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Holiday Toy Drive with Celebration and Hope's Door

by Zoe Frost
hen thinking of the holidays giving is one of the first
things that comes to mind. In addition to the ways emergency shelters over the year.
Wwe show people we care all year, we put a little They assisted 167 families through
extra effort into this time of year. With your help, Celebration a transitional housing program once
Magazine is giving back to the community by collecting new, those individuals were ready to move
unwrapped toys during our Pizza & Pajamas Christmas Sing- to their own place.
a-Long. Together we can be the reason for the season by helping
The toys collected at this event will be donated to children make Christmas a little brighter for families residing in their
at the local non-profit, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center. shelters over the holidays. One small act of kindness CAN
Hope’s Door is dedicated to building lives without violence make a difference in a child’s life.
in our community. They help individuals and families escape Join us on December 19th at 2:00 PM for Celebration’s Pizza
and heal from domestic abuse, dating abuse, and family & Pajamas Christmas Sing-a-Long. Be sure to bring a new,
violence through free trauma-informed services. Hope’s unwrapped toy for entry to this festive event.
Door New Beginning Center has educators that enhance the
community through free educational programming to schools For more information or to see how you can help Hope’s Door
and organizations. Their programs are proactive in helping New Beginning Center, visit their website at www.hdnbc.org
to educate young women on how to recognize the signs of a or call (972) 422-2911.•
potentially abusive relationship.
Hope’s Door New Beginning Center has two Outreach Centers
and two shelters, one each in Plano and Garland. In 2017,
their crisis advocates answered 5,855 calls to their emergency
hotline and had 573 adults and children in residence at their
The Magical Musician

by Micki Sander
everal months ago on a gloomy Saturday night a friend of
mine asked what I was doing and I responded "not much". went on to Southern University Illinois where he studied English
SShe asked if I would like to take a ride out to Lake Lewisville and music. Again played with several bands in East St. Louis and
and have dinner at Mrs. Livelys Café? She then described the food picking up different instruments along his growth journey. His
which was very much Cajun and since that is food rarely served head and heart belong to music, even now he
around here, I said yes. practices daily.
Well that was just the beginning of an incredible He then went on the road with a Rhythm and
evening and a wonderful future, they have Blues Band and traveled for quite a few years.
great food but the specialty of the evening was Larry has worked with the Rick and Neal
a Magical Musician, Larry Barnett. His music Singers, the Sahara Hotel, played in Las Vegas.
reaches down into your heart and soul,and I could go on and on about his past history
makes you feel alive and ready to dance. Larry especially playing in Nashville, however, I
takes you back to your youth and makes your truly hope you will have and opportunity to
heart and soul come alive. It is difficult to sit in spend and evening listening to his Magical
a chair and not get up and dance, even if it is by Music.
your self. We stayed until close-up time, just to
enjoy the music. He has gigs in this area at the Music City Mall,
I went over to ask Mr. Barnett how long he will be traveling to Los Angeles this week and
returning to play at many places in the Dallas
had been playing all of those instruments and Area. We are fortunate to be able to hear him
singing,what an incredible voice as well. He at the Music City Mall, Mrs.Lively’s, and keep an eye out for when
plays 5 instruments – the guitar, the clarinet, the flute and the banjo. he will be at Chamberlin’s and many others in the area.
Wow !! Larry was very accommodating, and I thanked him for
being so gracious after working so diligently for quit a few hours, You can get an idea of how special he is by going to his website,
almost four. SaxMagic.com.
I asked if we could sit and visit sometime to discuss his career and I am grateful to have gotten to know this gentlemen and hear him
he generously said yes, so we took each other’s phone numbers and at several venues. He is also a wonderful grandfather to his young
I could not wait to sit and find out who he truly is and where he got granddaughter and enjoys sharing time with her and his son.
involved with music. He was ten years old when he picked up the Hope you take time to listen to this Magical Musician, Larry Barnett,
Clarinet in School and played for the band. When he graduated he whose voice is also golden.•

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