Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Staying Home, Staying Safe, Missing Singing with all of you!

BREAKING NEWS: The 2020 "Shape Note Gathering has been cancelled due to pandemic.
FROM: Charley Sandage

We must regretfully announce that the Covid-19 situation compels us to cancel the 2020 Shapenote Gathering set for July 9,10, and 11at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas.  Please circle your 2021 calendar for July 8,9, and 10 and join us then.  We will be adding sessions for beginning shapenote singers and offering documentation for continuing education credit for in-service teachers.  For the non-singers in your family, the crafts village and  old-time music at the Ozark Folk Center, nearby Blanchard Spring Caverns, fishing and boating on the White River, and the legendary music on the town square can more than fill their time while you join Gaylon Powell, Dan Brittain, and the rest of us for learning and singing in the "hollow square."

Charley added, "Please circle your 2021 calendar for July 8,9, and 10 and join us then. We will be adding sessions for beginning shape note singers and offering documentation for continuing education credit for in-service teachers.  For the non-singers in your family, the crafts village and old-time music at the Ozark Folk Center, nearby Blanchard Spring Caverns, fishing and boating on the White River, and the legendary music on the town square can more than fill their time while you join Gaylon Powell, Dan Brittain, and the rest of us for learning and singing in the "hollow square."

I'm sure all the Shiloh Singers would add our appreciation to Charley and the planning committee, the Arkansas Folk Center Staff, and everyone in Mountain View who worked to get all the moving parts necessary to hold a successful singing in place. That's also true of other singings on the Spring and Summer Arkansas Sacred Harp singing schedule. But while disappointed by the spread of a pandemic, we need to keep all our singers and keep our larger family of singers safe. I'm sure that we would all agree that our singers are more important than any individual singing.

...and we'll all sing on!

More "Breaking News" and updates when we get them. Hope to sing with you soon!