NAC launches the Share the Spirit holiday campaign for deserving children and families

The National Arts Centre (NAC), with the help of generous sponsors and patrons, is bringing the magic of live performing arts this holiday season to hundreds of deserving children and their families in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

Share the Spirit, an exciting initiative announced today, is aimed at families who, for economic or health reasons, may not have the opportunity to enjoy live performances at the NAC between now and Christmas. Share the Spiritwill enable them to attend performances and open rehearsals of holiday classics such as Handel’s Messiah,Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker and A Leahy Family Christmas with the NAC Orchestra – for free.

Ticket recipients will be chosen by the NAC’s community partners including Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Candlelighters, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation, the Ottawa Food Bank, the Sens Foundation, and the Snowsuit Fund.

Musicians from the NAC Orchestra will also visit and perform for patients at CHEO and Roger’s House and their families who are unable to attend shows. Finally, National Arts Centre patrons will also be encouraged to drop off non-perishable food and gently used children’s winter outerwear in a drop box located in the NAC lobby until Christmas.

“The generosity of our partners will provide a special holiday treat to many families in our community who don’t normally have the opportunity to attend live performances,” said Jayne Watson, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation. “Children’s eyes will be filled with wonder at the sight of Filbert the dancing bear in Nutcracker; there will be goose bumps as Ebenezer Scrooge is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future; spirits will soar upon hearing the sacred hymns of Handel’s Messiah as well as the fiery Celtic tunes of the Leahy Family and the NAC Orchestra. In other words, it will be an unforgettable holiday season at the NAC.”

Share the Spirit is made possible by associate partner Tim Hortons, supporting partners Bostonian Executive Suites Hotel, Mark Motors of Ottawa Ltd and Trinity Development Group, and various partners including the Hon. John Manley and Judith Manley, Tom Manley, Gilles A. Leo, Cedric Nowell, K. Elizabeth Stewart, as well as the NAC Employee Association, the National Arts Centre Orchestra Players’ Association, and dozens of generous NAC patrons who helped cover the $75,000 cost of the initiative.

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