Tabernacle Choir, Donny Osmond headlining free community concerts in east Idaho
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IDAHO FALLS — The world-renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will headline upcoming concert watch parties in Rexburg and Idaho Falls, and the community is invited to attend for free.
The Rexburg watch party is happening on Friday, June 26, at the BYU-Idaho Stadium. The Idaho Falls event will be held at the Mountain America Center on Saturday, June 27.
Each event includes a broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir’s “Songs of Hope” concerts planned for June 24-25 at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Los Angeles. The concerts will feature a number of special guest performers, including musical artist and performer Donny Osmond. Other performers include:
- Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and singer Stephanie Block and her husband, actor Sebastian Arcelus
- Singer Katharine McPhee, and her husband, Grammy Award-winning composer and producer David Foster
- The musical group The Bonner Family
“The Choir’s return to the Hollywood Bowl is both a commemoration of our history and a celebration of the enduring relationship of the choir with the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music organization,” which is sponsoring the performance, Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt says in a news release.
The Tabernacle Choir’s first Hollywood Bowl performance took place on July 28, 1926, before an estimated crowd of 15,000 people. The choir returned twice more in 1941 and 1963.
Communities across the country, including Rexburg and Idaho Falls, are hosting their own watch parties for the concert on different nights.
Rexburg ‘Songs of Hope’ event
The watch party in Rexburg will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26 — but food trucks, family activities and games organized by BYU-Idaho student groups will be available starting at 6 p.m. Among the activities will be a rock wall and miniature golf.
Derek Porter, the voice of the choir’s long-running broadcast “Music and the Spoken Word,” will speak at the Rexburg event.
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The first 2,500 people to arrive will receive a $6 food voucher valid at participating food trucks. Additional food will be available for purchase after vouchers are distributed.
While admission is free, the public is asked to RSVP here.
“We encourage everyone to bring their family members and their friends,” Brett Crandall, one of the organizers for the Rexburg event, tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Idaho Falls ‘Songs of Hope’ event
Jay Hildebrandt and Karole Honas, former co-anchors for a local news outlet, are emceeing the Idaho Falls event on Saturday, June 27. Although admission is free, concessions will be sold. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Champ’s Heart and People in Need Coalition. You can also donate directly via Venmo @Pincoalition and @Champsheartinc, or through the QR code in the flyer below this article.
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“We have an opportunity, as a community, to come together and support some charities who really need our help,” says Brian Wood, a director of the Idaho Falls event.
Brian and his wife, Kayla, are co-directors of the event, along with Jim and Jennifer Howard. Jennifer says the four of them have been planning the evening of music, hope and connection since January.
They got to choose which charities to support, and Jennifer says they felt impressed to go with Champ’s Heart and PINC.
“Most people are familiar with Champ’s Heart. We’re super excited to support them,” Jennifer says. “PINC is not as well-known. It provides 400 to 600 grab-and-go lunches for people in need every week. They currently operate out of First Christian Church at 1800 12th Street but aren’t sure they’ll be able to keep that location going forward. They’re really hoping we can give them a leg up.”
The Mountain America Center has the capacity for 5,000 people. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the concert will start at 6:30 p.m.
Brian says he appreciates living in a community where people take care of one another, and he’s encouraging people to attend the Idaho Falls event and support the two organizations.
“Bring your neighbors and come for a really good night of entertainment. It will be really uplifting,” Kayla says.
Our attorneys tell us we need to put this disclaimer in stories involving fundraisers: EastIdahoNews.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries.