PHOTOS: Concert begins a night of Halifax holiday festivities
Hundreds gather in Halifax to sing along to carols
![A family of four sits on the ground in front of the stage. They are wearing festive hats and headbands. A woman is waving at the camera.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FestiveFamily-scaled.jpg)
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A family of four sits in the front row at the Kickoff Concert in Peace and Friendship part in Halifax on Saturday.Holiday spirit was in the air on Saturday evening when hundreds attended the Kickoff Concert in Halifax, beginning a night of festivities.
The concert took place at the Peace and Friendship Park on Hollis Street. Those in attendance danced and sang along to carols from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The concert preceded the annual Parade of Lights.
HRM events co-ordinator Mike Gillett says the motivation behind organizing this concert for the first time was “celebrating the holiday season starting.” Related stories
Performers included local artists such as Donair Supply band and Rebecca Guilderson.
The crowd consisted of groups of family and friends of all ages. Most in attendance were children.
Beloved children’s icons such as Paw Patrol and members of the Wiggles were also on stage, putting smiles on faces and excitement in the hearts of their small fans.
Gillett says in a few days he will be starting to plan for next year’s concert.
This event was part of what the regional municipality called the Halifax Holiday Celebration, which was capped by the lighting of the Christmas tree in the Grand Parade.
![Couple wearing santa hats. A crowd of people is shown in the background.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CoupleInSantaHats-1212x682.jpg)
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Beulah Brinston (right) and her husband at the concert. They attend holiday festivities every year.![Three children on the shoulders of adults.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ChildrenOnShoulders-1212x682.jpg)
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People of all ages attended the concert.![Crowd of people in a park with a stage in the background.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CrowdWide.jpg)
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The concert attracted a large crowd of several hundred.![Four band members wearing holiday sweaters and hats are performing on stage. Two members are playing the guitar, one is playing the fiddle, and another is singing.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DonairSupplyBand-1212x682.jpg)
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Donair Supply Band performs Christmas carols at the concert.![Woman with red hair singing into a microphone. To her right there is a sign language interpreter. On her left, drums are displayed.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Rebecca-1212x682.jpg)
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Rebecca Guilderson sings carols to a crowd of people in the Peace and Friendship Park.![A family of three with a group of four family members. There is five adults and two children.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Family-1212x682.jpg)
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Two families, the Manivannans (left) and the Desais (right) attend holiday festivities in Halifax for the second year in a row.![](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ThreeFriends-1212x1212.jpg)
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Agnès Beauregard (right) travelled from Ottawa to visit friends Trista Goundrey (middle) and Adeline Barry-Corneau (left), who are students at Dalhousie University.![A tree wrapped in lights.](https://signalhfx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Tree-1212x808.jpg)
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Trees in the park glittered with Christmas lights.About the author
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Hope Edmond
Hope Edmond is a master's of journalism student from Enfield, Nova Scotia. She enjoys sharing the stories of others.