The annual and much beloved Parade of Choirs is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3.
This year’s Parade of Choirs is dedicated to Jim and Ruth Fraser who both passed away in 2018. They both dedicated many years to Hough. Jim was one of the founding members in 1972 and remained on the board through 2018. Ruth gave many hours support to our group as well. We will miss them dearly.
What is Parade of Choirs? In 2007 the Men’s Choir headed by Bill McDonald, offered to donate their talents to raise funds for Hough Memorial Cancer Society. We have joined forces with them every spring since then to bring Williams Lake a musical afternoon jointly organized with various choirs from the surrounding communities. Thus the Parade of Choirs.
Hough and the Men’s Choir book the Cariboo Bethel Church, put the call out for musical groups and this year Carl Johnston from the Men’s Choir has joined together the Cariboo Men’s Choir, Eclectica from 100 Mile, Quintet Plus from Williams Lake and more, to donate their time to bring you music. Hough members collect donations at the door and welcome people to the venue.
READ MORE: 11th Annual Parade of Choirs raises $3,600
Hough Memorial Cancer Society was started in 1972 after Lillian Hough had lost her husband to cancer where early detection could have saved his life. A group of people decided to collect funds to purchase equipment for our local hospital so detection could be done here in Williams Lake rather than people having to be sent to larger centres for scopes etc. Since that time Hough has collected over $3 million from our community and purchased many, many scopes and equipment for our doctors. This has been beneficial to our hospital in that they can bring in surgeons, additional staff and do many more scopes and keep people in our community. This grows our community as well as giving us a better hospital. The money comes from the community, stays in the community and helps a healthier community. The dollars involved are huge and ongoing. A single scope is usually in the 20 to 30 thousand dollar range and only lasts five to ten years. We are always receiving requests to replace old outdated equipment. We have just purchased an endoscopy tower that provides power and digital visual screens for the surgeons. The tower was required because the old tower was not compatible to the new digital scopes we were purchasing. Money for replacements is always required.
READ MORE: Parade of Choirs an enchanting afternoon of music
My favourite part about the Parade of Choirs is the coming together of community to support an important cause needed in the community, with a bonus of enjoying beautiful music presented by the community. This event showcases many of our talented community members in their various choir settings with a culmination of a total group finale that Carl puts together for the community. We don’t know the final song until it is sung. The whole afternoon is of old and new songs. Many that attend relate to days gone by and love to sing along quietly while absorbing memories long forgotten.
Everyone young and old are invited. Admission is by donation. Tax receipts are available. This year it is March 3 at 2 p.m. at Cariboo Bethel on Western Avenue.
Come and enjoy.
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