Eighty-two-year-old Lawrence Tomkins was in the lobby of the Toronto Star building at promptly 6:05 yesterday morning. A few minutes later, 85-year-old Polly Brown joined him.
The pair waited patiently for the next three hours as they watched hundreds of others join them in line. They were all hoping to get their hands on free tickets to one of two Christmas concerts sponsored by the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund – a long-standing yuletide tradition.
Tomkins had come early because he had a tennis match at 10 a.m., and Brown was there because her friend who usually lines up for tickets couldn't. They were the first two to get the cherished tickets to the 30th annual Toronto Star Christmas Carol Concerts at St. Paul's Anglican Church, which is the single largest fundraising event for the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund.
This year's concerts will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. with an expected combined attendance of about 4,000 people. The St. Paul's Anglican Church Choir, the Anglican Church of St. Simon-the-Apostle Choir and the Canadian Staff Band of The Salvation Army will be performing, as will the Mississauga Children's Choir and the All Saints' Anglican Church Choir of Peterborough.
For Tomkins the Toronto Star Christmas Carol Concert is the beginning of the Christmas season. He, his wife, their daughter and their son-in-law all attend. "It starts the Christmas season in a happy way," the retired Ontario land surveyor said as he waited in line in the lobby listening to taped Christmas carols. He and his family have been attending the concert for almost a decade.
Marilyn McNeill, 66, shares Tomkins' enthusiasm. She has been coming to the concert since its inception, she said. McNeill first came with her young niece. She recalls they got to sit in the front row of the church the first time they attended and the performance was simply "magical." That niece is now 35 and no longer comes to the concert, but McNeill and her husband continue to attend. "The singing is so wonderful. This is the start of my holidays."
And this year, above all others, McNeill feels it may be even more important to go to the concert and give a donation to the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund. "There will be more need than usual with the economy. People are fearful."
Money raised from donations at the concerts goes toward the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund and is used to buy 45,000 gift boxes for children in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax and Pickering.
If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.
