The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Once a year Frontier Collegiate in Cranberry Portage invites everyone to celebrate the Christmas season by hosting a traditional feast and concert. This year it was held on Wednesday, December 15 at the FCI gym. In addition to Cranberry Portage residents, family and friends came from as far away as Easterville, Moose Lake and Sturgeon Landing. The menu of the feast was as varied as the dishes guests prepared to share at the buffet table. Roast moose and venison shared the board with homemade baklava and anything imaginable in between. The potluck augmented the traditional turkey dinner and all the trimmings prepared by Michelle Gilbert and the cafeteria staff. Entertainment for the evening has always been dependent upon the talents and skills of students and staff. Fortunately there has never been a shortage of talented performers on the FCI campus. The head of the Phys. Ed. Department, Mr. Brian McMillan, and the president of the student council, Mr. Jeremy Head, shared the responsibilities of emcee for the event. The evening began with Mr. Kevin Kapay who sang a variety of songs from gospel to rock. This versatile entertainer accompanied himself on the guitar and the harmonica. Perhaps the only truly silent moment during the evening was when Mr. Bob Hay asked for the blessing. Mr. William Taylor, Frontier Collegiate principal, welcomed everyone and acknowledged that student "stars" would perform during the concert. He also thanked various organizations and individuals for their assistance with the event. The first group up was Mrs. Veronica Knight's Cree choir singing "Jingle Bells" in Cree. Mrs. Pat Petryk accompanied them as well as the music classes that followed with their own performances. The two music classes played four selections on guitars and keyboards. Wonderful renditions of "What Child Is This?", "Winter Wonderland", "Deck the Halls" and "Silent Night" filled the gym. Cranberry Portage is still a Metis community so of course there were fiddlers. The fiddlers had the audience clapping and stomping time to "Flop Eared Mule" and "Rubber Dolly Jig". With accompaniment from Mrs. Pat Petryk and other FCI students, these performances sounded very professional. The audience provided thunderous applause and enthusiastic cheering for the dancers. Mrs. Cheryl Anderson's dance class presented a well rehearsed number. This was followed by a group of square dancers whose energy and enthusiasm captivated the audience. "FCI Rocks 1" and "FCI Rocks 2", two in-schools bands, rounded out the program. The audience definitely wanted to hear more songs from these bands and their singers, Lindsay Kosmenko, Errol Monias and Michael McDougall. Santa Claus brought the evening to a close. After handing out Christmas oranges he joined the FCI staff in singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". As the evening came to a close it was apparent that the "stars" did shine and that the audience left satisfied and filled with Christmas spirit.
