OVOC's Okanogan Building Partially Collapses, Support Appreciated

Sometime in the night Dec. 26/27 part of our home building in downtown Okanogan collapsed. While we work through insurance and damage assessments and try to figure out if any of the building is safe, we ask just a couple things:

1. Please be safe and KEEP AWAY. We do not know if the building is stable. At this point, we have not been cleared to enter ANY part of the building.

2. If you see anyone else near the building, please let the authorities know. We would like to minimize theft attempts, so if you are in the area, please keep an eye out.

But all this is just another chapter in the #MusicContinues saga. The last couple years have been difficult, to say the least. Cancellations, virtualizations, postponements, oh my! But here we are, still bringing music and performing arts to our community.

During the last couple years, we've also been raising money and making plans to remodel our home building. We have great visions for wonderful prop and costume storage, meeting spaces and a small events venue. Of course, that’s taken a detour. And while the damage is devastating, there are some things to be thankful for:

1. No one was hurt. That in itself is enough. But there's more:

2. We lost the north side, not the south side where most of our costumes and music library are stored. The loss of our unique and nostalgic collection should be minimal.

3. Somehow - amazingly - the beautiful mural on the north side of the building is still intact (see the photo). While this might not last, it's just a lovely reminder of silver linings.

4. We have our rescheduled Winter Concert on Jan. 7, Variety Show on Feb. 11 and Spring-Family Concert on March 25. And how about our Musical - The Wind in the Willows - this May? Yep. That's still happening.

5. We have amazing supporters, donors, grantors, and more to come. The GiveNCW campaign is still going through Dec. 31, so if anyone feels compelled to help us out that way, that's the best option (it could be matched)! www.givencw.org.

We could keep going, but we all get the point here: This is a setback. A nasty one. But this chapter is still being written, and we believe in our community. Not only can we rebuild an orchestra and chorus and musical production post-pandemic, we can rebuild a building, too.

We will post information and updates to our schedule, funding opportunities and more on our Instagram and Facebook, so please like/follow us if you can.

THANK YOU for your love, support, and happy thoughts. YOU are why and how we do what we do.

Winter Concert Postponed!

Due to the developing snow storm, we must cancel the winter concert scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 10 at the PAC.

These are extreme circumstance and were not foreseeable, as it is still Fall until Dec 21st, on most of our calendars! But after much deliberation, it was determined by our board and the Directors that this is the right course of action to take for the safety of everyone. We value our members WAY too much to put you in harm's way.

We will inform you, if and when we are able to reschedule, hopefully this January!

Winter Concert Saturday, Dec. 10!

Okanogan Valley Orchestra and Chorus will present their Winter Concert on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. in the Omak PAC with classic and modern tunes and special guests.

As special guests, first and third graders and the Hearts Gathered group from Paschal Sherman Indian School will share songs to kick off the show.

The orchestra and chorus will share pieces from both classic and modern holiday favorites, following the theme of "New Beginnings."

The orchestra will present rock instrumentation in the style of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, music from the Polar Express, and the 1943 classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas," among other pieces.

The chorus will present the Pentatonix version of "Mary Did You Know," brand new song "Noel," and a medley called "Christmas Fanfare." Members from the Brewster High School Choir will join the chorus for a special piece entitled "Still, Still, Still."

Finally, the orchestra and chorus will gather for a joint presentation of “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Tickets are $10 for all adults, free for anyone 18 and younger. Concessions will also be available by donation.

The concert is one part of a full day of seasonal activities in the City of Omak, and will end in time for the audience to catch the Twilight Parade on Main Street.