Annual smorgasbord concert canceled

A Holyoke tradition, the annual Music Parents Association smorgasbord concert, will not be held this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

However, March is Music In Our Schools Month after all, and some things are in the works to keep music at the forefront even with the cancellation of the event.

“We’re still tying to make music the best that we can under the circumstances,” said Marcia Dalton, Holyoke JR/SR High choir and elementary school music teacher. “I feel for those kids that have music as their outlet.”

In past years, bands from grades 5-12 and choirs from junior high and high school have performed for a full crowd of parents and supporters at the high school auditorium after guests eat a meal at the elementary school cafeteria and gym.

Students routinely pre-sold hundreds of tickets, with additional ticket sales made at the door. Those who sold the most tickets won prizes or were recognized in other ways.

The event has also raised thousands of dollars for the school music program. The funds are used in a variety of ways, such as for scholarships for seniors, the purchase of wireless microphones for the auditorium, formal attire for music students to wear at concerts, and the purchase and repair of musical instruments.

Dalton said the Music Parents Association has always been a very strong support system for music students, always seeking to find out what the students’ greatest needs are and what can be done to address them.

The Music Parents Association board is currently composed of Summer Struckmeyer, Erin Lindholm, Joan Owens, Annette Shaw and Amanda Brown. Dalton, Holyoke JR/SR High and elementary school band teacher Aaron Cottam and Pat Wiebers also assist the Music Parents Association. Dalton added that the Music Parents Association is always flexible and open to new ideas.

With no meal or concert scheduled this year, Dalton said she anticipates placing donation jars in willing local businesses in March to coincide with Music In Our Schools Month. She said they are also planning a mailing campaign to help raise funds in March.

Dalton noted that she and Cottam plan to record smaller-scale performances and solos and put them up on the Holyoke TV Productions YouTube channel. She said they hope to start making these recordings available in mid-March, and people will be able to view them on demand on the YouTube channel.

“Every little bit will help,” she said. “People are always very supportive.”

That support has also been extended by area businesses over the years. Dalton said Seaboard Foods donated pork for many years, and Holyoke Marketplace has donated food for the smorgasbord in the past.

“I cannot emphasize enough how parents and the community have always stepped up and helped,” Dalton said.

This sentiment was echoed by Linda Statz, who has held all positions in the Music Parents Association at various times and has volunteered washing dishes at the event for approximately 30 years.

“We’ve always had great participation,” Statz said.

She said when she first became involved, four people put on the event. She began to ask for volunteers for specific jobs, and this increased parent participation.

She said in the early days of the smorgasbord, people ate only in the cafeteria at the elementary school, but more people attending required expanding the meal to include the elementary school gym, too.

According to an article in the Feb. 9, 1967, edition of the Enterprise, the smorgasbord, then sponsored by the Holyoke Band Parents Association, was the year’s major project to raise funds to send Holyoke High School band members to band camp in the summer. Prior to this, several smaller fundraising projects were held each year.

Prices for this smorgasbord were 50 cents for children, $1 for adults and $3 for a family. Scheduled for Feb. 20, 1967, the smorgasbord was to be operated on the “eat all you want” basis.

The Feb. 23, 1967, edition of the Enterprise notes that an overflow crowd turned out for the event, with an estimate of over 600 people attending and approximately $340 raised.

“Since this was the first smorgasbord served by the BPA,” the article reads, “it was virtually impossible to determine in advance the amount of food that would be needed. As a result, the food ‘gave out’ before the crowd did and about 60 would-be diners were turned away. The ticket price was refunded to some and was offered to all who had purchased tickets in advance but did not have a meal.” The article notes that after its success, it was tentatively planned to make the smorgasbord an annual affair.

The next year continued to see widespread support. The Feb. 22, 1968, edition of the Enterprise points out that the timetable for the event had to be changed because of the “tremendous response to advance ticket sales for the smorgasbord.” It was decided to extend the serving time for the meal by 30 minutes due to the large number of tickets sold.

“Last year,” the 1968 article reads, “it was decided to have one major money-raising event instead of several smaller ones and a smorgasbord was held on a trial basis. It proved to be such a success that it is expected to be continued as an annual event.”

Having gone from a tentative annual affair to an expected annual event within a year, the smorgasbord and concert have remained part of the community’s traditions ever since. Even though it is canceled this year, it won’t be long before it’s back on the schedule of Holyoke’s annual spring events.