What better venue to celebrate Memories of Christmas than at the Goderich Museum. While the Goderich Laketown Band wasn’t there in full, All Mullin, Nancy Ross, and Tom Garrick were there, performing as the Suncoast Brass.
The rooms of the Victorian apartment were all done up in their Christmas finest, as was Main Street complete with it’s steam engine right out of Polar Express.
And all the while, our trusty conductor took us through all the old local train stops of Auburn, Blyth, Clinton, and Goderich. He was so busy, he couldn’t sit still long enough for me to grab a clear shot! His sense of humour and deft maneuvers made sure the audience didn’t miss a stop or any of the sights along the way.
While I won’t get into all the details of each stop, I will say that this was a very memorable night. Being greeted at the entrance with music by members of the Huron Harp School set the mood perfectly. This school is led by Sharon Johnston and is composed of members from ages 5 to 35, although it’s amazing that none of the women would admit to being any older though I have my suspicions ;-)
That Other Choir, all in period costume, also provided an amazing performance. Louise Dockstader has done an excellent job of directing this group of talented singers, and Sharon Johnston was everywhere, providing keyboard accompaniment as well as leading the harpists.
The evening ended back under the rotunda with the sounds of the Suncoast Brass and “That Other Choir” ringing from the rafters and the harps blending in from below.
The evening ended up all too soon, and I will definitely make this stop a priority for next year. The performance was packed to capacity so there is talk that they will do two performances next year to meet the demand. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, Huron County is a goldmine of musical and theatrical talent. We should be proud of our accomplishments and spread the word.
