Santa's Holiday Hoedown was the theme of the Christmas concert held in the Neilburg Composite School gym Dec. 12.
The evening began with the singing of O Canada before the kindergarten students took to the stage to sing several songs and to recite some poems. The Grade 1 and 2 students also sang The Canadian Twelve Days of Christmas.
And then it was time for the musical to begin. Dominic Madlang-Awa was Santa Claus and Kaylyn Koch was his wife, Mrs. Claus. Twins, Clayton and Colton Schmidt played the Texan No. 1 and No. 2. Anna Giesbrecht was Minnie Pearl - complete with a price tag hanging from her straw hat! Kyle-Asa Williams starred as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with William Downie as his sidekick, Donner.
Three young ladies dressed up to impersonate Dolly Parton. They were called "The Dollies" and were played by Hallie Goodfellow, Ann Hewko and Hannah Prystupa. The play also featured five Elvis Presley impersonators. These were D. J. Becotte, Jared O'Grady, Shawn Whitney, Shay Brovchenko and Ashton Schmidt.
There was also a large grouping of elves representing many of the contemporary country and western singing stars. Dwight was played by Braxton Snell and Konnor Hiscock was Yoakam. Carson Peters was Billy Ray and Henry Peters was Cyrus. Garth Brooks was represented by Brayden Koch and Carter Cammidge. Vince Gill was Carl Sawtell and Dustin Spence. Three girls played the role of Mary (Jillian McCord) Chapin (Paige Johnston) Carpenter (Shana Flicek). Reba McEntire was portrayed by Tia Gibler and Ethel Borja and Wynonna Judd was Tidja Hoeppner-Basha and Hannah O'Grady.
The Grade 1 and 2 students represented the rest of Santa's reindeer. These pupils included: Anna Bergen, Wyatt Downie, Tristan Ducherer, Ramsay Flicek, Dyson Gibler, Nick Hein, Kailee Johnston, Emily Peters, Evan Sawtell, Cassidy Spence, Cooper Whitney, Kyle Whitney, Gus Wightman, Sara Williams, Eduard Borja, McKenna Goodfellow, Raegan Husch, Tavianna Moth, Francie Peters, Isobel Ramsay-Mackenzie, Skylar Stewart, Colton Walde, Devon Whitney, Taeya Wiens and Kale Worman.
The elementary students were featured in the song, Going to Branson. We're Not Reindeer was sung by the Grade 1 and 2 students with Kyle-Asa Williams as the part singer. Hallie Goodfellow, Ann Hewko and Hannah Prystupa were the solo singers on Layin' it all on the Line. They were backed up by the Grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 girls. The fourth song, Elves Lives, was sung by the Grade 3 and 4 students. Dominic Madlang-Awa was the soloist for I Ain't No Willie Nelson. Kaylyn Koch sang the poignant, Will Santa Come Through? before the final upbeat, Santa's Holiday Hoedown reprise. The callers for this final song were Ashton Schmidt, Shay Brovchenko, Shawn Whitney and Jared O'Grady.
The kindergarten students presented a traditional nativity play. Colter Husch represented Joseph and Aliana Worman was Mary. The wise men were Keegan Chibri, Skyler Brovchenko and Johnny Bergen. The shepherds were Luke Jensen and Ashton O'Grady. The angels were represented by Emma Watson, Daelyn Ducherer, Reese Walde, and Madison Goodfellow. As the kindergarten students acted out the Christmas story, members of the senior band played and sang. The singers were: Chantal Ryan, Anri Steenkamp, Laura Hegel, Dustin Hafner, Mikayla Watson and Christine Madlang-Awa. Chad Graham played percussion and Angela Courtepatte was at the keyboard. Eli Jacquest played the guitar and Brandon Morgan played the bass.
Non-perishable foodstuffs and monetary donations were collected at the door and were later donated to the needy.
