Michigan Tour

The Winnipeg Children’s Choir left Winnipeg on Thursday, June 15th, 2011 for a nine-day tour to take part in Voices Without Borders (Children of the World in Harmony), a children’s choir Festival held in the Harbor Springs area beside Lake Michigan.  Our purpose was to have the choristers meet other singers their age and perform alone, as a Choir, and as part of the massed choir.

The tour participants numbered 21; 15 choristers and 6 adults.  The choir traveled in a Beaver Bus Lines coach, which included a galley kitchen.  This was a great help in being able to provide the children with snacks enroute.

We stopped overnight in Superior, Wisconsin and included a tour of the Great Lakes Aquarium.  Throughout the tour, the choristers were given many opportunities for sight-seeing including:

• Great Lakes Aquarium

• Hiawatha Statue
• Music House Museum, Acme Michigan
• Mackinak Island:
      Carriage Ride Tour of the Island
      Butterfly House (Wings of Mackinac)
      Shepler’s Ferry
      Mackinac Bridge
• Swimming and gathering Petoskey Stones in Lake Michigan
• Shopping, shopping, shopping
  

The choir spent the next night in hotel as well, as the festival hosting began the 3rd night and choristers were billeted to homes of members of the Stuttsmanville Chapel, where we took part in the Sunday morning Worship Service.  At their request we gave a 35 minute performance of Sacred Music.

Other participants in the Festival were:

• Artistic Youth Ambassadors of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with traditional and contemporary dances from Central and West Africa, who also led us in a wonderful drum circle.
• Dancers without Borders, from local Little Traverse Bay, Michigan.
• Mariachi Los Rebeldes from Phoenix, Arizona, performing Mexican music.
• Sol Art Center from Hanoi, Vietnam brought singers and dancers performing in traditional Vietnamese style.
• Little Traverse Bay Youth Choir, aged 10 – 18
• Winnipeg Children’s Choir, aged 8 – 16

During the festival the choir gave 5 performances and some impromptu singing in restaurants and other venues.

It was a wonderful experience for all.

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