PORT TOWNSEND — “Jingle Bells (Sort Of),” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “New Dance for the Sugar Plum Fairy”: the Wild Rose Chorale and friends are stirring together their own brand of concerts — mini-festivals, really — this weekend.
Show time is 7 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 1111 Franklin St., and admission is a suggested donation of $15 for these unprecedented concerts.
“This is a combination of groups joining together for the first time,” said JES Schumacher, a longtime member of the Wild Rose Chorale.
The events bring together six groups, each with short sets:
■ The Wild Rose Chorale, a mostly a cappella ensemble;
■ Exact Change, an all-woman group;
■ The all-male Singers in the Rain;
■ The Port Townsend Youth Chorus;
■ The Port Townsend Community Bell Choir;
■ Ukuleles Unite!, whose players will join in the audience sing-alongs.
“It is a great joy to see the smiles on audience members’ faces when they hear the fun, sometimes silly arrangements of traditional carols,” Schumacher said of Wild Rose’s numbers. And after each ensemble offers a few songs, everyone will gather on stage for the finale. Wild Rose Chorale spokeswoman Lynn Nowak noted it’ll be a crowd, with 42 in the youth chorus, a total of 30 among Exact Change, Singers in the Rain and the Bell Choir, and nine voices in Wild Rose.
For more about the chorale and its holiday concerts, phone 360-385-1402 or visit wildrosechorale.org.