Singing about winter in the Pacific Northwest, and the holidays this time of year brings, has sparked many memories for the members of Choir of the Sound. As we share a few of them with you, we hope you will join us to celebrate an “Evergreen Noel”!
My favorite Pacific NW Holiday memory started at Thanksgiving. I was raised in the Freeland area of South Whidbey Island. My parents usually hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my grandfather and aunts and uncles from Seattle. On Thanksgiving afternoon, we would all go out into the local fields and wooded areas and cut our fresh Christmas trees. My mom would also collect swags and large pine cones for Christmas decorating. After this it was time to give thanks, have dinner, and play poker–in that order! There were no football games on TV then!
–Larry Rosemeyer, Tenor
Okay, I love snow! I know I live in the wrong area of the country–but when it comes to Seattle, for me, it’s simply glorious!
One of the most amazing snowfalls that we had in this area was on Christmas night of 1997. After celebrating Christmas with my family, on my way home, the snow began to fall. And it didn’t stop until the early morning. Being an early riser, I was probably one of the first in my apartment complex to experience that amazing, brilliant whiteness, and be able to make the first footprints in the paths. We were snow bound for two days and I loved it! Snow can happen! And there is something special when it falls on Christmas!
–Joyce Rice, Alto
I grew up in this area, and my family owned a sailboat; that allowed us to explore and experience the PNW from a uniquely local perspective, and that included the holidays. I have very distinct memories of waking up on the boat to fog and calm during December after what always seemed to be a stormy November. All you could hear was distant fog horns and the sound of gentle waves lapping up against the boat. My dad and I would sit on deck with cups of steaming hot chocolate, and you could see all the homes on the shoreline decorated with holiday lights twinkling, reminding you of all the families getting together and enjoying each other’s company at year’s end. Today, I don’t own a boat, but when we perform each year on the Argosy Christmas Ship I always have wonderful memories that come flooding back.