Friends of Maple Grove held a Holiday Celebration on Friday, December 4, 2015.

"THANK YOU for the wonderful program at Maple Grove last night. It was beautifully put together. I left feeling so good it was like someone gave me an early holiday gift. With warm regards and best wishes for the holiday season!"

Greetings!

The message above is one of the many compliments we received concerning our Holiday Concert.

It was a wonderful event enjoyed by a packed house. Bonnie and her staff set up 140 chairs and every one was used and we had standing room in the back.

It started off with a dramatic reading of our own Jacob's Gift by two members of the Aquinas Honor Society. They were accompanied bythe five Victorian Carolers dressed in wonderful costumes.

We had a fun trivia contest that was followed by a number of wonderful holiday songs selected by Celeste. There were over 16 musicians and singers who came out to perform. The sing-a-long at the end was great!

In this day when Christmas is more about material things, it was heart warming to receive a gift that came from the heart. All the performers were volunteers and found the true meaning of Christmas by providing an evening for everyone to recall the spirit of the Christmas.

We turned no one away and had volunteers who also came to spread the true message of Christmas. Cheril Alexander and her Youth Empowerment teens were there and so were a few St. John's University students. Alex and his friend Steven Shea came and helped with the clean up as did Helen, Jo Anne and Susan. Jo Anne took a number of wonderful photos.

We banished the cynical and the selfishness of today and enjoyed a moment of peace and solitude!

Thank you!

Carl Ballenas President of the Friends of Maple Grove