Sunday December 7th, 2008: A Finest Kind of Christmas

$20/18

For many years now, every December, Ottawa's Finest Kind-one of folk music's stellar harmony trios-unpacks its repertoire of out-of-the-way yuletide carols, songs, and stories, brushes them off like so many sparkling tree ornaments, and readies them to shine anew in a month of seasonal concerts entitled "A Finest Kind of Christmas". Audiences at the National Arts Centre, the Black Sheep Inn, and various church halls and community centres around Ottawa have made "A Finest Kind of Christmas" one of their own holiday traditions. But because the holiday season is so short and winter travel so uncertain, Finest Kind rarely performs this wonderful show away from home. The program includes some of the group's favourite songs and most cherished arrangements. It reflects the group's well-known taste for the unusual and varied: traditional English carols mix with bluegrass and shape note hymns, compositions by Ian and Shelley add spice, and Christmas recitations and readings from old holiday memories are mixed in like tasty figs in a Christmas cake. Now Toronto lovers of traditional folk music can enjoy this "once in a year" holiday delight when "A Finest Kind of Christmas" makes a first-time out-of-town appearance at The Flying Cloud Folk Club, one show only.

website : www.finestkind.ca