May is a busy singing month...

First of all, thanks to the 27 or 28 singers and maybe a few more depending when the singers were counted at the Northwest Arkansas Sacred Harp Singing Convention in Harrison, at St. John's Episcopal Church's Parish Hall on Saturday, May 4th. I always try to take the "official count" at lunch time but people kept going back for seconds. We are blessed with good cooks and many helpful hands in the kitchen. We especially enjoyed the singers from the St. Louis area, the East Texas singers and other visitors really helped add depth to our local singers. All in all, very good singing and that strawberry pie for dessert was gone before people could put their plate on a table and get back to the table with all the desserts. Thus "B.R.'s Rule" learned from 77 years of church and lodge suppers of getting desserts on the first pass and vegetables on the second trip through the serving line.

Special thanks to Dan, Andrew, Syd, Norma and all the other local singers who made St. John's Episcopal Parish Hall a wonderful place to sing, and everyone who pitched in and helped at various times during the event.

May will continue to be a busy singing month. The Shiloh Singers will have their "Mother's Day Singing" on May 12th from 1:30 until 4:00 P.M. You are invited to take your Mother to lunch and then bring her to the singing to let her see what you've been doing on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The usual Shiloh table at Springdale's famous AQ Chicken House, 1207 N Thompson St, will be in session for those who get there around 12:00 noon, Springdale time. Hope you'll come and enjoy visiting with good friends and other singers.

______

Use Google Drive Link for full size copy. 

There are two very special singings in the southern half of Arkansas in May. The first event is on Saturday, May 18th in the Old Washington Methodist Church in Washington State Park, which you might suspect are both located on Highway 195 in historic Washington, Arkansas. Singing will start at 10:00 A.M. and conclude at 3:00 P.M. For more information contact Rev. Keenan Williams,  870-777-1355 or Robert Vaughn, rl_vaughn@yahoo.com. You can download the event flyer at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z_fS13uLp_1aSb2H0JvhtWn3IzUHWuV0

The second event is the Old Folks Singing at the Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Tull, AR, on Sunday, May 19th, that continues a tradition started in 1885. The singing will use the Christian Harmony and the Cokesbury Hymnal (7-shape book). For more information about the history of the Old Folks Singing visit:  http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7336#
There is also a short YouTube video about the singing at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Nyb719Mxc&feature=youtu.be
For more information contact: 501-778-6242 or siskarencats@aol.com

1913 Old Folks Singing. There's a new church & dress has changed,
but the singing and community spirit continues.

______

And if the two events down south are just too far, there's also the 4th Sunday Singing at the West Fork Library Meeting Hall from 1:30 until 3:30 P.M. This is an informal gathering intended for those old or new singers who just want another chance to practice or learn more about Sacred Harp singing. As is always the case, new singers and visitors are welcome. You can just listen, or tap your foot, or get a book and follow along, and we hope you'll want to know more about shape note singing as practiced by pioneers moving west and sing along with us.

As I said, May is a busy month for singing in Arkansas. We appreciate all the groups that are sponsoring Sacred Harp Singing in Arkansas. I hope you'll take the opportunity to join with other singers and as the song says, "We'll all sing on!"