The Lower Mainland in December: relentless rain, gridlocked cars inching their way past endless construction sites, puddles waiting to trap passers-by, dampness everywhere, busy people rushing past, and the sky an omnipresent grey. Yet if it snows, then, at least for a few days, everything changes. A familiar landscape can become a source of wonder, an unplowed street a cross-country ski track, any incline a toboggan run. Life slows down as the weather’s inconstancy instills a reflective mood.

It was Vancouver Island writer, Pauline Holdstock’s essay on the great snowfall of 1996 that inspired Chor Leoni’s Diane Loomer to plan a Yuletide Fires that explores the effect of what real winter weather does to the West Coast and our experience of the holiday season.

When asked about what she hopes for at Christmas, Loomer mused, “A return to an elemental stillness; giving a welcome gift that's unexpected; finding our sense of wonder renewed. A wish to let everything fall away and return to a world of long ago where damp chills were dispelled with smell of pine logs burning and fire aglow.”

Chor Leoni’s Yuletide Fires will warm your with new carols and arrangements by BC composers Amy Steven, Stephen Smith, Jonathan Quick, and Larry Nickel, as well as works by Enns, Sirrett, and Biebel.

“We want to wrap you in warmth and light,” Loomer concludes. “In a concert where the present falls away into a world that our ancestors knew and we now share. This is my hope for you for the holidays - this is what Chor Leoni and I hope to bring you through Yuletide Fires. Come and share.”

Chor Leoni also presents Yuletide Fires at the Howe Sound Secondary School in Squamish, (38430 Buckley Ave) at 7 pm on December 19. This performance is presented by the Howe Sound Performing Arts Association. For tickets and information visit their website.