RUMFORD — The Rumford Association for the Advancement of the Performing Arts will host a special Christmas performance on Sunday, Dec. 2, in recognition of its 44th season.

The performance will take place at 2 p.m. in Muskie Auditorium at Mountain Valley High School. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Unlike previous years, there will only be one performance instead of two.

“By limiting the performances to one, it makes the event a little more special,” Jane Coomb, member of RAAPA and director of the program, said.

Coomb, of Rumford, has been with RAAPA since 1968, its second year.

“I guess that means I love it, right?” Coomb said with a laugh.

She said she sent out nearly 100 letters to former members of RAAPA or individuals who have performed with them in the past to see if they want to join the anniversary show.

She also said they’re adding two non-Christmas related segments to the show.

“Normally, when we do a Christmas performance, we have four different sections of Christmas material,” Coomb said. “This year, we added a pop music section where we’ll perform songs we’ve done at dinner theaters before, and we’re also doing a patriotic music section where we’ll sing the songs we usually do for the veterans.”

This will also be one of the first years where the performers don’t memorize all of the songs, Coomb said.

“Usually, the group memorizes the lyrics to each song, but this year, we’re only memorizing three things,” Coomb said. “A lot of the people who did these performances before are getting older now, so it’s harder to memorize each song.”

Coomb added that she’s surprised how many people have stuck with RAAPA over the years.

“Not very many people stop doing this,” Coomb said. “We have a median age of 60 for the group. There are some people in their late 50s. In fact, we just had two younger women who are excellent singers join the group.”

While the 44th anniversary performance is taking up much of her time, Coomb said there are plenty of other events that RAAPA is involved in, which keeps members busy.

“We do a lot of caroling at the nursing homes,” she said. “We already scheduled a performance at the Victorian Villa in Canton.”

As for her involvement in RAAPA beyond this year?

“I don’t know, I love it an awful lot,” Coomb said. “I don’t know if I can envision doing it for another 44 years.”

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