Depot Square in Peterborough will soon be home to carolers hoping to help spread the holiday spirit.
The annual holiday caroling program, sponsored by Twelve Pine and Depot Square, begins Friday, Dec. 10, with local groups and families coming to sing holiday tunes for passersby. According to organizer Pelagia Vincent, signups are still ongoing.
“We’re hoping that we get a nice showing,” she said. “We’re not expecting the numbers that we’ve done in the past, but a nice handful of people will get the spirit going nicely.”
This year, groups will be performing from the patio in front of Twelve Pine. Carolers will be invited to perform in 15- to 20-minute time slots on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the end of the season. Following their performances, groups will be invited into Twelve Pine for free cider and cookies.
In prior years, this tradition has included parading through Depot Square and other downtown locations, as well as entering stores to sing songs.
Vincent said that after missing out entirely last year due to the pandemic, it was better to be cautious and keep the carolers in a single outdoor space than to not have the event at all.
“What we want to do is bring back the spirit, but be safe,” she said. “We want to have fun, but we want to be safe.”
Some groups are already signed up for the coming weekends. The Scott-Farrah singers, a group of residents in the senior community, will perform for their third year at 4 p.m. on Friday. The Cheshiremen Chorus, the Keene chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, will perform Friday at 6 p.m.
“In the past we’ve had an incredible result of carolers, groups, families – it’s been from professional, to just a couple of families getting together and having fun, which is the spirit of what we want,” Vincent said. “We’re not trying to make it so that it’s only choruses or organizations alone; we want it to be anybody who wants to make a fun event and sing and get excited about the holiday.
Those interested in performing are asked to contact Vincent at pelagiavincent@earthlink.net or 603-547-8323.
“I’d love for people not to be afraid to get their neighborhood or the family to just come and have fun with it,” Vincent said. “Bring some of the carols you’re used to singing at home, and shout them out on School Street in front of Depot Square.”