Warmth and wassailing are the words with the recent wellspring of “Caroling for Coats” starting at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ligonier Diamond, during which volunteers will be going door-to-door, singing and collecting gently worn coats. All are welcomed to join and song lyrics will be provided. The choral affair will benefit outreach programs throughout Westmoreland County.

Organizers Christian Simmons, owner of Four Seasons Brewery, and friend Scotty Nelson came up with the idea while discussing plans to have a caroling night and decided to intertwine that with a charitable cause. They reached out to other organizations and members of the community in order to gather volunteers and as many coats as possible.

“We figured if we'd be using our time and energy, why not put some of that towards the good of the community?” said Simmons, who grew up in Ligonier. “Both Scotty and I have experience planning successful events and the chamber helped us out with our direction.”

Carolers will meet at the Diamond at 8 p.m. Aside from enjoying the songs of the season, residents will then have the opportunity to donate gently worn items to volunteers. Other drop-off points include the Ligonier Valley YMCA and Bailey Insurance Agency, located at 232 N. Market St. Collections will be taken at these locations until Dec. 24.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices will be providing cookies and hot chocolate prior to the caroling.

For those who may not be home or would rather not be disturbed on the evening of the event, garments will still be collected if placed in a bag and left on the porch.

As an added incentive, The Wicked Googly will be offering a 20 percent discount on food and beverages for participants from 5 p.m. to midnight on Saturday.

“This is about bringing the community together,” Simmons said. “We want it to be family friendly, too. Enjoy dinner before and meet us after. We'd love to see people from church choirs, everywhere, to join. This is about good will and warmth, and we hope to make it a yearly event.”

For those interested in taking part, more information can be found at the event's Facebook page, “Caroling for Coats.”

Rebecca Ridinger is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.

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