This Friday, St. Jean Baptiste Parish in Morinville comes alive with the voices of about 200 singers from across central and northern Alberta.
In honour of the Morinville Centennial Celebrations, the 32nd annual Seniors’ Choral Festival has been tapped to highlight the power of song and the role music plays in our lives.
The non-competitive festival is an annual event that rotates among six northern and central Alberta communities. It was last hosted in Morinville six years ago.
Seven seniors’ choirs, in addition to the Morinville Minstrels, raise their voices with tunes from the early 1900s. The choirs include Westlock Merrymakers, Bonnyville Tune-Agers, Bonnyville Ukrainian Choir, the Fort Saskatchewan Pioneer Singers, Barrhead Versatiles, Athabasca Golden Memories and the Athabasca Marian Singers.
“This type of event brings back memories for seniors. Music is food for the soul. Everybody enjoys it. It doesn’t matter the age,” says Morinville Minstrel board member Lucille Dube.
She adds that many seniors today do not connect with the latest run of trendy pop culture movies, TV shows and concerts. But the Minstrels’ program, with Come Josephine in My Flying Machine, Ain’t She Sweet and Sunrise, Sunset, are guaranteed to give smiles to the grey-haired set.
In a nod to the town’s 100th anniversary, Minstrels’ musical director Dagmar Leitz also has the choir belting out Forever and Ever in the three languages of Morinville’s original European settlers — English, French and German.
“Singing puts you in a better frame of mind. I look forward to it and I enjoy the friendship. We’re not the best in the world, but we enjoy getting together and singing for people,” adds Minstrel singer Carol Kaup.
The choral festival runs from 1 to 4 p.m. and is free to the public. St. Jean Baptiste Parish is at 10020 – 100 Ave.
