December 19, 2012
a'1,e ^ o rtía n h (©Hseruer
Page 9
East County
Beaverton
North Portland
The Grotto’s Christmas Festival
Gift of music
makes Festival
of Lights shine
From a humble beginning, The
Grotto's Christmas Festival of
Lights has grown over the last
25 years to become the world's
largest Christmas choral festi
val. Five indoor concerts high
light each evening's festival pre
sentation during its 37-night run.
For the Grotto's 25 th annual
celebration, a record number of
179 concerts were scheduled
over the course of the festival
which runs through Sunday, Dec.
30, excluding Christmas day.
M ajor concert events are fea
tured in The Grotto's 600-seat
chapel, known for its cathedral-
quality acoustics. While many
think of The Grotto's festival as
primarily a beautiful garden light
ing display filled with heartwarm
ing family entertainment, its repu
tation as a wonderful place to
perform traditional Christmas
carols has spread within the cho
ral community across the Pa
cific Northwest.
Choir directors from around
the region have regularly praised
the exceptional acoustics present
in The Grotto's chapel. As the
festival's reputation has grown,
choirs have traveled from Se
attle, Roseburg, and Idaho to
perform at The Grotto's Christ
mas Festival of Lights. In recent
years choirs have also come
from British Columbia and even
southern California to perform.
The Grotto's Executive Di
rector, Father Jack Topper, said,
"Our intent was to blend the
traditional sights and the sounds
of the season with the hope,
peace and love that it heralds.
Over the years, the festival of
ten has taken on a life of its own
and The Grotto has been blessed
to receive so much support from
all of these choirs. It really is
continued
on page 15
‘
‘
f
••
¿ t
»
*
Z*’’
• / . •
7;
• a .
• V T •••*», .<•
•7 .
X- O
X '
..
>
v
»
• » i •
•
7
•
A V v .t-
i.:
• ,
>. ■
'j •>
.. » •
. ■
\ •
■■ - Y
L. . ; ; • . • :
tv
/
-- V T. • "»s 5 !•
• .J r
Vr
.» ».
♦ •
‘;
:
A
¿»«i*’
^2
: J r ? ' v
»
’ Y—
*
> • ’ •• •
:•
• '
il
JLÍ . •
• *
> 0. *
À-
••K •
£ • ’
-
■
t
■
* .
. ..
< r • ■ * .
.. J x
?• - ’f •
« • • •
• ••«
•
’ -
» ’
•
•• •"
»»*■*•
..
.• R-.—
/* . * * * * ♦ * * * 1
«
** /»R R « »... *,
*.
/
<
3?- « '*• • <
•• .«•
• • *• 1 * •• - * » * •* ..»
. , •
••• ».
. •• •"••• ♦
a fe
Î
"i
- '- 'T .
' A * ’ * •#
.'A v » «l
»
••* * * - » 3
> •:?; -r JM
?-’r tï
.
*
à.
A lighted path captures the tranquility o f the Christmas season at The Grotto.
V, ',r
,
v v
* 1 W-
photos by L arry K irby of T hf . G rotto