Carols bring the Christmas spirit to town

MORTLAKE residents kicked off the town’s Christmas celebrations with no shortage of joy when the Mortlake Lions Christmas Carols brought the community together.

Merry Christmas: The Mortlake community gathered last Friday to celebrate the holidays at the Mortlake Lions Club’s annual Christmas Carols.

The town was not short on festive cheer when hundreds lined Market Square for the beloved annual event.

Mortlake Lions Club president Heather Rowe said conditions were perfect for what has become one of the most celebrated events on the club’s calendar.

“It all went really well,” she said.

“It was a fantastic night.

“We had the best weather I think we’ve ever had – there was no hot sun and no wind, it was just a nice temperature which I think brought everyone out.

“We had a good crowd with a good atmosphere which included the foodies selling out, so there were good reports across the board.”

Mrs Rowe said seeing students from St Colman’s Primary School and Mortlake College performing brought a smile to the faces of attendees with well-rehearsed singing and creative choreography.

“The kids did a great job,” she said.

“It was good to see the Mortlake College students incorporate AUSLAN into their final song, ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas,’ which was really nice with the music backing them.

“All the students did really well, but it was great to see the kids doing something different like that.

“All our musicians put on a wonderful performance.”

Mrs Rowe thanked participating local businesses for support in donating items for the raffle draw.

“We had lots of people taking part in guessing the lollies in the jar,” she said.

“The silent auction went off and we had nine draws in the raffle, and quite a few of the winners were locals.

“It was good because we had so much support for the raffle – businesses were really good with helping, they are every year, but this year we had some support from businesses based in Warrnambool.”