Singers with Surrey-based Westcoast Harmony Chorus will be back doing what they love on Valentine’s Day this year.
Vocal quartets will roam the Lower Mainland on Feb. 14 with gifts of song for loved ones, wherever they might be that day, along with a personalized card and chocolate.
The “Valentine-o-grams” are a fundraiser for the chorus, still on a high after earning sixth place at the Sweet Adelines International contest in Phoenix last September.
“We’ve been doing this for many years, but this will be the first time since pre-COVID,” said chorus member Kelly Collins.
The for-hire quartets have walked in on romantic dinners, interrupted board meetings, been to schools, offices, construction sites — you name it.
“It’s always fun,” Collins said. “The person receiving it never really expects it, especially when we just show up and start singing.
“I organized one for my husband and we were all sitting around the dinner table with our kids, the five of us,” added Collins. “We had a knock on the door at 6 o’clock and in walk these women with a card and chocolate and they’re serenading my husband. It’s just a really unique gift that way.”
Starting at $25 for a telegram, a gift of song can be booked by email sent to valentines@westcoastsings.com, or call 604-250-6963. A $50 fee offers a four-window for song delivery, or $60 for a two-hour window.
This year’s special song is “You Make Me Feel So Young,” written by Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon in 1946 and later made famous by Frank Sinatra.
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Six or seven quartets of chorus members will travel and sing on Feb. 14 with hopes of raising a few thousand dollars that day.
“Aside from this being one of our biggest fundraisers, it’s about getting us back out into the community, singing, to let people know who we are and getting our name out there,” explained Collins, the chorus’ marketing co-ordinator.
Money raised will help offset the cost of vocal coaching, hall rentals, music licensing and more, she noted.
“We have six new members, and people are starting to join again, so we’re growing and attracting new people, and there are costs for that,” Collins noted. “We have coaches who fly in, and new music with copyrights and everything. You pay per member for that licensing. It’s a cost people might not think about.”
Looking ahead, Westcoast Harmony Chorus is planning a late-April trip to Saskatoon for a regional contest, with the goal of getting to another international competition.
Chorus members rehearse Wednesday evenings at Parkland Community Church (9574 160 St., North Surrey). For details visit westcoastsings.com.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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