Community spirit

Before you gather around your Christmas tree Dec. 25, you can sit at a table in a large downtown venue, munch on a cookie and listen to live performances of holiday music.

Or you can have your child make two wooden race cars in a toy workshop; one for himself and one that a charity will distribute to a family in need.

Or you can learn more about nonprofits in Winston-Salem as you watch artists paint representations of the organizations.

All this and more awaits visitors of Christmas for the City, which will take place Wednesday in the Benton Convention Center.

"The goal is to create a meaningful Christmas experience for the whole community," said Chuck Spong, the executive producer of Christmas for the City.

Spong has said similar things about other Christmas for the City celebrations, which started in 2008. But he stressed that this year will be different. It will be simpler and presented in one night instead of three. Also, the venue has changed; the previous celebrations were at the Millennium Center.

"It was clear that we had outgrown (that) building in terms of capacity and what we were trying to do," Spong said.

Spong also described a situation that had gotten complicated. Activities or presentations were happening in many rooms at the Millennium Center.

"We became almost overwhelmed by the project management of it all," he said. "We began to feel that the strength wasn't in having a highly complex, layered experience. The strength was in bringing the city together."

The 2011 celebration will focus on fewer activities concentrated in three areas of the Benton Convention Center. More than 20 churches in Winston-Salem are contributing volunteers or financial assistance. They include WinstonSalemFirst, which originally conceived of the concept.

Spong, who is also the executive pastor of arts and compassion at WinstonSalemFirst, said the event will cost about $13,000 for materials and rental of the building. If it were not for the in-kind contributions and volunteers, it would be almost 15 times more expensive, he said.

The programming will range from live music to demonstrations of visual art.

In the South Main Hall, for example, 80 tables will be set up so people can eat cookies, drink coffee and listen to choral or orchestral music performed by ensembles.

Some ensembles will be "mass" in nature, using members drawn from several churches. Spong said that one mass choir will consist of middle school and high school students. Another mass choir will perform gospel music, and another will present broader repertoire.

Richie Kingsmore runs an arts and worship ministry for high school students at Calvary Baptist Church. He will conduct the mass school choir.

"Students get to know other Christians," he said. "It's an opportunity to come together and share the good news and the hope of Christmas."

Hosts at each table aim to make guests feel as if they're being welcomed to someone's home, Spong said, as a means of emphasizing the building of relationships.

As for the nonmusical activities, several will be in the North Main Hall:

• Instructors from the Sawtooth School of Visual Art will help people create a mural.

• Santa will not only invite kids to sit on his knee but also pass out a book on highlights of Christ's life. "My Royal Mission" was written by Wendy Horvath of Awake Church and Kristen Edgar of WinstonSalemFirst.

• Middle and high school students will be able to chill out at the North Pole. There will be games, Christmas movies and tree decorating.

The North Main Hall will also have a toy workshop for younger children. The kids will make jewelry and wooden race cars, decorate cookies and paint scarves. They will be encouraged to make something for themselves and for charities that distribute Christmas gifts to families in need.

"They can enjoy the event, and it's also a way that they can give back," said Holly Potter, who is leading the toy workshop.

The lengthy hallway in Benton will take on an urban-street feel. Musicians will perform, and 11 local nonprofits will be portrayed by artists working on a painting with a representative from the organizations. The nonprofit will decide whether to auction the painting or display it.

Patti Hricinak-Sheets, who is coordinating the work by the painters, said the goal is to get people to ask questions about the artworks.

"That opens the door for the nonprofit to (describe) what they do," she said. "This whole event is about supporting nonprofits."