Here are some of the things going on in your community this weekend:

Thursday, December 15, is Bill of Rights Day – marking the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights as the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. There are ceremonies all over Orange County commemorating the date – most notably in Hillsborough, which is celebrating with 225 seconds of continuous bell-ringing.

WCHL’s Aaron Keck spoke with Hillsborough town historian Scott Washington, who launched the annual bell-ringing event five years ago.

 

Also in Hillsborough, the Orange County Department of Social Services is holding its annual Toy Chest event this Saturday and Sunday, December 17-18. It’s a huge annual event: DSS turns its office into Santa’s workshop, opens its doors to low-income families, and gives parents a chance to choose Christmas gifts to give their children. Last year, DSS gave away more than 9,500 toys to more than 2,800 children. (Families qualify for the Toy Chest if their income is at or below 200 percent of poverty level. That includes thousands of Orange County families.)

DSS is currently seeking toy donations, monetary donations, and volunteers to make this year’s Toy Chest a success. To learn more about how you can help, visit hillsborough-nc.toysfortots.org, call (919) 245-2821, or email HolidayProgram@OrangeCountyNC.gov.

Aaron Keck discussed the Toy Chest with Sharron Hinton, the human services manager at DSS.

 

At Carrboro High School, the Jaguars wrestling team is sponsoring a Game and Gift Card Drive to benefit UNC’s Pediatric Oncology Clinic. (The CHS wrestlers got connected with UNC Pediatric Oncology a few years ago – when one of their own, Dante Veltri, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He’s in remission now and back on the wrestling mat; his mother Karen now spearheads the donation drive and a larger organization called Take Down Cancer.)

The team is seeking monetary donations and new board games, Xbox One games, and gift cards (ideally for Target or Walmart) – delivered to Karen Veltri at CHS anytime before Wednesday, December 21. (Email TakeDownCancer2@gmail.com for more information.)

Aaron Keck spoke this week with Karen Veltri.

 

And at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham, VOICES, the Chapel Hill Chorus, is performing its annual holiday show this Saturday, December 17. It’s called “A Celestial Christmas,” featuring a pair of holiday-themed works by Sir Karl Jenkins, the world’s most-often-performed living composer. (The show is at 8 pm; you can find more info and purchase tickets at VoicesChapelHill.org.

Aaron Keck spoke with VOICES’ Cassie Ford and trumpet soloist Paul Neebe – who performed a short piece from Jenkins’ “Stella Natalis.”