The overwhelming success of the Okotoks Christmas Concert last year has led organizers to make the event an annual celebration. John Fraser, a volunteer on the concert committee, said this Sunday’s concert at the Foothills Centennial Centre will likely sell out. Last year, roughly 750 people attended the event, he added.

“Ticket sales have been going very well. There are some very high-level performers, ranging from country to gospel to classical,” he said. Amos Garrett and Mike Clark, who were both recently nominated for Maple Leaf Blues Awards, will be performing on Sunday along with Mark Tardi, Darren Johnson, Paul Rumbolt, Mel Wilson and others.

Darrel Janz, who, along with Troy Laboucane, will emcee the event, is also scheduled to perform with his gospel band the Darrel Janz Group.

One of the highlights of the evening will be classical singer Katherine Ardo who has performed around the world including Carnegie Hall.

“There had never really been a high-level concert like this in Okotoks up until last year. Clearly there was a lot of demand of this type of thing,” said Fraser.

The Okotoks concert came on the heels of the hugely successful Diamond Valley Christmas Concert which is celebrating its 12th year. Fraser said the Okotoks performance is a carry over in the sense that a lot of the talent is the same, but it is certainly not a carbon copy. “It is a much broader spectrum of performers,” he added.