On May 31, 2:30 pm at the Harrison Hot Springs Memorial Hall, the Harrison-Kent Community Singers will give their final concert and it will be a good one! The ladies, who last year sang a medley of Petula Clark songs, will, this year - with the participation of the audience, bring back memories of more popular songs. And the men, who thrilled everybody with their "Beetles" surprise act last year, are all "shook up" to sing "Elvis Time" songs this year. It will be lots of fun so do make an effort to attend, especially since admission is by donation only!
As I mentioned before, this will be the choir's last performance. Why? In my opinion, it is a universal situation, mostly due to choir members and directors getting on in life and are ready to do other things such as travel, visiting with family and friends or - heaven forbid - writing stories! Also, some of them will find the demand of attending rehearsals and learning new songs being too strenuous, while others are joining even more demanding choirs. It's as it is, all things are coming to an end and all members of our choir - be it present or past - should be proud of our achievements and happy about the good times we had together.
We should thank all directors of our choir - present and past - for all their efforts to bring the best out of us. I am thinking especially of Corine de Groot who managed - more than 15 years ago - to get the fear out of us to even step onto the stage and taught us to sing in more than six languages! Beccie Bokenfohr, our pianist, who helped us - with great talent and humour - to see the fun side of learning and kept us "in tact" no matter what! And Brenda Di Rezze, who tirelessly taught us new songs as well as the finer techniques of choir singing.
Choirs and other singing groups are extremely important to communities. They not only provide education, they also bring fun and relaxation to singers and audiences alike. Singing is a large part of our heritage and culture and, in appreciation of this, the choir has decided to organize a farewell dinner to which all choir members - past and present - will be invited. It will take place on June 6th, 6 p.m., at the St. Anthony's Parish Hall in Agassiz. It will be free of charge and, of course, you can bring your husband, wife or a friend. And so, if you have been involved with either the HHS Multicultural Singers, the HHS Multicultural Choir or the present Harrison-Kent Community Singers and want to attend, please call Carol Hepnar at 604-796-2749 or any other member you know as soon as possible.
Speaking of choirs and singers: recently I attended a Mothers' Day musical afternoon at Logan Manor and truly enjoyed myself. It was an interacting program, seniors singing for seniors, ending with coffee and cake. Listening, I thought to myself that "yes, there is a season for everything!" They come and they go, but all of them are beautiful!
Note: There is a sing-along every second Tuesday of the month at Logan Manor and one every third Tuesday of the month at Cheam Village. The time is 2:30 p.m.at both places.