Vernon All Saints' Farewell to Arms a sendoff to war

With hopes of waving goodbye to war, a local concert: A Farewell to Arms takes place in Vernon Sunday.

The concert, which will be held at All Saints Church in Vernon, seeks to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the ending of the First World War, to recognize suffrage 101 years later, celebrating women winning the right to vote.

It will also act as a fundraiser for All Saints Church in their efforts to raise enough funds for repairs to their church hall.

“Our church hall is in dire need of repairs and that’s really expensive so every little bit helps. The choirs are all giving their time to help support the church, which is great,” said organizer Debbie Parmenter.

She explained that the concert received its title based on the idea that the 20th century was a century of war.

“We’re all hoping that will stop going into the future,” she said. “We’ve got songs from both World Wars as well as songs all the way into the protest time of the 1960s and 1970s.”

The Barber Shop Chorus will be travelling from Kelowna to take part. It will also feature the Vernon’s women’s chorus, the All Saints church choir and the church’s own band Cross and Crown.

“We’ve got Winston Churchill and King George and Nellie McClung and Martin Luther King Jr. will be giving a speech as well — we’re channelling them that is, we have the choirs and then we have some sing-a-longs too. This is the first time we’re doing this though there has been talk amongst many of the members regarding doing it again.”

“The fact that it’s 2018 and the war ended in 1918 and I think it’s important to remember those important dates and also women’s suffrage. Women have worked darn hard to get the vote,” said Parmenter. “Women were tortured because of this and I think it’s really important that we use our rights. There are people throughout the world who would give their right arm to vote so it’s important we celebrate these things too.”

The event is set to take place Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. and will last roughly an hour. Attendance is by donation.