Stoked for the Holidays is an annual all ages

music concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

held in

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

. The event takes place the week leading up to

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. The first "Stoked" was held in December 1998 and the show has run annually with the exception of December 2006, which was canceled when no suitable

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

could be found to hold the event.

History

Stoked for the Holidays was originally created by a group headed by former local promoter Scott Gillard. Over the years has been organized in association with the Youth Association of

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated t ...

, Gillard's LoCL Promotions, and is now a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

of Under the Underground/We Unite! founder Joe Costello and former LoCL employee Gillian Hillier.

Recurring themes

The main characteristics of Stoked for the Holidays are the "12 Bands of Christmas", 12 mainstage acts that are the main attraction of the show, and the annual "Stoked Afterparty", a 19+ event that takes place at a local bar after the show has completed. There is also a varying number of sidestage performances at the event, short sets of mostly solo performers playing at a special designated area. In previous years, bands accepted to play the concert have been mandated to include one

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

into their set. This has led to many memorable cover songs and originals such as Nothing to Say's rendition of ' Feliz Navidad' and

I Was a Spy ''I Was a Spy'' is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and starring Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall, and Conrad Veidt. Based on the 1932 memoir ''I Was a Spy'' by Marthe Cnockaert, the film is about her experiences as ...

's '

What Child Is This? "What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol with lyrics written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865 and set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song, in 1871. Although written in Great Britain, the carol today is more popular ...

'. In 2001, ...And Then They Fall wrote their own holiday inspired song that proclaimed "Scott Gillard (then organizer/founder of the event) is the Devil".

Association with cblocals.com

In association with local

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

CBLocals.com
, Stoked for the Holidays has been a platform for special merchandise available for the first time at the event. This has included three versions of 'Locals Hoodies', CBLocals mix cds, and even the screening/sale of CBLocals.com creator Harry Doyle's first skate film 'Scenery'.

Past performers

Some of the more notable performers at the event have been nationally and regionally recognized bands such as Slowcoaster, Rock Ranger, I Was a Spy, One Day Late,

Greg MacPherson Gregory Hector Macpherson (born May 3, 1950) is a Democratic politician in the US state of Oregon. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the state representative from District 38, which includes most of Lake Oswego and portions of southwestern Por ...

, The Lighthouse Choir, Drowning Shakespeare, Carmen Townsend and the Shakey Deals, and The Ballroom Massacre. Recurring events established in 1998 Rock festivals in Canada Music festivals in Nova Scotia {{music-festival-stub