Coral Coast Christian Church has shared the popular Bargara Carols by Candlelight with locals since 2000 but this year the event will be a little different.
Senior Pastor Brian Robertson said this year church members had to make the difficult decision to cancel the popular family Bargara Carols by Candlelight event and they're going online to help families continue to celebrate the meaning of Christmas.
The virtual 2020 Bargara Carols by Candlelight will be filmed in advance and premiere on YouTube a week before Christmas.
“This decision has been necessitated by the current restrictions associated with COVID-19,” he said.
“Although it is permissible to have 1000 people at an open-air event, the difficulty that we would face is the enforcement of social distancing when people bring their own chairs or rugs and choose their own seating arrangements.
“Furthermore, because our property is not fenced and people enter from all directions, we would have difficulty obtaining people's contact information for a COVID tracing register.”
Each year Bargara Carols by Candlelight attracts between up to 1800 people to the Coral Coast Christian Church grounds.
Carols Through Children’s Eyes
Brian said this year’s Bargara Carols by Candlelight theme is Through Children’s Eyes and the church members were committed to giving the community a local performance.
“We are hoping to create a virtual carols, that we will premiere as a YouTube presentation most likely on Saturday, 19 December 2020, so that there will still be a local Bargara carols available for people to view,” he said.
“We will have children in costume acting out the nativity scenes, telling the stories and singing the carols, so it will be Through Children's Eyes.
“I know there will be plenty of other carols on television, but this one will be extra special as it will be performed by people from our community for the local community.”
He said by filming the 2020 Bargara Carols by Candlelight in advance and posting it to YouTube would give families the chance to sit down and enjoy the spirit of Christmas together at their own leisure.
- Last year's Bargara Carols by Candlelight: Carols delights for 19 years
