Wolf Trap to Host Annual Holiday Sing-A-Long, 12/7

To celebrate the joy of the holiday season, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts will host its annual Holiday Sing-A-Long on Saturday, December 7 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Featuring "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, along with choral and vocal groups from across the metropolitan Washington area, this family-friendly event will include an array of Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs to warm your heart and spread holiday cheer.

Wolf Trap also will host a Toys for Tots collection at the entrance of the venue prior to the Sing-A-Long. Guests are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the event. Toy donations are voluntary and are not required for admission. The Sing-A-Long is a free, non-ticketed event, presented by Wolf Trap Foundation to benefit the community. Gates to the Filene Center open at 3 pm. Parking is free. The Wolf Trap Metro shuttle bus will not be running for this event. Concessions will be open with holiday beverages and snacks available for purchase.

Following Wolf Trap tradition, both audience and chorus alike bring bells to participate in a "Jing-A-Long" during the song "Jingle Bells" and bring candles for an elegant candlelight procession set to a traditional performance of "Silent Night." Other holiday favorites included in this year's program span everything from "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Let it Snow" to "Hanukkah Dance" and "Dreidel."

The Holiday Sing-A-Long began in 1968 when Wolf Trap's founder, Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), invited local church choirs to her home to sing Christmas carols and share in holiday cheer. Since then, it has grown significantly, welcoming thousands of families and a multitude of volunteer singers from community churches and choral groups who fill the house at the Filene Center each year.

Choruses participating in this year's Sing-A-Long include the Capital Accord Chorus, Colvin Run Elementary School, Forestville High School, Good Shepherd United Methodist Chancel Choir, High Point High School Chorus, Idylwood Presbyterian Church Choir, Longfellow Middle School, Mount Vernon High School Melodious Majors, Mt. Zion Chancel Choir, St. Theresa School, Trinity Presbyterian Westminster Choir, and the UUCA TrUUbadours.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded by Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues, the outdoor Filene Center and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns is operated by the Foundation year round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera Company, one of America's outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap's education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program that was included in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's 2009 List of "Best Places to Intern." As part of its ongoing commitment to protect and preserve the environment, Wolf Trap offers metro access and is a founding member of the Green Music Group. Wolf Trap Foundation is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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