WEEKEND: Port Townsend Songlines to host community sing-along event Saturday

Published 12:01 am Saturday, May 30, 2015

PORT TOWNSEND — PT Songlines, the community choir promoting song as a way to connect and rejoice, will hold its annual Spring Participatory Sing this Saturday.

Admission is a suggested $12 donation — more if you can, less if you can’t — at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave. Proceeds will benefit Local 20/20 of Port Townsend.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the singing will go from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

As in all Songlines concerts, the audience will almost immediately become part of the show. The choir will offer prepared numbers such as the Sweet Honey in the Rock song “On Children” and some rousing African pieces — and then invite the audience to learn songs, chants and rounds.

Co-directors Laurence Cole and Gretchen Sleicher welcome all voices to PT Songlines.

“We hold it as an ancient human birthright for all people to feel the connective, infectious pleasure and fun of making big, gorgeous sound together,” said Cole, the group’s founder.

PT Songlines is part of a network of Ubuntu choirs dedicated to community-building around the world. Ubuntu is a South African word meaning “I am because we are,” while philanthropy is a central value of the choirs.

“We are delighted and privileged to offer the proceeds from our concert to Local 20/20,” said Sleicher, adding that the group is “an organization devoted to building awareness and action for a more interdependent, locally resilient and sustainable community.”

To find out more about the non-auditioned choir, visit PT Songlines’ Facebook page or email gsleicher@igc.org.