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Sales
from new Shifty Sailors
children’s CD “H is for aHoy”,
featuring 49 4th and 5th graders
from Whidbey Island, to benefit
elementary music programs.
This
past summer we traveled to New England to sing to audiences all
along the coast. From Norwalk, Connecticut to Belfast, Maine we
will shared our songs with whomever would listen.
Whidbey
Island’s Shifty Sailors traveled three years ago to where
the clipper ships of old sailed, and sang at the ports they moored
while on the famed "ISTA Tall Ships Race". The Tall
Ship Festivals in 2005 were in Waterford, Ireland and Cherbourg,
France.
Five
years ago we followed the ships in the Baltic countries of Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark. Each audience
we encountered was, at best, but by the end of our formal concerts
or informal street or pub singing, we always were thanked with
ear-to-ear smiles and cheering and clapping.
You may
have met us. You may have heard us sing. And you may know the
engaging goodwill our audiences feel as we entertain, educate
and sing of the maritime heritage of Puget Sound, our country,
and the world. But there is more to the story of our magical group.
The Shifty
Sailors for nearly 15 years have worked to preserve our heritage
of sailing ships, folk lore, and songs of the sea not only in
our concerts but also in the many performances we have done for
organizations in Washington State. We hope to continue our efforts
to educate, entertain, and enlighten for years to come.
In 1997
the group recorded its first CD Heave Ho, My Lads followed 3 years
later by their second CD Haul On... . In 2004, "Ho For The
Life" hit the stands with great acclaim, and last year they
released their fourth CD “H is for aHoy”. The Shifty
Sailors are joined in song by 49 4th and 5th graders from all
over Whidbey Island.
Summer
2007
Shifties Tour New England
This
past summer we spent two weeks the ports of New England. It began
with the Tall Ship Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. For two
days we sang on stage or on the Tall Ships entertaining the many
wonderful people of Newport.
From
there we spent most of a day at Mystic Seaport as part of the
Wooden Boat Festival and in the evening sang a fundraising concert
for SAIL-CT, an organization which puts people with disabilities
on board sailing ships.
Day
four, July 1st began with a performance at the Norwalk, CT Aquarium,
then a long drive to New Bedford where we shared food, drink and
song with Tom Goux, the Ernestina Shanty Chorus and the Rum Soaked
Crooks.
The
next day we crossed the water to the island of Nantucket where
we were hosted by the Reverand Nancy Nelson, and sang a concert
that evening at the Methodist Church.
Tuesday,
July 3rd was spent traveling back to the mainland, singing first
with the New Bedford groups in Hyannis, MA, then, after a short
drive, we sang aboard the Mayflower II in Plymouth, MA.
The
afternoon of July 4th we were pub crawling in downtown Boston,
singing to the throngs in the Irish establishments and on the
street corners. Our last day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
was spent touring Salem and Gloucester, ending the day with a
concert in Rockport.
Then
on to Maine where we our last days singing in Brunswick, Peaks
Island, Bath and Belfast.
There
were 43 of us (Shifties, wives and groupies) going nonstop for
the whole trip, but enjoying the beauty, sites, history and culture
of the region.
click
on the pictures
   
  
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