‘Velvet Blend’ spreads joy around Culpeper

It promised to be a beautiful morning, warm with gentle breezes and low humidity. The weekly outdoor farmers market in downtown Culpeper had already been bustling for several hours when our quartet, “Velvet Blend,” representing our Culpeper Minutemen Chorus in a promotional activity, arrived to entertain the 30 or so merchants and their equal number of eager early morning customers as they moved among the booths selecting their fresh produce, baked goods and local craft items.

We sang love songs to the ladies, we sang funny songs to the children, and we sang inspirational and patriotic songs to the many individuals gathered who thanked us for bringing this form of music back to Culpeper.

Being held right next door to our friends at the local Raven’s Nest Coffee House where we had performed previously, we decided to stop by and sing them a few songs (“Java Jive” is a big favorite for the coffee crowd).

As we concluded, we were approached by a very animated gentlemen and his wife who had enjoyed our singing tremendously. It happened that they were both officials from the Library of Congress here in Culpeper, where all the audio and visual arts materials owned by the Library of Congress are stored and preserved. That week their open-to-the-public movie theatre was showing “The Music Man,” and they thought it would be wonderful to introduce the feature presentation with a live barbershop quartet. Would we do it? How fast can you say “yes?”

The following Saturday afternoon we made the short drive to the brand new Library of Congress facility built into the side of Mount Pony, on the outskirts of Culpeper.

Dressed in white skimmer hats, red and white striped vests, red armbands, and red bowties we were what most individuals generally envision as the quintessential Barbershop quartet. We sang in the modern lobby of the facility to the group waiting for the theater doors to open, and then followed them inside to move up and down the aisles to sing to the individuals already seated in anticipation of the coming movie. Word was quickly sent down to us from the management to “please, please go up on stage and sing for us.”

Have you ever known an entertainer, and particularly a barbershopper who could refuse that sort of an invitation? Lickitity-split, the four of us were up onstage singing merrily to the crowd in what turned our to be an impromptu concert, complete with humor and audience participation for the 200 theatergoers in attendance.

We had a ball, as did our audience. The management was beaming. Exiting through the lobby, we could not resist the temptation to sing just one more song to the very pleasant young lady seated at the security desk.

All in all, a wonderful experience for our quartet, an unexpected surprise for the patrons of the Library of Congress theater, and a prime example of the ever widening circle of interlinked cultural events available to our very appreciative community in Culpeper.

What a wonderful place to live and thrive!