Last Sunday night, Rossland was in full Christmas cheer, from the brightly lit downtown, where snow has been falling, to the ski hill, where happy skiers are meeting one powder day after another. Down the road at the entrance of town, residents were becoming even merrier as the monthly Joe Hill Coffeehouse took on a Christmas aspect, with acts ranging from guitar and percussion, to full choir numbers.
Attendance looked to be the best so far in this season of the coffeehouse, which started up again in the fall. The monthly show features a variety of acts, and part of the fun in going is not knowing which local band or act might show up last minute or what a newcomer might bring to the performance.
Les Carter, who is organizing the show, said earlier that they had been gearing up for a special show, and it was.
It began with the Rossland Glee Club doing some Christmas themed songs, followed by No Frets, which includes many young violinists and a chance to see how much they have improved.
Next up was the Foggy Goggle boys, with some guitar and vocals.
Then Paul Bowles read poetry which related to things like 2012 and his encounter with a bear near Warfield. Bowles followed each poem with some rhythm playing.
Dawn Graham sang some Christmas inspired music, the last of which received a standing ovation.
The night finished off on a lighter note as Wendy Garby on vocals, Carter on guitar and Andrew Bennett on fiddle played a few Christmas inspired songs.
Carter said the coffeehouse is a great venue for musicians.
“Musicians who would otherwise be cynical about things like playing at a bar, (enjoy) playing at Joe Hill because the audience is appreciative and listens,” he said. “A lot of the audience are musicians. It’s a nice place to play, has great sound.”
The Joe Hill Coffeehouse is the third Sunday of each month at the Miners’ Hall in Rossland.