Over 1,500 ACS families and friends turned out for our One Christmas Night festival on December 2 — a joyous celebration of the birth of the son of God, Jesus our Savior. There were fun activities for adults and children to experience, including a live nativity, a hayride, pony rides, a petting zoo, inflatables, Christmas craft making, and face painting, with a magic show and balloon twister added to the list this year.

Throughout the evening, students from elementary to high school entertained festival-goers with lively band and vocal performances of favorite Christmas songs. There were performances in the gym by the 4th and 5th Grade Bands, the Middle School Band, and the High School Band, under the direction of Band Director Tim Rosie. The Middle School and High School Worship Teams, led by staff members Kelly Flynn and Julie Zimmer, presented 15-minute performances throughout the evening of popular Christmas carols on an outdoor stage in front of the main school building.

There were also lots of opportunities to pose for photos, at the live nativity, with the Grinch, and with Frozen characters Belle and Olaf. Families gathered together around the fire pits to warm up or roast marshmallows to make S’mores. They also got an early start on Christmas shopping as they visited nearly two dozen vendors in our Christmas Bazaar. Thank you to Stir It Up catering in Northfield, Root Cellar Tavern in Dorothy, our Parent Teacher Fellowship, and Chef Steve’s Popcorn for providing dinner, desserts, and hot chocolate to satisfy even the hungriest festival-goer.  Popular new dessert offerings were a candy bar created by the ACS cheer team and glow-stick cotton candy, offered up by the Santos family.

Thank you to the faculty, staff, and parents who volunteered to decorate the campus and served throughout the night to make our 2nd annual One Christmas Night an enjoyable event for everyone who attended. Thank you also to staff member Bill Smallwood for building a new stable for our nativity and to ACS parent Michael Flynn for building a new large ticket sales booth. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and hope to see you at next year’s festival.