Spectacular, Christmas Spectacular

UPDATE: So, remember how I was looking for the perfect holiday event to get in the Christmas mood? Last week, I found it.

After hearing all of the hype about this event on social media, hubby and I decided to buy tickets to Kitestring creative branding studio Christmas Spectacular event.

Now, we’ve been to a couple of events run by the Kitestring crew before, and they are a fun, ebullient bunch. We always have a good time and needless to say, we had high hopes for this event.

It didn’t disappoint.

So what made it so great?

In my post-party analysis, I came to the conclusion that this particular event ended up being the perfect blend of what many people are looking for this time of year, namely: 1) fun (including good food and drink) 2) giving back and 3) supporting local business.

First of all, it was held at the beautiful, grand old Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts building on James Street South. I had never been inside this building before (truth be told, I didn’t even know it was there until I spied it while walking to the GO station one day earlier this month).

Once inside, we were greeted with comfort food a-go-go – I’m talking Red Hill coffee bar, candy bar and Cake & Loaf COOKIES AND MILK bar (hubby’s fave). All hopped up on sugar and caffeine, we headed to the Christmas Pageant part of the evening’s event.

Yes, this was not a typical mix and mingle/drinks and hors d’oeuvres holiday party – the centrepiece of the event was a Christmas Pageant in the Conservatory’s theatre.

As the show went on, I mentioned to hubby that it felt like we were at a school Christmas play (in a good way) – we were entertained by local professional performers, young and old, with fabulous voices, dancing skills or musical talents (with one of our faves being blues guitarist Rita Chiarelli).

While we thoroughly enjoyed the pageantry part of the evening, the after party was where the event seemed to truly shine.

The Conservatory houses a fantastic loft space, complete with outdoor, rooftop patio (a little chilly at this time of year, but I got the picture.) A live rockabilly band was playing, party-goers were lined up to taste the alcoholic snowcones and a snack table that took me back to birthday party days (think chips, cupcakes & little sandwiches). Essentially, we were surrounded by food, drink, music and new friends. What more could you ask for from a Christmas party?

To top it all off, the event was for the greater good – each ticket paid for one month of after school arts programming with Culture for Kids in the Arts.

I could go on and on about this event, but you get the jist. If you get the chance next year, make sure you go!