Put on your Christmas hats, and come join the Lake Ridge Choir Department for a night of fun! For the first time ever, the choir department is hosting an event in order to raise money for their Booster Club. This event will not only raise money for the club, but promote the Choir Department as a whole.

Marjorie Lim, junior, is one of the class officers with the responsibility of taking charge when the teacher is absent or unavailable. The event will be held in the Lake Ridge cafeteria. Lim says that with the team effort of the entire choir department and those participating in the event, the outcome will be a success.

“So on Friday from 7-8 PM, we’re having Cookies and Cocoa with Santa, where young kids are invited to take pictures with Santa, enjoy some cookies with cocoa, and hear some Christmas carols presented by Show Choir, who will be inviting a couple of kids to perform with them at the end. It’s $8 per adult and $5 per child. On Saturday from 6-7:30 PM, we are having Dinner with Santa, and it’s basically the same deal except with dinner instead of cookies, and the performers will vary too. It’ll be $12 per adult and $8 per child,” said the Student Director.

Michelle Nguyen, junior and Vice President of Library, says that the event is a fundraiser that strives to raise money for the choir program, as well as the facility.

“The fundraiser is called ‘Cookies for Santa’ on Friday, where choir students dress up festively to perform holiday songs as well as serve cookies and hot cocoa for parents and kids. The Saturday event is run similarly, except it’s ‘Santa’s Dinner Party’, where dinner and dessert is served. It’s in order to raise money for choir boosters, as there are prices to attend,” Nguyen stated.

According to Phillip Glen, Choir Director, the choir program at Lake Ridge is not the most recognized club on campus but he is proud of what the Booster Club is able to accomplish. Hosting this event will give the department a chance to stand out and possibly gain more of a reputation at the school.

“I definitely think that promoting the choir program was what the booster club intended from the get go. Admittedly, choir doesn’t have the same reputation as other programs at LRHS, and I think it’s a shame, because there is untapped potential for us to thrive. One of the goals that we’ve had from the very beginning was growth, whether that be in numbers, excellence, or our standing within Lake Ridge, and I think the parent boosters understand that goal well enough to suggest incorporating the campus into our fundraiser,” Glenn stated.

According to Nguyen, hosting this event will not only boost the reputation of the Choir Department, but also encourage holiday spirit in a festive way.

“This will promote the choir program purely due to the exposure the booster club is giving us by hosting the event as a festive way to raise money for choir as well as boost holiday spirit during the winter season,” Nguyen stated.

According to Lim, the planning of the event was not in her hands, but one of the major difficulties the boosters come across is ticket sales.

“I wasn’t part of planning the event, but Mr. Glenn mentioned the event to a few officers as early as September, so maybe around 2 months ago. I know one of the difficulties that the boosters encountered was actually getting the tickets sold, but I believe we were promised a fair turn out judging by those sales,” Lim stated.

Although there isn’t no clear motive as to why the event isn’t taking place, many are more worriedly about smoothly it will go. Khang Tran, Vice President of Logistics, says that the way the event is ran is one of the major concerns of the department.

“Since this is the first year, I think it really depends on how well and smoothly it’s run, I don’t really know what the motive was this year, maybe more doors of opportunity were opened,” stated Tran.

With this being the first year the choir department has hosted an event like this, many are worried about how it will turn out and how smoothly it will run. But overall, the main goal is to spread cheer and get students and children hyped for the holiday season.