Minstrel show rolls on
WARSAW – The Warsaw Lions Minstrel Show is always a good time with a lot of laughter, great entertainment and some fantastic showcasing of local singers. This year’s show was no exception with the normal banter from “The End Men” and Interlocutor Jim Bartlett. The theme was “The Name Game” and was directed by Jean Haumschild.
Ellen Conkle, who has been performing with the show for 18 years, said this about why she does it, “It’s fun. We all get together; it’s like a family reunion this time of year and just being able to entertain the people. They really enjoy it and it gives them a day out.”
“This year’s show is hilarious. We have Nick Fischer performing and dressed up like Tina Turner. He sings “Proud Mary” and is just great. He had to order his shoes (yes, they were high heels!) online.”
“Our people are very dedicated to the show. You don’t have to go to every practice but everyone works a lot, even at home if they can’t make a practice.”
Conkle, who is not in a skit this year, said about past skit performances, “It’s fun. It is so much fun. We mess up – the year we did the fountains, it was hilarious. We had a hard time even keeping a straight face when we were doing it. We soaked each other before we even got the knack down. The skit when Denny (husband Denny Conkle) put me in a freezer and a casket, it was great fun.”
People come from surrounding communities to enjoy the show and Conkle said, “It makes us feel good that people think this is a good show and they come from out of town. We get comments that people really enjoy the show and that it’s one of the better ones around. It makes you want to continue to make it even better each year. I know that Nick and all the people that put this all together, they put in a lot of time. Bob and Mary, and Larry and Jeanne and Nick and all those – they take a lot of time trying to put this all together. And what we do is going to help them out by being a part of it.”
“It starts when this one is over. They start coming up with ideas and going places to come up with ideas.”
Curtis Lee, who is the current president of the Warsaw Lions Club, said, “It’s great that we have so many people from the community come out and support us. And also that so many people that aren’t even a part of our club spend hundreds and hundreds of hours donating their talents to us – so that we can make this program successful. We support roughly 30 charities and groups throughout the year. The Minstrel Show proceeds are about 90 percent of our revenues so we’re able to send money to different organizations throughout our community and our Lions Club region in the state and even internationally through Lions International that we give to. It’s great that people come out and support us because this is 90 percent of our fundraising efforts for the year. Probably after expenses, we bring in $12,000 to $13,000 that we can give back.”
“The Warsaw Lions Club meets at the Walhonding Valley Fire Station on the first and third Tuesdays of every month. The club has 58 members and we have 30 to 35 that are pretty active coming to all of our events,” said Lee. “We’ll have a picnic starting out the year and a streak fry right at the beginning of the summer. We appreciate everyone that comes out and supports us.”
mark@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
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