https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVt1ZFp_zY4&feature=youtu.be
A group of Leaside and area kids have banded together in a six-person choir to do something good. “I always wanted to do community service so I rounded up some friends who I knew could sing,” said organizer Emilie Chodat. “It was my Dad’s idea, but I really liked it,” she said. Between them, Emilie and father Steve, found a welcoming reception at three large local restaurants where the kids could sing their carols. “For the restaurants, it was all about community,” said Steve Chodat. They are Against the Grain, Leaside Pub and the Local. Thursday (December 17, 2015) the five girls and one boy, all between 11 and 13, sang their selection of carols and Christmas favorites to diners and bar patrons at the three restaurants and — as might be expected — they were greeted with applause, cheers and shouts of support.
TRACE MANES PROJECT
The children seemed to love it and parents who came along were both proud and appreciative of the friendly patrons. The idea was to draw attention and receive donations to the Trace Manes Park Playground Project in honour of Georgia Walsh. The singers collected $605. Georgia was killed by a car at the corner of Millwood Rd. and McRae Drive in July, 2014. Steve Chodat said his daughter Emilie is a voice performer at Musica music school on Laird Drive. She arranged for the newly-formed Leaside Carollers to take some coaching from a teacher there.
FUNDRAISING
Also present Thursday night was Jillian Walsh, Georgia’s mother and the mainspring of the plan to modernize the Trace Manes playground. Ms. Walsh spoke of the launch of a formal fund-raising which will take place early in 2016. The new playground is estimated to cost about a million dollars, a reasonable figure for a complete renewal including a super-safe rubberized field underfoot and the replacement of the wading pool with a modern splash pad. The new mechanics of a splash pad are estimated to cost half of the proposed budget. All monies are held by the City in trust prior to construction. Thanks to Steve Chodat for this video taken at the Leaside Pub.
