St. Charles Singers celebrate in style
When you've sung it all, what do you call your finale?
There's no guesswork involved in who these songs are for, when the title of your finale is "A Perfectly Fitting Finale: Works Written for the St. Charles Singers."
That majestic chamber choir will present that finale at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at its home base of Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles; and again at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at St. Michael Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton.
History buffs will be in for a treat, with the St. Charles Singers preparing for a world-premiere performance of "Lincoln Cantata," a tribute to our country's democracy written by a Hungarian composer to coincide with the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial.
Another interesting twist comes into play when realizing that the Hungarian composer is Gyula Fekete, who performed tenor with the St. Charles Singers when he was pursuing graduate studies in the Chicago area.
But there's more to this conclusion of the Singers' 25th anniversary season. A composition by longtime high school and college choral director, Robert Boyd of Westmont, will be performed. Those who have followed the Singers for many years know that Boyd has been singing tenor in the choir since 2000.
Single concert tickets are $30 for adult general admission, $20 for seniors 65 and older, and $10 for full-time students 23 and younger. Information is available at (630) 513-5272 or at stcharlessingers.com.
Not gone fishing: I often wonder why I haven't taken up fishing as a hobby as I continue to age gracefully.
I've lived near the Fox River all these years, but have gone fishing only once or twice in my life - when I was a young kid in Indian Guides. And I actually caught a fish. So it's hard to explain why I never took it up, other than I just wasn't around many fishermen as I grew up.
Kids in this area have a chance to get hooked on fishing because the St. Charles Park District is offering a Father's Day Fishing Derby, and it looks like a great event for a youngster and Dad.
It takes place from 10 a.m. to noon June 20 at Pottawatomie Park, and every kid who catches a fish will get a prize. And everyone gets a free round of miniature golf at the park.
Kids shouldn't be wondering what it is like to fish along the Fox River. They should be doing it with their fathers.
Helping those paddlers: Paddling a canoe is another thing people enjoy on the Fox River. And there will be plenty of that going on when the annual Mid-American Canoe Race takes place next Sunday.
Those who keep a close eye on this event surely read the story in the paper last week about canoe race organizers offering two races this year - a 10-mile and a 6-mile route. This increases the manpower needed to make sure the event runs without a hitch. Years ago, I did a story about the ham radio operators who monitored the race and kept in touch in case of emergencies. And that's only a fraction of the overall help needed on race day.
It's probably not too late to volunteer to help at an event that showcases the centerpiece of our valley. You can call Debbie Smith at the Fox Valley Park District at (630) 966-4555 or send her an e-mail at dsmith@fvpd.net to learn more.
That was a wet one: In honoring Public Works Week last week, St. Charles officials were citing some of the key efforts of public works employees last year. The sandbagging and cleanup efforts along the Fox River that followed the 10 inches of rain the area absorbed on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14 were mentioned.
While that effort deserves applause, the thought of that weekend would make Geneva festival planners cringe. They don't need to be reminded of the rainy weekend that wiped out their city's beloved Festival of the Vine event last year.
For all to see: The big turnout last weekend at the Freedom Shrine in St. Charles for the Memorial Day celebration made me glad about an effort put in by my service club more than 10 years ago.
The Tri-Cities Exchange Club erected the outdoor Freedom Shrine, a display of the most important documents in American history, just to the north of the St. Charles police station.
But Mother Nature wasn't too kind on the first set of documents we placed in the display. Over time, the sunlight faded the documents to the point they were nearly impossible to read.
Having the documents transcribed on more of a sheet-metal type surface proved to be a solution, and club member Don Haines spent a lot of time working to get these documents made and in place for outdoor viewing.
It provides a great setting for a Memorial Day service. More importantly, the shrine is there all year for visitors to admire the documents that trace our great history.
dheun@sbcglobal.net