By BETTE BRITT
Fans of old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney movies could be forgiven their sense of déja vu on Sunday afternoon, January 24, as more than 50 people took their seats in Bayview Hall.
Although what they were about to attend wasn’t the proverbial “show” the youthful stars of the 1930s always promoted—it was, instead, advertised as a sing-along—there were many of the same elements: a casual setting, lots of friends and neighbors seated together, rather modest expectations and curiosity about something new in their community. Most, if not all, were used to attending fundraising breakfasts for upkeep of the little hall on the corner of High Street and Route 175, but group singing by a roomful of people ranging in ages from toddlers to elders?
If there were doubts it would be an afternoon to remember, they were dispelled the minute Grammy Award winner Paul Sullivan sat down at his keyboard and, without hesitation or coaxing, began to play and sing—and everyone else began to sing along with him. For about an hour, nonstop, they sang, sharing songbooks and calling out requests until Sullivan indicated it was time to take a snack break. Virtually nobody left at intermission, instead they stood and sampled a variety of finger foods spread across a table at the back of the room, awaiting a chance to sit down and sing for another hour.
Indications are there will be another sing-along at Bayview Hall, and the donation jar just inside the door will again be stuffed with crumpled bills for gradually updating the venerable neighborhood hall.
And the sense of déja vu next time will be of songs joyously sung by a group of people who may have arrived as strangers but were united in song to music played by a neighbor far more captivating than Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
Share this page
Return to the The Weekly Packet home page.
Cart
