Wishing you peace, health and joy in the new year. The January 2024 issue of the RCC News has been posted. In this issue we honour and celebrate the accomplishments of local residents past and present. Take in the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News to stay connected to your neighbours and your neighbourhood and start the new year right.
Honouring Emanuela Sheena – “a rare individual who embraced everyone with an open heart”
Water Woman Remembers: Take part in Still Moon’s new eco-arts project
Recognizing Vince Prasad
Julie Cheng celebrates 25-year journey of art, literacy and community news at CNH
Collingwood Corner: Joyce Road Garage
Tips for new year resolutions: Think about what you really want
Together We Can raises $245,000 at gala
Plus, check out what’s happening at your local libraries
Do you have a local story to tell or an event to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.
The deadline for the February 2024 issue is January 10.
We welcome story submissions from 300 to 400 words long. Accompanying photos must be high resolution in a jpg file at least 1 MB large and include a photo caption and the name of the photographer.
My name is Meghan and I’ve lived in the Joyce-Collingwood neighbourhood for 13 years now. This November 2023, my Vancouver-based chorus, Lions Gate Chorus, competed in an international competition, and, for the first time ever, we won the gold medal! I’m incredibly proud of this accomplishment; we all worked so hard to achieve this goal. No matter how I’m feeling, joining with 96 other voices lifts my spirit and brings me so much joy. I feel so lucky to have found this group, with whom I’ve been singing for nearly 17 years. — Meghan Fell
Vancouver acappella group brings home the gold at the Sweet Adelines international championship competition. Source: YouTube
Lions Gate Chorus, a Vancouver-based chorus of 100 a cappella singers, secured the title of International Champions on November 4, 2023, at the 75th Annual Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition in Louisville, Kentucky, with record-breaking scores.
This is the first time in the chorus’s 69-year history to win the coveted international gold medal. Not only did Lions Gate win the contest, but they were also the first chorus in Sweet Adelines history to receive a perfect score in any category from the panel of judges.
The group is well known in the global barbershop singing community for their creative shows and musical excellence. Moments before the announcement of their championship title, Lions Gate was also named the audience’s choice for Most Entertaining Chorus of the competition — an award they won in 2009, 2017 and 2019.
Under the leadership of their musical director, Sandy Marron, Lions Gate has been in the top five of more than 500 Sweet Adelines International choruses worldwide since 2007.
“As soon as they announced second place and it wasn’t us, I knew that after 32 years of directing this fabulous group of singers, we had finally achieved ‘the impossible dream’ of becoming world champions. This was a life goal for me, and I couldn’t be any happier. These singers are not only my chorus members, they are my best friends,” said Marron.
Lions Gate Chorus fosters an inclusive and empowering intergenerational community, welcoming singers in a safe and accepting space. Singers interested in auditioning can learn more at https://www.lionsgatechorus.ca/join-us. Rehearsals run every Tuesday at 7:00 pm at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver. Event organizers interested in hiring Lions Gate Chorus to perform can learn more at https://www.lionsgatechorus.ca/hire-us.
The December 2023 issue of the RCC News has been posted. It’s time to celebrate the holiday season with family, friends and community. Read uplifting stories of neighbourhood connections in this latest issue of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News.
Remembering Collingwood’s favourite paper boy: Dennis Alexander Reid
Youth Connect Program by Still Moon Arts Society
Collingwood resident featured in new Coastal City Ballet works
Out on a Lim: Photos from Penny Lim to help chase away the winter blahs
Christmas: One of our favourite times of the year
Collingwood Corner: A happy Christmas in 1963
Plus: Renfrew Park Community Complex winter programs
Do you have a local story to tell or an event to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.
The deadline for the January 2024 issue is a few days early due to the holidays on December 8.
We welcome story submissions from 300 to 400 words long. Accompanying photos must be high resolution in a jpg file at least 1 MB large and include a photo caption and the name of the photographer.
Renfrew-Collingwood Community News 