Date: December 11, 2000

Back at the old stand. We are back at Église Ste-Sixte again on Monday! But you knew that.

Well done everyone! There were two major singing events and one sort of minor one in the past week. We performed at the St. Patrick's Society Christmas Concert at St. Patrick's Basilica.

Great hall, lousy sound system. (Who were those masked men masquerading as sound technicians, anyway?) As Rob noted in his email to the chorus, "It is better to sing well with a lousy sound system, than the reverse."

With the Thursday singout at Beaconsfield Shopping Centre, we outnumbered the audience. Those that were there did seem to appreciate our entertainment, and some followed us from place to pace in the centre.

Saturday marked the 40 somethingth CarolCade. We sang 10 performances and about 90 - 100 songs. Mind you there were at least 10 repeats. Nobody seemed to be sung out by the end of the day, although there were a bunch of tails dragging (mine included.)

December Dues are DUE! Pay-as-you-go Joe - Did you bring a Cheque! All members who have December 31 as their renewal date should bring in a cheque for $170.00 within the next week. They can then start to pay $14 per month for 2001. This helps us with our current cash flow problems, and makes the bite less painful. The $14 Monthly payment hardly hurts. (Nor does the $42.00 quarterly payment, if you prefer that.) This is encouraged for all members of the Chapter.

If you pay $14.00 at the first rehearsal every month, you save a couple of dollars, and make the payment process painless. Start NOW.

Post-dated cheques payable to Island City Chorus can be given to Ray Watkins, Chapter Treasurer.

We are invited to be part of the New Year's Eve Show, again. The patients at St. Anne's Veteran's Hospital really appreciate us singing on the wards, and participating in the New Year's Eve show.

We are asked to try and be there as soon as possible after 11:00 AM, so we can sing on the wards, have a bite, and be in the show.

This is a good day for the members and for our audience. Please be there.

Raising Funds. Please talk to Jerry Silverberg about any other fund raising ideas you may have. He is willing to consider just about anything that you would like to do (that isn't illegal!)

It would be a wonderful idea for us to have enough fund raisers that we have something that everyone likes to do. That way there would be no nagging from the front each week. That isn't fun for anybody.

Here is the reduced Chanukah and Christmas singouts schedule. Since we have completed over half the singouts, the list looks a lot less intimidating. Rudi Flaig has done an excellent job in lining up the events for us.

In general, singouts will be for one hour. The full chorus is required for December 6 and December 9. PLEASE LET ROB MANCE KNOW IF YOU WILL MISS ANY OF THE SINGOUTS! Check each date for changes! Full chorus costume is planned for each singout.

"Share the Dream!" It's as easy as 1-2-3. While we are out singing, take the time to ask someone in our audience to come and try our form of music. We want to encourage people who can sing, to come and enjoy the fun we have every week. Take up my challenge! Remember what got you into singing barbershop? In most cases it was because a friend, neighbour, co-worker, family member etc. asked you to come out once. After that first encounter, you were probably hooked. We are at a stage where we want to attract good singers to add to the great sound we are producing. Take the time to ask a friend to come and share our hobby. They will need to be motivated and able to sing, obviously, but the rewards are many and fun. Sharing is a good thing, so let's do it. It's as Easy as 1-2-3.

We are entertainers. The Chapter is in need of funds, and good fund raising ideas. Obviously singing is an ideal way to raise money. If you know of a group that is looking for some excellent entertainment at a reasonable price, refer them to Alan Kenley at 514-341-7171.

Now, I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before, but… Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men?

They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts and There would be Peace On Earth.

Christmas Pun: Good King Wenceslas rings up a local pizza restaurant to order a pizza:

"Certainly your majesty" says the manager "will it be your usual? Deep pan, crisp and even?"

Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!