By Renee Rinehart

The Signature Newspaper

LA VETA, COLO. – Dec. 24, 2009)  One of the best holiday gifts this year was given to the La Veta area by Ricky Tims and his troop of talented friends. If you missed “Christmas in a Small Town” last weekend, you’ll just have to buy the CD to get in the spirit.

The show blended holiday music from eras past as well as Tims’ new creations to present a spirited and enjoyable evening for all.

Tims held six local shows last weekend at the Francisco Center for the Performing Arts, featuring La Veta as the inspiration for his now annual Christmas show filled with music, singing and dynamic visuals on a screen in the background. Tims said over 430 people came to see the holiday extravaganza. While most were locals, others traveled from the Front Range, Texas, Kansas and Iowa to attend the show.

This year’s show was set apart from the previous years with the addition of the all female Veronika String Quartet from Pueblo. The string quartet added a bold, rich sound to the live music. The quartet accompanied Tims on the English song “The Holly and the Ivy” and the Latin “Personent Hodie”.

Local percussionist Johnny Watson added great rhythmic sounds as well as depth and interest to the show as he played the hand drums and bar chimes and showed the amateurs how to use a rain stick as a musical instrument.

The angelic Kat Bowser returned to La Veta from Nashville, Tenn. to belt out seasonal favorites like “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Favorite Things”. Bowser teamed with Tims for a third year to present the concert.

La Veta local Jeff Bilyeau, gave another extraordinary performance on the didgeridoo on several songs. Bilyeau also performed on the Native American flute and sang backup vocals.

Tims included Christmas songs from many cultures and eras in addition to his own creations. Tims warned the audience before the song titled “All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” that he thought it was an awful name for a beautiful song. “I called a friend from music school to ask her what she’d like me to include on my Christmas CD, and this is what she recommended,” said Tims.

Tims had a vision for the song, and shared it with the audience. A video depicting a late 19th Century family preparing for the holiday showed on a large screen behind the stage. Local actors dressed in period clothing carrying lanterns perfectly interpreted the haunting and seasonal melody.

With the help of locals Todd Emory and Jim Hoobler, a brand new horse drawn sleigh appeared along with costumes and cast members. The crew filmed the piece on Hoobler’s land in Trinchera last month. The young boy in the video is Hoobler’s nephew Hayden Arnold. You can now see the video on the website.

Tims included his own “Northern Lights” and the now famous “Christmas in a Small Town”. The latter is performed with the La Veta flare of familiar faces shoveling snow, singing carols and shopping on Main Street.

If you missed the show, you can capture the magic by listening to the music on CD, or go to the website to play a version of “Christmas in a Small Town”. Visit www.christmasinasmalltown.com for video clips and songs from the CD.

Reprinted with permission from The Signature Newspaper. December 24, 2009 issue.