Crowd fills Memorial Park for caroling
Published 2:31 am Monday, December 20, 2010
NATCHEZ — Memorial Park was filled with unified voices spreading Christmas cheer through song Sunday night at the 14th annual Caroling in the Park.
Crowds gathered as Sally Durkin lead the carols and Burnley Cook accompanied on piano on a chilly evening in Natchez.
“I’m actually kind of glad it is cold outside,” Durkin said. “It makes it feel a little more like Christmas.”
Durkin led the crowd in a number of Christmas classics such as “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
The crowd also clamored for more holiday cheer when every song in the songbook had been sung.
Ferriday residents Gail and Rebekah Smith said this was their first year to attend the event.
“We just thought it would be a fun thing to come to,” Gail said. “We are just out here enjoying the holiday.”
Rebekah said she enjoys “Silent Night” and “Away in a Manger” but there was not really one Christmas song she could pick as her favorite.
“They are all so pretty,” she said.
Natchez resident Liesel Devening said this was the first Caroling in the Park she has been to in a few years and was glad she came out to get in the Christmas mood.
“I came out here so I could get in the Christmas spirit,” she said. “It’s just nice to be here.”
Devening said while she was hoping for a bigger crowd, the atmosphere was a nice reminder of what Christmas is all about.
“Christmas is all about being with your family and friends,” she said.
Caroling in the Park regular Ginger Mims said she enjoys hearing the community singing at the event, and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is her favorite Christmas tune.
“We all sing that one pretty good at my house,” she said.
Mims said she enjoys having some quality Christmas time with her friends.
“It is so great, we do this every year,” she said. “You get to see friends you don’t get to see every day and be around some good company.”