Previous convention attendees know that singing has been a big feature at in-person conventions – Singing After Dark events, singing in convention center hallways, troubadours wandering the exhibit hall, and other forms of breaking out in song with Girl Scout sisters. But what about this virtual NCS?
Well, there’s good news for all who like to sing along with good ol’ Girl Scout songs!
For all Girl Scouts who are interested, some Girl Scout songleaders from across the country will be hosting Singing After Dark on both Friday night and Saturday night after the NCS sessions are over. This event is FREE and open to anyone interested, whether you are paying attention to the NCS or not. Join us at 9 pm Eastern/8 pm Central/7 pm Mountain/6 pm Pacific. Your singers will be on Zoom, singing live. Watchers will be watching, listening, and singing along on YouTube. Here are the YouTube links:
Friday link:
Saturday link:
For NCS Delegates Only: Some of the same Girl Scout songleaders will be in a “singing room” (designated by a blue dot in the Hopin Platform) for an hour before three of the four NCS sessions. So, per your delegate instructions and using your delegate link to the Hopin platform, log in one hour before each NCS Session for your credentials check. Once you’ve logged in and go to the main stage, you can choose to go to the “blue” room to hear and sing along with Girl Scout songleaders. These singing sessions will be available once each day of the NCS: before the Friday session, before the first Saturday session (not the second session), and before the Sunday session. Remember, you can also attend Singing After Dark Friday night and Saturday night AFTER the NCS is done for the day on Friday and Saturday.
So, what will it be like to attend any of these singalongs? Well, if you’ve ever tried to sing along unmuted with others in any webinar platform, you know that’s a real train wreck! Due to differences in internet “lag time,” you see and sing along at different times. Definitely not pretty to listen to! So, what happens is this: Your songleaders will sing and be broadcast individually for each song. You’ll either sing along or listen and enjoy. Some of these songleaders are in the same COVID “bubble” and do not social distance from one another. In those cases, the song leaders may be a pair or trio or quartet of singers who will do things like lead rounds or sing in harmony. Again, you pick your part and sing along, or you can choose just to listen. And sometimes, there may be some additional technological magic where songleaders either sing in a virtual choir (pre-recorded and replayed) or sing with a recording in real time. No matter what the approach, it’s fun and heartwarming to listen and participate!
Some of the songleaders have been doing virtual singalongs throughout COVID on a regular basis – and we can tell you that although it’s very different from group singing, it’s still a lot of fun! Please join us!
You seriously rock, ladies!!! Can’t wait for this!!!
This should be interesting. We have tried to get our Troop to sing on Zoom, but haven’t got it right yet. Maybe this will help get them to sing. I love singing GS Songs.
Hi! Are there any Sing a Longs that are continuing? I think this is a great idea for connecting Alums and donors in our council. lynnmigliara@gswo.org
Yes, as a matter of fact, there are some ongoing sings that people can join. This coming weekend, November 20-22 there are some sings going on all weekend long that will involve some of the singers who were the convention group. This group usually has an event called Sing Into Fall at a camp near Washington DC each year; this year Sing Into Fall is virtual and will involve people from all over the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Write to this email to ask for a link to Sing Into Fall (the links are not out yet). sblumen@tcnj.edu. A donation of $5 to the World Foundation for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is requested; you can donate at the link below and write either Karen Brown or Kaye Glass into the “person to be honored or in memory of” space. Your donation will help support the WAGGGS World Centers, all of which are closed through 2021 due to COVID and which are no doubt really hurting right now for funds. Here’s the link: https://www.worldfoundationgggs.org/donatenow/
And, there are some on-going sings for an hour or two on Monday nights (7 – 9 pm Eastern), Thursday nights (7 – 9 pm Eastern), and Saturday afternoons (3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern). The Monday and Thursday sings are organized by a group loosely called the East Coast Singers (who also are organizing the weekend long sing this weekend). You can write to Carol Obler at carolobler@gmail.com to ask for a link. The same link is used for both Monday and Thursday nights.
The Saturday singing session is organized by people on the west coast, many of whom are associated either with Camp Scherman or with a Girl Scout singing group called SongShare. You can write to Collene “Chuck” Anderson (who was the MC for the NCS singalongs and who works for GS Orange County) at girlscoutmom@twc.com and ask for a link. They will NOT be doing their Saturday afternoon session on November 21, as they are participating into Sing Into Fall this weekend, but they plan to resume their regular Saturday sings on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Thank you so much Marty, for this information. I love that there is so much singing — I am from an arts background and I know that singing together is a great connector of people. Thanks for providing all of these options for us to check out.