Editor’s Note (4/4/2017): The following article has been updated to include some additional details about the event.
It’s been over a decade since the annual Barbershop Quartet Festival in Bolton Landing was forced to end due to financial reasons, and since then, a similar event has been sorely missed in the Lake George Region. That’s all about to change this May when the Northeastern District (NED) Barbershop Harmony Society hosts their 2017 Western Regional Spring Convention & Contests in Lake George!
Photo Credit: Lorin May/Harmonizer: Photo from the International Youth Barbershop Quartet Contest, courtesy of Barbershop Harmony Society – Northeastern District (NED)
The NED is one of 17 districts of the Barbershop Harmony Society, which works to promote barbershop quartet singing in North America. Throughout the year, each district hosts contests and sends the top quartets and choruses to the annual International Contest.
For 2017, the NED has decided to bring their Western Regional Spring Convention & Contests to the Junior-Senior High School in Lake George for a weekend of singing and entertainment.
This spring convention will be one of the NED’s biggest events of the year. In addition to the District Spring Quartet Preliminaries for qualification for the International Contest & Convention in July, the following contests will be held:
- Yankee Division Quartet Contest
- Yankee Division Chorus Contest
- Mountain Division Quartet Contest
- Mountain Division Chorus Contest
- Yankee & Mountain Divisions VLQ Contest
On Saturday, May 6, the NED has a fantastic post-contest show planned for the evening. The final contest will begin at 5:45pm, and then the big show will start at 8:15pm. Your ticket entrance for Saturday covers the contest and the show.
According to the Sun Community News, the Lake George Town Board recently pledged $6,000 in occupancy tax funding to help promote this upcoming singing convention. This will be added to an earlier pledge of $10,000 from the joint town-village occupancy tax committee.
Event organizer Diane Brooks told the Sun Community News that roughly 500 singers and spectators are expected to be at the festival.
The 2017 NED Western Regional Spring Convention & Contests will take place on May 5-7, 2017. Don’t miss out on the return of a barbershop singing festival in Lake George!
See more details about the festival >>
Source:
- http://www.suncommunitynews.com/articles/the-sun/new-barbershop-fest-receives-cash-boost-from-lake-george-boa/?ct=t(Daily_Updates_TheSun
Hello Lake George!
Thank you, Joe, for your community piece on our amazing event coming to Lake George! We are excited to be having one of our annual spring conventions and contests in Lake George this year – and really look forward to bringing FINE “a cappella” men’s singing to the community. After this weekend, let’s just hope for better weather – no snow – please!
I wanted to correct one very clear exaggeration by someone along the way here (not you!). The Northeastern District (NED) ( http://www.NEDistrict.org ) is one of 17 Districts of the Barbershop Harmony Society ( http://www.barbershop.org ) – the largest all-male singing organization in the world. All 17 districts have contests each year and send TOP quartets and choruses to an International Contest – this year to Las Vegas, July 2-9, 2017.
It is the Society that is near 30,000 members strong, in total, and singing barbershop-style harmony. Our NED is about 1,800 members and comprises an area from the Canada Maritimes to Poughkeepsie, New York, and from Montreal, Canada to Cape Cod, MA – and includes all of New England and eastern most areas of New York state. The convention in Lake George is our regional contest event and encompasses two divisions (western) and our district-wide International Preliminary Quartet contest. We expect about 500 men and their families/friends to join us in Lake George, May 5-6.
Finally – just a quick teaser: we have planned a fabulous SHOW for Saturday night, May 6. Your ticket allows entrance beginning at 5:45 PM to the entire evening of events: the contest and the show (yes – that’s an odd time – but due to contest requirements). Enjoy the TOP 10 quartet Finals contest, with quartets vying for spots to go to International in July. Then enjoy a special “BIG SHOW”. That show has been arranged with Lake George and the community in mind… with special guest appearances brought in to Lake George just for the show – a TOP International champion chorus and 2 top International champion quartets. “Voices of Gotham” chorus from New York city will perform as well as the current #1 Top Quartet in the world – “Forefront”, with a newly-arranged TOP 10 quartet, “Category 4”.
Barbershop harmony is fraternity. Men from all over the world and from all walks of life and all ages can come together and share in this truly American art form and find common ground through self expression in song. The friendships forged through barbershop harmony bridge gaps that no other hobby is capable of doing, and for many devotees, barbershop is far more than a hobby. It’s a passion.
You’ll love it too! Thanks for having us!
~ Steve Salamin
NED District VP – Marketing & Public Relations
NED Webmaster – http://www.NEDistrict.org
Northeastern District (NED) – Barbershop Harmony Society
Sing Well! Have Fun! Serve Others! Marketing Really Matters!
Thanks for the update Steve! I’ve edited the article accordingly.
– Joe
Will this event be a thing in 2018?
Hi Deborah, thanks for the inquiry! Yes, according to the Northeast District Barbershop Harmony Society’s website, the Barbershop Festival will be held on May 4-6, 2018, at the Lake George Junior-Senior High School. There are limited details at the moment and no schedule, but we will update our LakeGeorge.com events calendar with information as it is released.
Hi Deborah, thanks for the inquiry! Yes, according to the Northeast District Barbershop Harmony Society’s website, the Barbershop Festival will be held on May 4-6, 2018, at the Lake George Junior-Senior High School. There are limited details at the moment and no schedule, but we will update our LakeGeorge.com events calendar with information as it is released: https://www.lakegeorge.com/event/ned-western-regional-spring-convention-contests-143946/
Oh my, you don’t know how excited I am to hear this! I used to go to the Bolton festival with my parents every year! I had tried to convince some locals with the city of Glens Falls what a great event this would be to revive but never got very far. I am with Little Theater on the Farm and I have been interested in getting a barbershop show into our own event calendar. This will give me a chance to connect with some of the groups attending. I am so pumped. Kudos to whoever made this happen again!