Hi everyone!
It's that time again! It's hard to believe September is almost upon us, but we are so excited to dive into Xara Season 7, make beautiful music, create some brilliant choral theatre, and get to know all of our newest singers. The perfect place to start is of course our annual Xara Retreat Weekend, held this year from Friday, September 5th until Sunday, September 7th. Please make sure you have this time booked off from work and other commitments, as the retreat weekend is mandatory for singers.
The retreat weekend is a time to get to know one another, develop skills in musicianship, theatre, and movement, and start working on our first two projects of the year - our collaborative performance with LunaSea Theatre at the end of September, and our first professional CD recording happening in November. Like last year, our retreat will be divided between William Black Memorial United Church Hall in Glen Margaret (30-40 minute drive from downtown Halifax), and our regular rehearsal venue, St. Matthew’s United Church on Barrington St. You will have Sunday morning off to take care of all your non-Xara life things!
Note that we will have three meals together. Friday evening's dinner is very graciously being provided by the Xara Board of Directors (thank you!!!!). The second two will be potlucks - Saturday lunch will be brought by the sopranos, and Saturday dinner will be brought by the altos. Please keep in mind that we have a variety of dietary needs (some vegetarian, some gluten-free etc), so try to accommodate these as much as possible! All break snacks will be brought by the Xara leadership team.
Please start organizing drives NOW for this retreat weekend. Our Facebook group is a great place to take care of that!
Here’s a basic schedule for the weekend:
Friday
Location: William Black Memorial United Church (Hall), Glen Margaret
6:00 Arrival
6:15 Introductions
6:30 Supper Provided by Xara Board
7:30 Music & Theatre Session
9:00 Home
Saturday
Location: William Black Memorial United Church (Hall), Glen Margaret
9:30 Music Session
11:10 Break + Snack
11:30 Yoga Session
12:30 Lunch Potluck - Sopranos
1:30 Music Session
2:30 Movement Session
3:30 Break + Snack
3:45 Music Session
4:30 CRAFTS!
5:15 Clean up Crafting/Set up Supper
5:30 Supper Potluck - Altos
6:30 Team Meeting
7:15 Music Session
8:00 Home
Sunday
Location: St. Matthew’s United Church, 1479 Barrington St.
1:15 Group Bonding Activity + Hopes & Goals
2:15 Physical/Vocal Warmups
2:45 Music Session
4:00 Break + Snack
4:15 Music Session
5:15 Closing Session
5:30 Home
Things to Bring:
Comfortable clothes for sessions - must be able to move freely
Water bottle, pencils (a pencil case full of things is a great idea)
Music folder
Sunscreen for any outdoor activities
Yoga mat or large towel (for Saturday only)
Potluck item, as per schedule
Gas money for your driver
Glue gun (if you have one)
Driving Directions to William Black Memorial United Church (Hall):
10515 Peggy's Cove Rd in Glen Margaret.
- Take the 103 to exit 5, turn left at the top of the ramp and drive that road (Hammonds Plains Rd) until it ends at a set of lights facing a Superstore (about 2 mins).
- Turn right at the lights.
- The next set of lights (less than 1 minute) is the Peggy's Cove Rd.
- Turn left onto the Peggy's Cove Rd.
- Drive along this road approx. 15 minutes to the church.
Any questions, please let us know! We are absolutely so excited to be all together to kick off this amazing season!!
Love, Claire & Christina
