds for travel. We are hoping to make this a yearly event in the future.”
Stark said the B-UHS Choir will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial in 2022.
“The B-UHS Choir will be the only choir from West Virginia during this performance,” Stark said. “The B-UHS Band will be traveling to Nashville, Tennessee on an academic learning trip. We will visit Vanderbilt University and have a master class. While we are there, we hope to get the students to the Grand Ole Opry, the Parthenon Museum and other great learning opportunities in the area.”
The B-U Family Christmas event will run from 5 to 9 p.m.
Additional information about ‘A B-U Family Christmas’ is available by calling Stark at 304-940-9414.
