Toni Booker, a solo vocalist who performs in the tri-county area, has hosted the annual party since 2020.
“In the beginning, I just invited the neighbors and they all showed up,” she said. “The second year, I invited a few more people and my neighbors opened up their yard and driveways. Because of the time that I have (the event), the sun is facing my house, so my neighbor across the street, Eileen, says, ‘You could come and sing on my driveway and that way you won’t be in the sun.’ So I did that a couple of times. They’re very giving people and so friendly.”
Booker said the goal of the event is get people together to enjoy live music and collect donations, including nonperishable food, unwrapped toys, and new or slightly used clothes to be distributed for the holidays.
“I’m always donating, whether it’s online or at the church,” Booker said. “This is a good time for people to clean their houses out. Whatever they want to get rid of, slightly used clothes or household items. I also collect toys, but they have to be new and unwrapped.”
The donations were picked up by Joe and Ginger Wray to be taken to the church they all attend, First Baptist Church of The Villages.
This year, household items were donated to local nonprofit Love In the Name of Christ Heart of Florida; toys were given to Christmas Blessings for Children, a subsidiary of Love INC and the nonperishable food and cash donations were given to First Baptist Church of Belleview.
“Joe told me that the pastor almost broke down in tears when Joe handed him the money,” Booker said. “He said that they needed to buy hot dogs for the next day and had run out of money. The pastor had just finished praying when Joe showed up. What a blessing that was.”
Booker said the support from her husband, Ronald, and their neighbors helps the spirit of giving and having a good time grow stronger year after year.
Residents of three homes opened their yards to nearly 100 people for this year’s event.
“I love my neighbors,” Booker said. “We do a lot of stuff together, especially on the loop, but we also come together as a community. My neighbors are wonderful. They really support me in this.”
Cindy Thompson, of the Village of Winifred, brought nonperishable food to the holiday fundraiser. She said next year, she’s going to arrive earlier to get a good spot.
“(The Bookers) so generously put this event on every year,” Thompson said. “They are wonderful and the nicest people ever. This really helps bring out the Christmas spirit and brings the community together.”
Booker said when choosing the songs to sing at the event, she pulls from her personal memories with music.
“My granddaughter approached me one day and said, ‘Grandma, can you make me a CD with just Motown on it?” Booker said. “I’m like, “Really? Ok, I can do that.’ But that’s because that’s what she grew up on. She likes all kind of music too and that’s the way I was raised. My daddy raised me like that because he likes all kinds of music. That’s what I heard growing up. That’s why I feel like in the crowd there are different people out there from different walks to life, so I try to give them variety every time.”
Along with performing Christmas music, Booker included jazz, R&B and country selections in the two-hour show.
“Especially with this age group, because we’re older, I tried to give everybody a little of everything,” Booker said. “I think of what I would like. I like doo-wop and R&B, but because of my mama, I was raised on country, so I like country too. I’m not a rock person, but I will do a little soft rock, because I know there are some people out there who enjoyed that back in the day when they were younger, because when I grew up, I grew up on Sly and the Family Stone.”
The event also included performances from saxophone player Michael Ballard and Simba Jordan, a country musician from Ohio.
Jordan is Booker’s nephew and has performed with his aunt countless times over the years, including at a driveway party Booker hosted in May.
Jordan said he’s heard his aunt sing his entire life, with his earliest memories of music being around 5 or 6 years old.
“I grew up on a lot of Motown with my mom and my grandparents,” Jordan said. “My grandfather was into jazz and my grandmother was into country. My mom was a jazz singer. During holidays, we were always at grandma and grandpa’s house. In the evenings, they would just start singing songs. A lot of times it was would be all the sisters or my Aunt Toni and Uncle Byrd singing duets together. It was always really heartfelt, good family times. It was a treat for everybody, seeing them gather around and sing. I loved it, but never at the time did I know I would be a signer.”
For more information about Booker’s upcoming performances, visit Toni Booker Music on Facebook or email tonibookermusic@gmail.com.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
