By Violet Li
After a three-year break, Gethsemane’s Annual Clyde Carols by Candlelight found its way back to the lawns of Hillcrest Christian College Oval on Saturday 16 December to spread festive cheer.
Organised by Gethsemane Church and Charity, the show staged performance by local celebrities, pastors, charity founders, Kerrigan La-Brooy, the Sola Rimoni Sisters, Studeo, Eddie James, David Zhang, and The Curls.
Holt MP Cassandra Fernando, Narre Warren MP Gary Maas, Clyde CFA and the Cranbourne Lion’s Club were among the special guests for the event.
There were food vendors, craft stalls, raffle prizes, and giveaways, and fun activities for kids on site.
Around 2000 people attended the carols.
Gethsemane Church founder Kerrigan La-Brooy was happy with the turnout as the carols had been regathering momentum.
He said the show once had 8000 attendees at its peak in 2019 and he had confidence to make that happen again.
In addition to the outdoor event, Clyde Carols By Candlelight also had a Television Spectacular Premiers on Channel 31 as well as Gethsemane TV on 18 Monday December, where singers and musicians from America, Canada, Europe and other countries joined the celebration.
Mr La-Brooy said he first started the livestream during Covid and decided to keep the channel due to how popular it became.
“There’s over billions of views,” he said.
“You don’t have to worry about the weather, and you can include so many more people who can’t travel to Casey.”
Currently Gethsemane Charity is focused on wrapping over 1000 Christmas gifts for kids.
