For the past four years, Orinda has kicked off the holiday season with a community gathering. On Dec. 5, groups of family and friends gathered at the Orinda Community Center for Winterfest. Beginning at 6 p.m., the community center filled with people ready to enjoy all of the festivities, including performances, refreshments, arts and crafts, and much more.
Before any of the other festivities began, the winners of the Orinda Gingerbread House competition were announced by Amálie Zahradníčková, a foreign exchange student from Tábor, Czech Republic.
“20 years ago, Orinda decided [that] they wanted a sister city and picked Tábor… Now they are trying to connect the cities, the kids, and the culture,” Zahradníčková said. “There is a competition every year, and [the competition] sends the winner here.” To win the competition, Zahradníčková had to write an essay and complete an interview in English, and the best candidate out of all the contestants would be selected to come and stay with a family in Orinda.
After the announcement of the gingerbread competition winners, the performances began. Starting strong, the OIS choir came in and sang three holiday songs: an a capella version of “Carol of the Bells,” “Svivivon,” and “Cold Snap.” The choir has been performing at Winterfest since it began, and always tries its best to bring smiles to the audience members’ faces.
“I want people to have fun. I want the audience to enjoy [watching] their kids [sing] and perform, and for the singers themselves to have a good time,” OIS Choir and Vocal Music teacher Christina Holling said.
Once the OIS choir wrapped up, different dance performances began, each led by A.J. Rogers, an event DJ. The first was a small group of children, ages 4 to 9, who performed a ballet and a hip-hop dance. The kids are a part of the center’s hip-hop and ballet dance class. After the children’s performance, tap dancers entered the stage and performed several songs. The final dancing performance came from the adult hip-hop group, dancing to the song “Breakin’ Dishes” by Rihanna. When all the performances were over, Rogers introduced himself and his classes to the audience and invited all the children back onstage for a picture and a dance party. The dance center is the newest addition to Winterfest, and seemed to be a great hit for all the kids. They all danced and sang while their parents joined or watched.
“[The dance center] may be something that we can expand on or we’ll have to come up with more performing-type activities,” Parks and Recreation director Todd Trimble said.
As the dance party continued, the rest of the festivities opened up for the community to enjoy, including the refreshments, a holiday book sale, face painting, and arts and crafts. The refreshments and treats included a selection of cookies, coffee, and hot cocoa. The book sale was hosted by the library, with a collection of many different books that related to the holidays, including Christmas stories, Thanksgiving recipes, and much more. Finally, the arts and crafts and face painting were run by the Orinda Teen Advisory Council (OTAC), a youth-run group that advises the Parks and Recreation Commission and helps plan community events.
“I love helping kids, and I thought it would be really fun to do arts and crafts together and be with everyone for the holidays,” Quintessa “Tessa” Linscheid said. “I hope to help kids have a really good time and help them make [ornaments] for their tree.”
With Christmas around the corner, the Winterfest helped to signal the transition from fall to winter, as well as give the community a place to connect. Though Orinda is a smaller town, it has a way of connecting everyone and forming a genuine community.
“I love the energy and all the people that showed up. All the performances were amazing. I think that the community here is amazing. I love it here,” Zahradníčková said. “More people [should] know about [Winterfest], and keep the tradition going, because it’s great.”
