Folksong fest hosting annual dinner theatre and concert
This year's theme is 'Canadian women at war'
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The 67th annual Miramichi Folksong Festival is gearing up to host its annual Remembrance Day dinner and concert, with this year’s theme being “Canadian women in war.”
This year’s dinner theatre will take place Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Beaverbrook Kin Centre. Performers will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and include The Villagers chorus, Miramichi Valley High School drama club, King Street Elementary School choir, Kate and Melissa Barry, Elizabeth Shatford, Susan Butler, and David Bunnell.
In total, 3,141 Canadian nurses volunteered their services for the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in the First World War, and 17,038 women served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.
Performers at this year’s event will be predominantly ladies, featuring skits by an all-female cast from the Miramichi Valley drama club, directed by Chris Matheson and local playwright, author, and retired teacher John Bosma. The Barrys, Shatford, and Butler will offer their musical talents.
Additional performers will include a four-part harmony from The Villagers, directed by Lois McKinnon, and last year’s showstoppers, the King Street Elementary choir, performing a rendition of “Remembrance Day Child” directed by Emily Comeau. Last year’s event also continued the long-standing tradition of sold-out Remembrance Day dinner theatres.
The program will feature a tribute to First World War and Second World War veterans Ruth Loggie, Christina Watling, Marie Breau Savage, Florence MacLean, Ruby Kamermans Somers, Jeanne Kennard O’Reilly, and Betty Dalton. During the intermission, guests will be able to purchase 50-50 tickets and participate in a draw in support of the Miramichi Valley drama club’s fundraising efforts for a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024 in Scotland.
Books from Bosma’s Miramichi Lads and Ladies: We Will Remember Them trilogy will also be available for sale. Cash, credit, and debit cards will be accepted.
The dinner menu includes baked chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, a roll, cranberries, tea or coffee, and chocolate or white cake with boiled icing. Accommodations are also available for special dietary needs.
In addition to the folksong festival, the show is also sponsored by Brookdale Flowers and Trevors Hyundai.
Tickets are available for $40 each by reservation only by contacting Butler at (506) 622-1780 or by email at susanbutler@xplornet.com.
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