Patriotic Sing
America MY HOME SWEET HOME
Sunday , July 3 6:00 pm • Morgan Hill Downtown Amphitheater
As the calendar turns to February , it ’ s time to begin thinking about Freedom Fest ’ s Patriotic Sing in July ! What ? Yes , we have so many wonderful opportunities happening in conjunction with the annual Patriotic Sing , we need an early start !
In true “ small-town ” fashion , our Sing features the children of our community singing the songs of our country for families , friends , and our audience .
The Sing is a performance presented on Sunday , July 3 rd at the Morgan Hill Amphitheater ( corner of Monterey and Dunne ) at 6 pm . The Sing is one of the events offered , free of charge , to our community , by Freedom Fest . Any child , entering grades 1 through 6 is invited to be in our chorus . There are no auditions and no fee to be a chorus member .
The original goal of the Sing was to teach children the lyrics of America ’ s treasured Patriotic songs . Songs like “ Grand Old Flag ,” “ God Bless America ,” “ America , the Beautiful ” and more must be taught to our next generation of singers or these songs will be forgotten . The Sing also revives a Morgan Hill 4 th of July tradition from the turn of the century . At that time , children would gather on the eve of the 4th of July to sing Patriotic songs – and , so we continue today .
Over the years , with so many of our returning chorus members being proficient with their songs , the Sing evolved into an event to honor those who serve . At our rehearsals , we collect items which we donate to the South Bay Chapter of the Blue Star Moms . These dedicated moms , whose motto is “ Our hearts are on the line ,” package donations and send them off to their deployed sons and daughters . We , at the Sing , are proud to know our efforts here in Morgan
Hill , make the challenges of serving in a foreign country a little easier . And , before each Patriotic Sing , stationery is provided for our audience to write notes of encouragement to our soldiers .
We have created a “ Wall of Heroes ” with the names of soldiers ( both past and currently serving ), their branch of service and area of deployment . These names are submitted by our chorus members and read like a history book . We have the names of soldiers from the Civil War , to those currently deployed in Afghanistan . It ’ s wonderful to see our Viet Nam vets standing proudly by their names and receiving the thanks they so deserve .
The Patriotic Singers also perform at the Street Dance and Fireworks . However , the highlight for many of our youngsters is our performance along the Parade route . Thanks to Bill Jacobson of Bill Jacobson Trucking , our singers ride an eighteen-wheeler through town singing their socks off for America . Our National Anthem singer , Angeline Madriaga , will
once again be opening our program .
This year ’ s Freedom Fest theme is “ America , My Home , Sweet , Home .” We will be honoring soldiers who have recently returned from deployment . We will also be expressing our gratitude to two men who passionately served Morgan Hill . Our guest soloist , Catherine Conner , will be singing as we honor Mayor Dennis Kennedy and William H . Brown . Both of these men passed away this year and both gave countless hours to our community .
I hope you enjoy this year ’ s Patriotic Sing . Here , you ’ ll see the faces of our future . Regardless of ethnicity , or age , in our chorus you ’ ll see respect , enthusiasm , pride , and a spirit of patriotism as we celebrate the 4 th of July in Morgan Hill though the magic of music .
With a song in my heart !
P BY KAREN ANN CRANE Patriotic Sing Chair
America MY HOME SWEET HOME P Morgan Hill Freedom Fest 2016 19