06/21/2011: "Barbershop Ferry Sing Sails (& Returns) June 23"

(Serenading passengers on the 2005 Ferry Sing)

You’re as Welcome as the Flowers in May at the free annual Ferry Sing hosted by Island Chordsmen Plus on Thursday, June 23. Along with a ferryload of islanders, visitors, and the Sound Vibrations, SJI’s women’s barbershop/jazz group, the barbershoppers will sail from Friday Harbor at 5:40 aboard the interisland ferry, and make the rounds of the islands, returning at 8:25. Passengers can also board at at Lopez at 6:20 and return at 7:45 and at.Shaw at 6:45 and return at 7:20

Baritone Dan Drath, Island Chordsmen Plus president, says this will be his fourth or fifth Ferry Sing and invites everyone to “come play with a group whose only purpose is harmony.” He says the sing is highly informal. Apart from the group’s regular repertoire of old and new favorites like Georgia on My Mind, Danny Boy, and Shenandoah, Drath says, director “Angel Michaels usually leads a community sing-along.”

“The most fun is when other riders stand with us and sing,” says tenor Roz Casad. “That’s the reason we do it, to enjoy ourselves and share the harmony with other people.”

“Bring a picnic supper” on this Sentimental Journey, advises bass Don Leff. Unscripted, somewhat unrehearsed, this moveable musical fest guarantees an evening of enjoyment, mainly, as Leff says, because “it’s always fun to sing.”