Washington Sings: raising their voices in an old fashion singalong

An idea to bring an old-fashioned community event to Washington continues into its second year.

In the first day of a two-day evening event, residents gathered at the Washington Fire Department meeting room Sunday evening to sing together.

From the “National Anthem” and the state song, “Illinois” to folk classics such as “Hammer” and “This Land is Your Land” the group led by Rick Becker of Washington and accompanied by Ray and Ann Williams, also of Washington spent an hour singing together.

“In this day and age people have forgotten the power of public singing,” Becker told the group. “And when you are singing in a group, there are always people singing harmony.”

The Washington Sings event was organized by Bev Riggins and Linda Smith Brown, both of Washington. They had seen a similar event during a trip to Door County, Wis.

“On the drive back we were thinking about what it would take to do something like that in Washington,” Smith Brown said. “We thought, ‘We could do this.’”

The second evening of Washington Sings is set for 4 p.m. Feb. 24 at the fire department, 200 N. Wilmor Road.

Smith Brown said the January and February dates were chosen to combat cabin fever.

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Singing together brings back such great memories for people when they sang in school or around the camp fire,” Smith Brown said. “There is a real joy in singing together.”

A few lighter moments during the sing included Becker asking audience member Sue Freeburg to dance and several suggestions on new verses to the state song that reflect the state’s current budget crisis and two former governors serving prison sentences.