Last Thursday more than 140 students from John Field Elementary school and Kispiox Elementary school sung their hearts out in front of a large crowd in the multipurpose room at the Hazelton high school during the Up Your Watershed concert.
The children, who have been working on their songs for more than 12 weeks had a chance to rehearse with the dynamic ARTS duo on the Wednesday and early Thursday before the show and many were completely enthralled in what they were doing.
They sang songs about recycling, salmon and the impact humans have which inspired many students who wrote about what the songs meant to them. Some of these children even shared their thoughts and feelings to everyone during the performance.
For organizers and leaders Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright, the evening and performance was a great success.
“These kids did an amazing job and it really came together so well,” Arntzen said. “It’s wonderful to see how passionate these kids are and how committed they were to the performance.”
For teachers such as Tina Giguere, the event was more than she had hoped.
“I was totally moved to tears when I heard them practicing the other day,” she shared. “It’s really important to see our kids not only committed to something like this but to be so excited.”
For Kispiox Elementary school teacher Brian Prtichard, it was time well spent.
“This was a great experience for all of us and we are really glad we could be a part of it,” he said.
John Field Elementary school principal Brian Magnusson also shared how happy he was that his students were involved.
“They have been working so hard practicing for months and to see them all come together and what they are capable of has been amazing,” he said.
After the performance students presented both Wright and Arntzen with tokens of gratitude and many children ran up for pictures and last minute hugs which to many parents spoke volumes of the impact the duo had on the children.
On the weekend, the two also performed at the Kispiox Valley Community Hall for an adult evening of fun, called Death By Chocolate where people enjoyed listening to the music of ARTS while eating delectable chocolate desserts and enjoying a glass of wine or a hot beverage.
The concert was put on by the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition and Encorp.