Fresh off the back of the sell-out dress rehearsal, members of London City Singers (LCS) made their way to Newcastle, excited to perform in The Sage.

Many of us were able to head up in time to enjoy the quartet competition on Friday and were treated to another high quality contest. This was a great way to start a weekend of singing, as well as a fantastic learning experience for members, especially the first timers. We were all excited to hear the results and congratulate the winners The MIX (International Division) and Oops! (Open Division).

Several of our members were involved in the new social media initiative with Region 31 Management Team to promote interest for new members to join Sweet Adelines International and support the new webcast for Region 31. We’d certainly encourage more of this next year: it was fun, rewarding, and a great way to meet other members in the region.

Finally, it was the day we’d been waiting for!

We had a relaxed morning getting ready, warmed up and energised. What’s a Saturday morning without lots of hairspray, false eyelashes, line dancing and even some tears anyway?!

Once we had provided ample entertainment for the rest of the hotel guests eating breakfast, it was time to polish our makeup and get “blushed” by Linda. Sequins finally in place, we were ready to head to The Sage.

Even though there was a slight delay with the contest proceedings, a relaxed LCS were patiently waiting to join the traffic pattern. We knew our plan and were going to deliver!

Stepping out on stage was as exciting as ever– whether at contest, weddings, tube stations, anywhere! LCS loves to perform. We had a great time sharing our package and walked off confident that everyone did their job. What more can you ask?

The chorus was excited to watch the remaining contestants. With some of the larger choruses performing you really get a sense of sound on stage. We even got to wave on the webcast for our supporters at home. Then drum roll, the results. Well, it turned out to be a disappointing outcome for us. Big congratulations, though, to champions Forth Valley with a record breaking regional score. We can’t wait to see them take the stage in Vegas in 2017.

The weekend wasn’t over yet though. Members of LCS proved why we are together – we love singing. We entertained several groups in our hotel prior to dinner (they didn’t want us to leave!) then had a fantastic time singing in our own afterglow hub. But since the tenors went to bed, other members took their turns at filling in, with varied results.

Sunday was activity packed, with three of our members performing as part of the Young Women in Harmony chorus. So, after a busy morning of education and even more singing, convention was drawn to a close with another rousing performance of How We Sang Today, the Sweet Adelines International anthem.

So how do we sum up our collective learnings from convention 2016?

We LOVE singing, we can deliver our plan for any song, we know how to entertain, Simon’s costume needs more sequins, we follow commands well (“wave!”), we have improved our sound year on year. If all that wasn’t enough, this is a fabulous group of people who know how to enjoy what they are doing and have FUN!

Check our Twitter and (brand new!) Instagram feeds for more photos from the Newcastle 2016 Convention. We’ll post the video of our performance on stage soon.