From Page 10
WASSAIL FEST
Lighting
Bonnie Norris scored the crowd’s affection with “Santa Baby,” and Jeffrey Barnes quieted the crowd with “Santa Got Lost in Texas.” Bubba Hernandez showed off his bluesy voice with an R&B number, and Sarah Jaffe sang Pierce’s moody arrangement of “O Holy Night.” Steve Wiest, the director of the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band, got off to a pitchy start — thanks to a damp and trombone-molesting cold front — but he warmed up and made up for it with his jazzy solo. It was a portion of Denton’s Midlake that gifted the revelers with a rousing and hopeful rendition of John Lennon’s “So This Is Christmas (War Is Over)” before sending Denton holiday revelers home. Much of the lineup returns to next week’s Holiday Music Spectacular. Pierce will conduct the 11-piece Holiday Lighting Orchestra. Paul Slavens, a Denton musical institution and KKXTFM radio host, returns to the lineup of featured performers. Last year he did a reading of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. “I loved Paul doing The Grinch. … We zipped through it,” Pierce said. “It’s not a short piece, but Paul was great. And I’d love for The Grinch to become a big visual thing for the kids.” Slavens isn’t just a versatile musician who plays with a number of local acts — he’s got enough character voices to supply a radio play. Members of Midlake will be back. Barnes and Wiest return, too. Pierce recruited Slobberbone singer-guitarist Brent Best to the stage. “I was talking to Brent about doing the show, and he said, ‘I even have this holiday song called “The Gum Drop.” I could do that if you wanted.’ Of course I wanted him to,” Pierce said. If he gets his fair share of Denton magic on stage, Pierce said musicians might start offering to perform at the lighting. “I envisioned this thing as more or less a concert where these talented musicians who live in Denton perform holiday
The Denton Main Street Association’s Wassail Fest offers free tastings of the warm mulled cider drink at downtown businesses from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 30. People can vote for their favorite recipe. Visit www.denton mainstreet.org.
TOY DRIVE Denton County Toy Store, a nonprofit organization serving children of qualified families, will collect donations at the southeast corner of the Square, and at several drop-off locations prior to the festival. Visit www. dentonholidaylighting. com/toy-drive-2.
Denton Record-Chronicle file photos/Al Key
Girl Scout Troop 866 members hand out “reindeer food” at last year’s Denton Holiday Lighting Festival. Nonprofit groups sell food — most of it for human consumption — at the festival. music they’ve written, instead of it being their take of a famous Christmas song. You want that, too,” Pierce said, “but part of the reason this event looks a certain way — almost like a Norman Rockwell painting — is because it’s about Denton. “My vision has been for this concert to be Denton musicians doing original holiday music. How cool and how magical is it to have this kind of little town where you have this vibe, where people get together and play music and it’s great?” LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877.
The University of North Texas Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble plays at UNT on the Square during the Denton Holiday Lighting Festival in 2011.
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