Twenty years ago, Vicki Blake Thompson took over conducting the Bonners Ferry Community Choir from Barb Nelson, who was moving to Pendleton, Ore. Little did either of them ever guess that it would be the beginning of a new career and love for Blake Thompson, who has been conducting various choirs in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, ever since.
This year’s 40th annual Christmas concert features over 60 local singers in Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The program features a wide variety of musical styles with both familiar carols and new Christmas music.
Special guest artists are Sophia Smith, a cellist from Creston, Diane Olson on piano and marimba, and Ligeia Reinhardt on marimba. Featured choir members will be three women from the Boundless octet, Rhea Verbanic, Gail Southall (from Creston) and Vicki Blake Thompson, percussionists Sharon Fitzgerald and Craig Binnall, and Cheryl Kaessinger on marimba and alto recorder. Choir members come from as far south as Sagle, Idaho, and north from Creston.
A reception follows each performance in the fellowship hall of the church. This concert and the reception has become a wonderful tradition in Bonners Ferry. For many it is the event that ushers in the spirit of the Christmas season.
The concert runs 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 and 3 p.m. Dec. 20 (an hour behind Creston) at Bonners Ferry’s Trinity Lutheran Church. Suggested donation is $10 for adults, $5 for students and $28 for an immediate family.
—BONNERS FERRY COMMUNITY CHOIR
