June/July 2006 Omaha Tour

We left the mountains of Colorado and headed for the plains of Nebraska and Iowa to begin our five-day tour, June 29-July 3, 2006.

Our group picture was taken at Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City, IA on Saturday, July 1. Back Row: Jan, Erik, Cathy. Front Row: Mark, Amy, Shelley, Michelle, Joan, Bonnie, Kim, Tracy, Kimberly, Laurie, Kevin, Sandy, Susan and Luke.

Our first tour concert was held at First Lutheran Church in Kearney, NE on June 29. We even got a little TV coverage on the evening news, compliments of Matt Weesner, a former PPR ringer and current Live News cameraman. He also joined us for a few numbers on Thursday night.

On Friday, we drove to Omaha and spent part of the day at the home of Mar and Vickie, Michelle Eads' aunt and uncle. An outdoor barbecue, many games of "horseballs" and "Perpetual Commotion" made for a great relaxing afternoon for the group.

We presented Guy and Shelley Williams a wedding/going away present as they would be moving to Omaha after our tour.

After a wild accident-related detour to get to the Mid-America Center, we perfomed as the Feature Concert for the 2006 Area VIII AGEHR Handbell conference that we had audtioned for months earlier.

After our concert, the group celebrated a job well done at Ruby Tuesdays with guests Jason Wells, Debbie Rice, Mike Kastner, and David Jordan.

Saturday morning, July 1, we presented two classes: "Presentation: Perform Great, Looking Great," for the festival participants where we demonstrated our secret techniques that aren't so secret anymore!

Our workshop in the afternoon and then our concert in the evening at Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City, IA, Michelle Eads' parents' church.

Our hosts sponsored an ice cream social after the concert which was the perfect ending to the day.

Sunday Morning, July 2, we rang for worship at Faith-Westwood United Methodist Church in Omaha, NE. One of our members, Mark Horst, grew up here and attended Faith.

Our last concert of the tour was held at First Presbyterian Church in Hastings, NE, Sunday afternoon, and we spent the evening relaxing at the Comfort Inn with a pool party, but taking a break to watch our TV spot again on the evening news.

Thanks to all of the people in Kearney, Omaha, Sioux City, and Hastings who helped us make our second tour a major success!