ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: March 31, 2003 Last Monday before the Division Contest!

Everyone who is going to Watervliet, NY must have the proper identification (passport or birth certificate and photo id, or citizenship card), and allow sufficient time for the border crossing.

It will take about 3 ½ hours to get there. That means a very early departure from Montreal to ensure timely arrival.

Everyone should have signed up last Monday for a ride (if they needed one) and a hotel room (also if needed.)

Contest site - Watervliet High School

Friday - Quartet contest begins at 7:00PM. Key of Eh? is singing 19^th.

Saturday - Chorus Contest begins at 12:00 NOON. The Island City Chorus is singing 10th.

Where? It is at route 2 and route 787 near Troy, NY. Take US 87 (Northway) heading South. IMPORTANT!!! After Exit 8 stay to the right and follow signs carefully, so you can take Exit 6 in Latham, NY. At the end of the ramp (traffic light), turn left onto Rt.2 heading East for 1 km. Go straight around Latham Circle & continue East on Rt. 2 (Troy-Schenectady Road) for 4.4 km, past K-Mart on left & then downhill as Rt. 2 becomes 19th St., in Watervliet. At traffic light at bottom of hill, turn right onto 12th Ave. for one short block. Then turn right onto Hillside Dr. Go up hill 2 blocks straight into Watervliet HS parking lot. This map will help once you have made it to the general area. Don't forget your chorus costume AND your green shirt and tan pants.

I C 8, a VLQ (Very Large Quartet) with about 10 members has been registered to sing at the contest in Watervliet, NY, as part of the Western Regional Convention and Contest. They will singing two Barber Pole Cat songs. I C 8 is singing 1^st.

Get your souvenir lapel pin for the 2003 International Convention. They are on sale for $7.50 CDN or $5.00 US. This is going to be a major fundraiser for the Chapter, and Ron Schurman has already sent out letters to the Presidents of all NED Chapters, encouraging them to send in orders. Replies are already coming in.

Get a supply of pins to sell at the Western Regional Convention. Lots of barbershoppers will be looking to get a pin.

If you are interested in having fun while helping a good cause, you may be interested in bowling while raising funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the West Island. They are putting on their annual bowl-a-thon, and would appreciate the support of barbershoppers.

Plans are underway for the 6^th Annual "One Step at a Time" Walk of Hope so please mark your calendars now. The Missing Children's Network Canada, in collaboration with CJAD/MIX 96, is proud to announce that its annual Walk of Hope will be held on Saturday, May 31st, 2003 at Centennial Park in Beaconsfield, 288 Beaconsfield Blvd.

This is a great opportunity to be seen by the media. Let’s help raise funds for the Missing Children's Network and help raise awareness of barbershopping in general.

The committee chairs responsible for activities that will take place in the Bell Centre will be taking part in a walk-about prior to the next monthly meeting. This will help us in planning for the events and ensuring that the delegates and guests will have a good and safe time.

Jerry Silverberg has found us a source for walkie-talkies during the Convention and contest, and this will help facilitate quick and accurate communication.

We are in the process of ordering the volunteer shirts for the people who will be helping us with the Convention. One of the jobs to be done is a mass email to the volunteers to get their shirt sizes. We hope that way that people will get a shirt that fits. They definitely will look sharp.

We are very pleased that barbershop quartets have been invited to sing on the outdoor stages during the Montreal International Jazz Festival. This is a real coupe for barbershop, since it will introduce our hobby to a whole new audience.

The International Convention is going to take place in a little less than five months. We are accumulating the reserve of volunteers needed to make this a successful convention, and we have about 275 already signed up. Remember that we will need everyone's total commitment the week of the Contest.

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

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