One of the organizations that makes our community so great and unique is the Lakeway Sing Along.
You might have caught one of their Spring or Christmas performances. Or you may actually know one of the 80 or so members. Either way, the Lakeway Sing Along brings a magical thing to the Lake Travis community — the ability to make you actually want to sing along with them … in public (though it is not at all a requirement).
I was able to sit down with founding member Glenda Foreman and ask her how her group got started and grew to such epic, musical proportions.
LTL: Lakeway Sing-A-Long was started back in 1999 in your home. What brought the original group together and what type of songs did you sing?
Glenda: I was second VP of the Women’s Club of Greater Lakeway and in charge of interest groups. In the October 1999 Women’s Club Bulletin, I put in a notice for women and their spouses who liked to sing to meet at my home for refreshments and a “sing along.”
To my surprise, about 15 people showed up and we had a great time singing old favorites like, You are My Sunshine, Shine On Harvest Moon, and For Me and My Gal.
We agreed to meet again in 2 weeks. When we met again there were about 25 people. It became a little chaotic because we had no director or musicians, but we managed.
The next time, when about 40 people came, Annette Tyson said she had some directing experience and volunteered to direct us. Jean Davis, a lovely lady who could play anything on piano by ear, came and brought her keyboard.
By that time the activity center was almost ready to use. I spoke with the Parks and Recreation director and he agreed to let us meet at the new Lakeway Activity Center every other Thursday beginning in December of 1999. We were off and singing!
LTL: Tell us about the first public show Lakeway Sing Along ever did and what were the most memorable moments for you?
Glenda: In February of 2000 we decided to do a St. Patrick’s Day show at Mulligan’s Pub (now Fore). We got permission from Mulligan’s and everyone purchased a green hat and wore green. On St. Patrick’s Day we marched into Mulligan’s and sang our repertoire of Irish songs. There wasn’t a big audience, but the people there loved us and even joined in singing. We were hooked on performing.
After our St. Patrick’s performance, everyone started talking about having a “real show.” So in the fall of 2000, we got serious and started meeting every week to rehearse.
Our director, Annette Tyson, planned a show called Around The World. We got better and better and were ready to perform. We had simple costumes and served desserts — made by our members — from around the world at our one-night performance. It was an awesome evening!
LTL: Your next show is your Spring production of My Generation, which focuses on the music of the Baby Boomer era. Since many of your members are from this age demographic, do you feel this production may be more emotional for your group verses some of the others you have done in the past?
Glenda: I don’t think it will be anymore emotional than any of our other shows. The bottom line is our 80 plus members are all a bunch of hams and love to perform and sing. We are like a big family, sharing each other’s happy times and the not-so-happy. Under the direction of Ernie Clay, I think you can hear our love in our songs.
My Generation is a three night dinner/show on April 28, 29, and 30 at the Lakeway Activity Center with pre-show entertainment by Lohmans Crossing Band. Tickets for reserved seating are on sale at the Lakeway Activity Center for $30.
You can purchase an entire table of 10 or individual seats. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Lakeway Activity Center at 512-261-1010.
