Sweet Adelines on Parade
As we stood there in the Calgary drizzle, draped in our Dollar Store rain gear and our snazzy new neck scarves, we were impervious to the cold and damp. We ARE Sweet Adelines and we were there to SING and share our love of Barbershop harmony. Come rain or shine, I knew it would be what we would make it to be...AWESOME!
The energy, enthusiasm and sound we produced would have even made the Funshine Care Bear with his tummy sun lighting up the darkest night, envious! The laughter, connections, unity and the singing was the order of the day, and we brought it to the parade route with gusto. We didn't get a chance to sing as much in the intersections as was planned due to an accident causing a delay in the parade, but we definitely worked on our cardio and breathing as we sang while we hoofed it down the route! Our handlers Don and Mary were very proud to lead us along the route and I don't know about all of you, but when the crowd cheered at that one spot, I looked around to see who they were cheering for only to find out it was for US! I think my feet lifted off the ground about a foot after that and stayed there for the rest of the route! I also loved how our directors Susan and Holly Jean engaged the crowds, bringing them into our celebration of song and our joy of singing. We may not have had Sweet Caroline contest ready, but the crowds LOVE IT! It was a great day and a great feeling to share our song and to sing with my sisters!
Now for all the thank yous, yahoos, and high fives - FIRST thank you goes to Joanne and her partner Andrew for being Rita's horsepower. Had I remembered to put AIR in the tires, their job would have been MUCH, MUCH easier. Sorry you two, my bad, but didn't Rita look resplendent in her chariot? I can only hope to look that great when I'm 88 years old! Thank you to our fantastic and energetic Directors, Holly-Jean from Alberta Gold, and Susan from Chinook Winds. I dropped the music organization into their laps and they ran with it, organizing us and making us look and sound great! One of the things I love best about Sweet Adelines is that there are always lots of people willing to step up and volunteer for jobs. With that in mind, I want to thank all of our banner bearers and signboard boosters. They may have started off light but it's amazing how heavy they get by the end of the route! The banners were designed last year by Donna Stefura from ROTR and the 2020 contest promo signs were designed by our own Region 26 Marketing Coordinator Stacey Rose! The beautiful neck scarves were created by Chinook Winds Edith Foster. Thanks Edith! You may have noticed this year that we didn't have golf carts. We were informed at the end of June that there were no motorized vehicles allowed in our section, which had us in a bit of a scramble until ROTR members Nancy and Vicki agreed to let us use theirs. Thanks to our Decorating Team (Rita from Alberta Gold, Fran from ROTR and Dawn from Vocal Motion) who did an AMAZING job don't you agree? Dawn made that awesome sparkling tiara! Don't ask how much glue she had to use! lol Thank you to Dawn and Mel from Vocal Motion for providing the sound system that helped fill out our sound on route. Kudos for the running it so perfectly while Pauline from CWSC pulled the wagon...kind of pat the head and rub the tummy type of coordination but you did it well! Thanks you also to last year's Regional Executive Committee (Marsha, Yvonne and Lynda) and this years Regional Management Team (RMT) who appreciated our vision and lent their support of this event. It is truly appreciated! A HUGE thank you to our Stampede Parade Prelude Planning Committee, Rita (Alberta Gold), Marlyss (CWSC), Fran (ROTR) and Dawn (Vocal Motion) who made my dream of being in the Stampede Parade reality for a second time! (It really is all about me! lol) My final thank you goes to all of YOU - whether you were there in person or simply with us in spirit, without your positive reinforcement and support along the way, as well as your energy, enthusiasm, SPARKLE, stamina, and incredible voices on the day, this memorable moment in time would not have happened. As your new water bottle strap says, I AM Sweet Adelines and you definitely proved it today! You have given me many memories to warm me when that cold wind blows up from the Atlantic ocean!
I don't know about all of you but that early start wiped me out but I'm back in the saddle once more. Many thanks to Dallas from Alberta Gold for sharing all her photos! Wonderful! Photos will be going up on the Region 26 Facebook page, in my Dropbox (just click on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wrjm378d6g10czl/AACJAM4P5-dhRz-ks5-1nRKaa?dl=0) and check out the next issue of the Maple Leaf Express as I'm sure there will be one or two photos there as well. You may want to check back to my Dropbox a couple of times for any new additions! One lesson I learned is that when taking a panorama pic on your phone, don't stop for pedestrians as you will end up with photos reminiscent of Picasso! If you have any photos to share, drop me an email at kimmartin@shaw.ca
Have a great Stampede everyone! Remember to share your song and your experiences wherever and however you can. Sweet Adelines on Parade, YAHOO! Oh one last thing:
Who are we? Sweet Adelines Region 26
What do we like to do? Sing
How do we like to sing? Together in Harmony!
laughing...We were going to get it eventually! Hugs to you all!
Kim
One of my favourite things about this event is having people from outside of Calgary travel to town to join us. To me, that truly shows the power of song. Welcome to Calgary Terry Pupp, Mary Dieser, Guilietta Puzzouli, and Wanda Dubois from Southern Accord, Dorothy Hoskin from Hearts of Harmony, and this year's winner for the furthest to travel goes to Danita Braun and Marilyn Trepus from White Spruce Chorus! I hope you had lots of fun and will spread the word!