Fáilte from the Chair
A Dhaoine Uaisle agus a Chairde,
I am thrilled to welcome you all here today for the 34th annual IABS International Barbershop Convention. My barbershop friends often refer to this weekend as “Barbershop Christmas”, and it truly has that feel - there is great anticipation in each group as they put on stage the culmination of what they have been working on this year. There is the joy of meeting old friends, and the excitement of making new ones. And there is a unity of purpose, in bringing all these barbershoppers together to enjoy a shared passion. It is the most wonderful time of the barbershop year for a lot of us!
That said, it would be remiss of me not to mention that we are missing some dear friends this year, with the notable absence of some of our IABS choruses. It will be a smaller contest this year without them and we look forward to their return when the time is right.
However, we are joined by new friends from the UK and Canada, as well as representatives of BABS, LABBS, SAI Region 31, BIBA and BHS to truly add an international flavour to our convention. I know that our guest quartet Clever Girl, will delight their audience with their unique brand of humour and harmony, and I hope you will all enjoy the afterglow events from Open Mic to the Chorditorium, over the weekend.
We have a jam-packed schedule for you all, and the programme is available online all weekend. Please check it regularly in case there may be amendments to the schedule. Please note that it is our intention to run the contest to schedule, so if a group does not use up its entire allocated time, we will wait until the next groups time to call that group on stage. Please, please, please make sure any device that might make noise is turned off whether it is a phone, a watch or a tamagotchi!
Wishing all the competitors the very best of luck - go n-eiri libh go leir!
Ailbhe
I am thrilled to welcome you all here today for the 34th annual IABS International Barbershop Convention. My barbershop friends often refer to this weekend as “Barbershop Christmas”, and it truly has that feel - there is great anticipation in each group as they put on stage the culmination of what they have been working on this year. There is the joy of meeting old friends, and the excitement of making new ones. And there is a unity of purpose, in bringing all these barbershoppers together to enjoy a shared passion. It is the most wonderful time of the barbershop year for a lot of us!
That said, it would be remiss of me not to mention that we are missing some dear friends this year, with the notable absence of some of our IABS choruses. It will be a smaller contest this year without them and we look forward to their return when the time is right.
However, we are joined by new friends from the UK and Canada, as well as representatives of BABS, LABBS, SAI Region 31, BIBA and BHS to truly add an international flavour to our convention. I know that our guest quartet Clever Girl, will delight their audience with their unique brand of humour and harmony, and I hope you will all enjoy the afterglow events from Open Mic to the Chorditorium, over the weekend.
We have a jam-packed schedule for you all, and the programme is available online all weekend. Please check it regularly in case there may be amendments to the schedule. Please note that it is our intention to run the contest to schedule, so if a group does not use up its entire allocated time, we will wait until the next groups time to call that group on stage. Please, please, please make sure any device that might make noise is turned off whether it is a phone, a watch or a tamagotchi!
Wishing all the competitors the very best of luck - go n-eiri libh go leir!
Ailbhe
