The Okotoks Food Bank's Christmas Concert was held last week, and it was a resounding success.

It's an annual two-day event that serves as the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year.

The concert was held on December 12 and 13 at the Okotoks Evangelical Free Church, featuring local musicians including George Canyon, Brettyn Rose, Calum Graham, Haggis, Jim McLennan, and more.

Locals ended up raising $120,000, an all-time record for the event.

The food bank's Executive Director Pamela McLean says it's beyond the realm of what they ever considered possible.

"We don't think in terms of $100,000. If you can hit $75,000, that's like 'Wow, that's once in a lifetime.' To crack that 100,000 marker, I hope it doesn't scare them next year, that the expectation is that they always have to reach that. I think I'll call this one our Christmas miracle... I think $75,000 was the biggest that we might have had, and that was the concert following after one of the key founders, John Fraser, had passed. People were so generous then, it was their love of John that compelled them to donate as much as they did."

She says there's no shortage of people to thank, but the committee is a big one. 

"Obviously the committee went above and beyond for us this year. They knew how high the need was at the food bank this year. They would check on the stats and I always had bad news to tell them. Obviously, it motivated them, they worked so hard. Never before have they had four platinum sponsors, which is just phenomenal. That platinum level is $15,000 if I'm correct."

McLean also gave a shoutout to all the volunteers, including the event committee, musicians, and members of the church.

This came at a time when the food bank needed it most, says McLean.

"If they were going to hit it out of the ballpark, this was the year for sure. Regular hampers, we're signed up, we're full for the first two weeks of January. That's never happened before. I know we're going to hit the ground running as soon as we reopen on January 2 after a bit of a Christmas shutdown. It gives you peace of mind knowing that we are going to have enough to deal with what comes at us, at least for the first few months of the year."

The food bank has seen support from many other events and fundraisers lately.

Locals donated money, food, and toys to the food bank, Rowan House, and Victim Services at the 16th annual Charity Check Stop last week.

A few days before that, the CPKC Holiday Train stopped in town and raised a few thousand for the food bank.

McLean recounts receiving a much-needed helping hand with their Christmas hampers from Sobeys.

"I ordered for 220, and we currently are at 246. Before I had a complete meltdown, I got in touch with our butchers at Sobeys and the store manager, Jamie, and I said 'Hey, I've got 26 more than I was anticipating.' They delivered turkey and ham yesterday afternoon... It's just such a caring community, they came to our rescue yet again."

More information on the Okotoks Food Bank can be found on their website, and more information on the 2023 Okotoks Food Bank Christmas Concert can be found on their Facebook page.

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