What do The Temptations, Gladys Knight and a host of others who made the “Motown Sound” a cultural force have to do with Christmas? Plenty for youth at the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle. They will present “A Motown Christmas” Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10-11 at McComas Hall on the Mississippi State University campus. Performances will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10 and at 3 p.m. Dec. 11.
The stage play performance includes about 30 youth who are members of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Columbus and Starkville. Shayla Jefferson, unit director of the Starkville club, wrote the original script that tells the story of Motown and celebrates the work of the nonprofit club. The program incorporates music made famous by multiple artists, including Michael Jackson.
“We’re really excited about it,” said Nadia Colom, chief professional officer of the Columbus facility. While youth have been involved in other fundraisers the club has hosted this past year, such as a golf tournament, the holiday program is centered around them.
“We wanted to have something that would have our kids at the forefront, something that would showcase their talent,” said Colom. “We thought this would be really fun. If this one goes well, we hope to make something like this an annual event; we thought Motown would be a great place to start.”
Proceeds from the show will be used to expand services offered at both the Columbus and Starkville facilities, which serve youth ages 6 to 18. The Boys and Girls Club receives most of its resources through fundraising and grant-writing.
“This also gives us stronger community exposure,” said Colom. “When people hear about the Boys and Girls Club, they think it does good work, but some don’t really know what we do. We want to tell about the programming we offer.”
How to go
Tickets for “A Motown Christmas” are $10 for youth and $15 for adults. They can be purchased in advance at the club in Columbus at 1815 14th Ave. N., or at the Starkville club at 911 Lynn Lane. Tickets will also be available at the door.
For more information, visit bgcgoldentri.org or call 662-418-7285.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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