By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
It’s that time of the year again – and no, that doesn’t refer to the Green Bay Packers advancing to the second week of the playoffs.
Burlington High School will play host to the seventh annual Chocolate City Show Choir Showcase Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. in the BHS gymnasium.
Seventeen schools and 20 different show choirs will be in town for the event, which has grown since a modest beginning.
“Word has gotten around that we run a great and friendly event,” said BHS choir director Penny Yanke. “The directors always comment on the friendliness of our B*Jazzled members and our parents.
“People don’t usually talk about the outcome,” she added. “They come to do their best and put on a good show.”
Still, there has been only one winner of the showcase in the past seven years – the Mayville Cardinal Singers. Long-time director Todd Kruger has retired, and there will certainly be choirs in town looking to end the streak.
Among the groups that have participated at the showcase for numerous years – in addition to Mayville – is New London Vision, Madison East Encore, Eisenhower (Ill.) Express, Parkview Pizazz and Brodhead Guys and Dolls. Westosha Central Swing Inc. will be here as well, and BHS’s B*Jazzled will perform in exhibition at the end of the first round of competition.
The 20 different performances are separated into middle school, women’s, prep and open competition, followed by a round of finals.
The top six choirs will perform in finals Saturday evening, starting at about 7:25 p.m.
However, as much fun as the competition may be – shows range from modern to Broadway to a combination of both, or none of the above – it can’t come off without volunteers.
Members of the B*Jazzled volunteer all day, as do numerous adults.
“It takes many people and man hours to make this event work,” Yanke said. It is also the major fundraiser for the choir.
She said building engineers, as well as Burlington Area School District secretaries, staff and administration all pitch in to make the event go.
One new wrinkle this year, though: while the Packers are in the second week of the playoffs, they will not be playing during the showcase, which has happened numerous times (including the first year of the event in 2011, when the Packers went on to the Super Bowl).
“I was so relieved when the schedule came out and I found out the Packers play on Sunday,” Yanke said. “We no longer have cable access at the school.”
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