Carolighting ceremony lacks volunteers, funding

An annual South Carolina Christmas tradition that was in danger of being canceled this year will happen after all.

After months of attempted planning for the annual Governor’s Carolighting Ceremony, the Breakfast Optimist Club just couldn’t seem to find a way to make it happen.

“After looking at the figures at the beginning of the week, we just didn’t see how it was going to work” President Paul McClanahan said.

The event began in 1954 but the Breakfast Optimist Club has been organizing the event since the mid-1960s. Paul said the event usually takes about a year to plan and costs a considerable amount of money.

“We repeat plenty of things from year to year; in fact probably three quarters of our music program is repeated. But some isn’t and you have to buy all the sheet music and get everyone to practice together and travel,” McClanahan said.

But the real issue, McClanahan said, is the lack of volunteers.

“A number of people in leadership positions in the Carolina’s have all moved or retired or died and those positions were not being replaced,” he said.

McClanahan said the number of people both participating in and organizing the event have decreased this year.

The Carolighting Ceremony requires choir directors, band directors, more than 1,000 musicians, hundreds of high schools and universities, choirs from many churches and the Columbia children’s choir with about 300 voices.

Also, between 12 and 16 handbell choirs have performed along with the University of South Carolina trumpet ensemble, master singers, USC choirs and the USC band.

Many high school students are also given the honor of being named to the Governor’s All Star Choir and Band, something McClanahan said is a highly regarded title. He said the students receive certificates and can put the event on their resume.

“I think you can see through the media attention that many people are upset about this. Some people have been participating since they were children and are full grown adults,” McClanahan said.

The Breakfast Optimist Club met Wednesday morning with members of the legislature and other city officials to see where they stood in putting together the event. After word got out that the ceremony was in danger of being canceled, it was decided that something must be done..

“The phone call came from my friends Rep. Rick Quinn and Rep. Kenny Bingham,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said. “They said the resources were not there and the event would be canceled.”

Benjamin said he was alarmed because he knew just how important the event is to both the community and the entire state. He said the tradition absolutely had to be continued.

“We decided we’re going to step up as a regional and bipartisan group of leaders to make sure the season of giving begins properly,” Benjamin said.

Quinn heard the news two days ago from his mother who was very upset about the event being canceled. He said he has been attending the Governor’s Carolighting Ceremony since he was 3 and now brings his daughter every year.

“It was a tradition that I wanted to help protect,” he said.

Quinn said he was glad to hear some enthusiasm when they began to ask for volunteers, one of which was USC. He said they will continue their involvement along with other churches in the state.

Quinn also said they will be asking South Carolina schools to participate.

“We’ve done bigger events before and that’s why I love Mayor Benjamin’s can-do attitude. I’m confident although it may not be the same and there may be a few things that are different (but) it will still be a great event,” Quinn said.

Leaders began meeting Tuesday and will continue to meet until Friday to reach out to volunteers. Benjamin said every person they have called has agreed to help with the ceremony.

“There’s a good strong spirit in this community and we’re excited to make it happen,” he said.