Monday, March 10, 2014

March Singing Opportunity - Historic Washington State Park

Old Washington Methodist
March Singing Update: Another opportunity to sing in Arkansas in the month of March, particularly for those singers in Central and Southern Arkansas. .

Dan Brittain received the an email Friday afternoon, March 7th, from Robert Vaughn in Mount Enterprise, TX with the final details of a demonstration singing that will be conducted in the historic Washington Methodist Church on the grounds of Washington State Park in Washington, AR on Sunday afternoon, March 16th, the last day of the park's annual Jonquil Festival. Washington and the state park are about 30 miles from Texarkana and 10 miles off and north of Interstate 30. For those in central and southern part of the state, this provides a wonderful opportunity to meet and sing with singers from Texas and others interested in shape note singing. The details were:
We will sing at the Washington Methodist Church in the historic Washington State Park in Washington, Arkansas. Singing will begin at 3:30 p.m. and go until 5:30 p.m. The park superintendent expects about 20 people who are not familiar with Sacred Harp. Any help from Sacred Harp singers will be appreciated. Because of this number of people, I will be making copies to hand out at the singing. Songs will be from both the red (Denson) and blue (Cooper) books -- so bring
Information on the park and church can be found here:
  Park Website:
  http://www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com
  Phone: (870) 983-2684
  Email: HistoricWashington@arkansas.com
  Church Website:
  http://owmc.ocwdg.com

Several of the above links can provide information about the park and church including maps. This will be during the 46th annual Jonquil Festival, which runs Friday through Sunday. More information at:
http://www.arkansas.com/events/details.aspx?id=91280

If you couldn't make it to the Missouri State Sacred Harp Singing Convention, this would be a good way to loosen up the vocal cords for our next regular singing in Springdale on the 13th of April. Hope to see you in Washington or singing with the Shiloh Singers in Springdale next month.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A couple of quick updates for March...

First, don't forget that our local March 9th singing in Springdale is recessed to allow as many as can to attend the Missouri State Sacred Harp Singing Convention near Washington, MO on Saturday and Sunday, March 8th and 9th. The Missouri Convention draws singers from Minnesota to Georgia and is a good way to get over any symptoms of "cabin fever" accumulated over the past few months. Links to convention details, maps, motel lists, etc. are available in the sidebar's Calendar section.

The next regular singing with the Shiloh Singers will be from 1:30 to 4:00 P.M. on April 13, 2014 in the General Store at the Shiloh Museum, 118 W. Johnson Avenue, Springdale, AR.

Second, regarding the Missouri weather, Syd received a note from Paul Figura, one of the Convention planners. Paul wrote:

... I am happy to give you an "all clear" for both here in the St. Louis area and some 60 miles West of us, at the Convention location  www.tinyurl.com/pinckney
 
Yes, we did have some sleet yesterday morning, topped by a thin layer of snow.  But the good news is that the highways and roads are clear now and the ground is already showing through, both here and at Pinckney.  What white stuff is on the ground should be long gone before this weekend.  The highs are forecast to be above freezing starting tomorrow, with clear skies.  The highs for Friday, Saturday and Sunday should be around 50ยบ F.
 
So - come on down, up, or over.  We will be honored to have you with us.
I have no doubt that Paul knows much more about Missouri weather than anyone else I know, but I wrote another member of the Arkansas contingent that I still plan to arrive at the church early on Saturday and Sunday and seek the high ground in the parking lot. It's an old Infantry habit from a long time ago and half a world away.

Hope to see all the Arkansas singers who can attend the convention on Saturday and Sunday and looking forward to April's flowers decorating the grounds of the Shiloh Museum on April 13th when we can all get together and sing together again.