October 24, 2006
Tuesday

Ketchikan, Alaska - The scent of rain in the air was not a deterrent for Ketchikan-area residents to once again pack the Saxman Clan House for the October Monthly Grind; a night of music, humor, and great desserts. The warmth of the Clan House held out the chill outside and the tantalizing scent of the vast number of homemade treats greeted the attendees.

Our hostess/emcee for the evening was Beatrice Laspintime, a 'Floridan refugee who missed her cruise ship in September and found herself trapped in Ketchikan for the winter". During the course of the evening, she refound her fellow Floridan traveller and equipped themselves for a long stay here in our city, making a fair bit of humorous observations along the way.

Davy Doyon wowed the audience with his guitar work and fine voice... Photo by Bill Hupe©

The first group of the evening was Rudy, Mary, and Terry, performing a mix of original and cover songs. Their performance of folk songs were excellent, especially "Firefly", featuring Mary, who was taking time out from her day job with Alaska State Parks keeping visitors in line.

Famous Amos and Friends really stirred up the attendees with his amazing alternate rendition of "Over the Rainbow".

The first half of the evening concluded with a truly special treat: the cast of the First City Players upcoming musical, "Oliver!" performed three songs from the show. Although opening night is still a few weeks away, this short sample of the show indicates that their performances in November will be well worth attending.

Intermission was a time to sample all the tasty desserts, as well as warm up with coffee and tea and catch up with friends and neighbours. As usual, the sweets would have been the highlight of the evening, save for the performances, which were truly outstanding tonight.

After the break and more observations from "Beatrice", Davy Doyon took the stage and wowed us with his guitar work and fine voice. Cherry Rice and Friends rounded off the evening. An entertaining trio (and quartet for a few songs), they covered songs by a Canadian folk singer and surprised the audience with a show-stopping acapella performance that was easily the highlight of the second half of the evening.

However, all good things must come to an end, even The Monthly Grind, and before we knew it, everyone was lining up to return their chairs to storage and head out into wet evening, songs from the evening resonating in our memories as we walked through the cold rain to our vehicles.

"Oliver!" performances by The First City Players will be 3-4 November, as well as 10-12 November. For more information, go to http://www.ketchikanarts.org/content/view/76/69/; tickets are available either at the office on Totem Way in downtown, or online.

The November 2006 Monthly grind will be held 18 November 2006 at the Saxman Tribal House. Tickets are, as usual, $5 or bring a desert for a refund.

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Ketchikan, Alaska