If you like to sing in harmony, Ron Long would like to talk to you. Long is hoping to generate enough interest in starting a Salmon Arm Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. “The Barbershop Harmony Society got its start in 1938, when two men in Tulsa, Oklahoma decided that the tensions of the day needed to be lightened up, so they invite their friends and acquaintances to an evening of singing and harmonizing at a local hotel,” says Long.   Some 20 men attended and the Barbershop Harmony Society was born. Since then, the society has grown internationally beyond the U.S. and Canada, with affiliated associations all around the world. Chapters all across North America make time to entertain at seniors centres as well as retirement facilities. The society’s focus on youth has resulted in a fantastic growth in high schools and universities across North America to the point that separate international competitions are held for college choruses, college quartets and a youth chorus festival for young men between 14 and 30 years, says Long.  For more information, call Long at 250-833-1972 or send him an email at relong03@gmail.com.

Salmon Arm Observer