Friday, September 19, 2014

Planning for a busy October...

"I'm not an alto."
We had a good singing on September 14th with all the parts covered with the 10 singers and 1 cat present. Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make it such a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

Photo: Joey, the visiting cat, decides which section to join while Katy and Cody continue singing on 9/14.

We also discussed planning for the NWA Fall Singing Convention and plans for the singing school on the evening of October 24th and the all-day singing on Saturday October 25th. Dan Brittain also gave us an update on the October 10th singing event in Little Rock. Thanks to Dan for taking a leadership role in gathering singers from all over Arkansas. Email: Dan Brittain directly if you can sing at the October 10th event.

What we know so far:

October 10, 2014:
The area for the singing will be in the Butler Center Galleries located in the Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI) at 401 President Clinton Avenue Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. The singing will start at 5:00 and finish at 7:30 with a couple of breaks during the event. Parking is available in the Main Library parking lot directly behind ASI. Dan added that there are several events happening in the area along with ours, so please try to arrive a few minutes early so that we can get properly organized before the event.
Update I  Glynn Garrett made the following suggestions on parking:
  • Parking in downtown Little Rock is challenging at best. Anticipate paying for parking at library, on street, in parking garage -- wherever you end up.
  • Suggest attendees have $5 for parking, and some quarters if they find an open meter. I think after 5 or 6 it's free at the meters, but not before.
  • Also, this time of day will
    have lots of traffic leaving downtown, and it may take a bit to navigate to the library.
Glynn also passed along a link to the UALR's Center for Arkansas History and Culture with more information about "Johnny Cash: Arkansas Icon," and opening night. See: http://ualr.edu/cahc/2014/09/02/1238/?utm_source=FacebookAd&utm_medium=Social+Media&utm_term=Event&utm_content=CashArticle&utm_campaign=Event

October 12, 2014:
Regular Shiloh Singing at the General Store at the Springdale Museum. Last chance to gather everyone's ideas for the Singing School and Fall Convention. BR is working on flyers and Gail Cowart has planned some new signs for the event. Space in the First United Methodist Church in Springdale across the street from the Shiloh Museum has been reserved. We also need to talk about the lunch plans for October 25th.

October 24, 2014:
Shape Note Singing School from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. Bring a friend as no prior experience is necessary and even experienced singers will always learn something new about Sacred Harp singing. We always need experienced singers to help the new singers.

October 25, 2014:
Northwest Arkansas Sacred Harp Fall Singing Convention from 9:30 to 3:00 P.M. Books will be available for loan or purchase, and lunch will be a "pot luck" lunch. For the map readers and GPS users, the official address is 206 W Johnson Ave., Springdale, AR 72764. However, we suggest using the parking lot on north side of building and annex entrance for easy access to where we'll be singing again.
Printable Flyer for the 2014NWA Sacred Harp Fall Singing Convention (PDF)
Printable Map for the 2014 NWA Sacred Harp Fall Singing Convention (PDF)

Further updates will be posted on: http://shilohsingersnwa.blogspot.com/  as they become available.

October 25th is also a "Football Weekend" in Fayetteville. If you plan to spend Friday evening in Springdale or parts north and sing on Saturday, you may want to quickly make reservations on the north side of town at some distance from the stadium in case some of those wild hogs get loose in the hotel hallways and escape capture in the morning darkness. I love the Arkansas Razorbacks and their fans, but I always like to think ahead as much as possible...\B)

Thanks to Syd Caldwell for being our group's "ambassador." Syd has called and visited with Darryl and Lea Criss several times and reported that Darryl has made sufficient progress that he has been moved to Health South, near the Washington Medical Center, in Fayetteville. At least that's a step or two closer to home for both Darryl and Lea. Please keep both of them in your prayers.

Looks like October is going to be a busy month but a good one for Sacred Harp singing in Arkansas.