Over the last month, Wesley Hall, aka Big Snipes, has been rockin’ it with the Mt Zion AME Male Voice Choir as the guest act for the choir’s annual summer island tour.“This is not my first time ministering with Mt Zion,” Big Snipes shared. “We’ve shared stages locally, but this is the first time touring together. It is an honour to be chosen as the guest artist this year. I have followed them for years, but to share a stage with them? It’s a beautiful thing.”The annual series, which includes weekly concerts at different locations across the island, featured three concerts this year, with the last one in St George’s this past Thursday.“I wish I could do another one!” Big Snipes exclaimed.Big Snipes’ line-up has included five songs from both of his albums, “The Next Level” and “Buffet Style,” and included titles like “We’ve Come to Praise Your Name,” “Bless Me” and the kids’ favourite, “Happy & You Know It.”Through the past year, Big Snipes has kept himself busy with visiting local schools and sharing positive messages with children.“It has always been our dream to go back into the schools to meet the students and faculty. As our youth are bombarded by so many negative images and messages, it is our mission to provide a fun, interactive experience. We have sung, spoken, danced and even prayed in the schools.“We were pleasantly excited to find that many of the children and staff knew the music, especially from my “Buffet Style” album, and “Purpose & Plan,” as well as “Happy & You Know It” are some of the most popular songs.“We are grateful to the schools we have visited and look forward to attending even more schools in the near future.”Added to his act this year was a giant puppet-style version of Big Snipes himself, Biggs the Mascot.“[The kids] LOVE Biggs the Mascot! In many of our appearances, the children are very fascinated and excited by the larger-than-life version of Big Snipes.“When I thought about doing ministry, I always wanted to present the Gospel message in a different and exciting way. In 2010, I had been considering ideas while on the internet when I was inspired to create a mascot. We visited a few websites and a compony in Toronto was more than willing to make the dream come alive. Within three months, Biggs the Mascot was born and hasn’t missed a step yet! We have been everywhere from schools to birthday parties, churches, and many concerts — even a wedding!”The big secret, however, is who really is Biggs the Mascot — and that is a secret Big Snipes is holding very close.“Biggs is a character version of me. So whatever I do, Biggs will do. He helps my ministry immensely because he attracts the attention quite quickly. Also, he is loved by all ages, not just the children. Seniors also enjoy the mascot. Having a mascot also gives us even more opportunities to interact with people and build relationships. That is the essence of what I do — to encourage people. That’s why Biggs has a permanent smile.”In the near future, Big Snipes plans to be very busy with concerts, including a benefit concert at the SDA Hamilton Youth Centre on July 29, a Gospel concert at Victoria Park on August 5, touring in Atlanta with the Mt Zion AME Male Voice Choir at the end of August, and then at Harbour Nights with Big Brothers Big Sisters on August 29 and Back to School festivities at the store, Mystique’s, on September 1.He is also in the middle of a Christmas recording project, expected to be released in November.Anyone interested in having Big Snipes and Biggs the Mascot visiting their school or event can contact Cha’Von Clarke at Spotlight Agency on chavon@ckccorporation.com, or by visiting the Big Snipes pages on Facebook or Twitter (@BIGSNIPES7).