Dinner Theatre 2006

The 14th Annual Dinner Theatre in Kelsey is about to begin with the first performance on February 10. There will be a total of 11 shows with the final night being February 25.

The Director this year is Sue Russell and the Producer is the mother-daughter tag team of Mabel Fenske and Karen Greenwood.

All of these ladies have been involved with the show in varying capacities over the last few years.

Rehearsals started last fall and the cast and crew have been very dedicated and committed to putting on this show which is a sequel of last years �Run For Your Wife� by Ray Cooney.

Following is a brief summary of this season�s production.

Caught in the Net by Ray Cooney

It's hard to believe that almost 18 years have past since John, a London taxi driver who has 2 wives, narrowly escapes being caught. Thankfully, with the help from the renter in the flat upstairs, John was able to keep his secret all these years, and neither of his wives found out about the other. Life has been fairly quiet for them until now, as Gavin (John and Barbara's 16 year old son), and Vicki (John and Mary's 15 year old daughter) chat on the Internet, and plan to meet face to face. If they meet, this could mean the end of John's lives, as he knows them....

Once again, the Kelsey version of Ticketmaster, Margo Thirsk and the office of Thirsk Seed Farm handled ticket sales. Once again, cars started to line up in the Thirsk yard well before tickets went on sale at 7am. For the second year in a row, ticket buyer number one was Rita Helmig. Rita sets her alarm clock at an ungodly hour and makes it to the Thirsk driveway at�wait for it�5 am!!! (Her husband stayed home in bed).

Ticket sales were brisk and all tickets were mostly gone by the end of the first week of December and totally sold out shortly after that.

So�for the 14th time, the sounds of laughter will come from our loyal audiences.

Well done everyone!

�Teams� of Volunteers

Since 2003, we have been writing about the difficulty in maintaining the army of volunteers who came to work at the dinner theatre. Simply put, our numbers of volunteers have dropped dramatically over the past five years. A number of our community residents have retired and moved to Camrose, a few have passed away and other factors have affected many other volunteers.

No one can question the fact that our community as a whole is aging, is involved in other activities and that a replacement generation simply isn�t large enough to step in and replace the 180 people who worked together to run the show in its first 10 years. No one is to blame for this development, it is the reality of rural Alberta and our community is no exception.

Consequently, KCS began to react to this three years ago by reducing the number of volunteers who worked every night and turned more work over to the capable and professional hands of Bill and Jean Resch of A1 Catering.

We still use volunteers but just not as many each night.

In order to further streamline the process of attracting volunteers and setting up a work schedule for them, KCS has decided to try a �team� approach.

This year, we are asking for a �team� consisting of 7 people. Within this seven member group will be a doorman, 2 people hanging coats and greeting customers, 2 people who will seat customers and 2 bartenders.

All team members are welcome to stay for the show after their jobs are done. If they wish, they can ask Bill how they can help with table service but A1 has committed to looking after table service. Mabel Fenske and Karen Greenwood will require at least three of the team members to help them with intermission draws.

So, if you can round up a �team� please call Janet Hillaby at 672-6423 to volunteer for a night. Now, all volunteers are gratefully received so the past system of calling Janet and volunteering is also still in effect. Janet will work out which evening(s) you can work according to your personal schedule.

We truly do appreciate Janet being Volunteer Coordinator; this is a thankless job that is very demanding and time consuming. Jim Hillaby is again looking after the liquor sales.

A Spring Garage Sale?

This idea has been raised by a few of our community members. How about holding a community garage sale at the hall in late April 2006?

We have done this before with everyone enjoying themselves, people getting bargains and also moving out �stuff� they no longer need.

This will be on the agenda at the An nual Meeting (date to be announced) so think about this and come up with some suggestions or comments.

Succession Time is Here

14 years ago, we were...well...14 years younger!

Time and other commitments and new interests mean that for many of us, we would like to relinquish some or most of our duties with the Society and its Executive.

We have a wonderfully strong organization in the form of Kelsey Community Society and a great relationship with the members of the Kelsey Drama Club. Truly, what this small community (which does not have the benefit of a village�s population within itself) has accomplished is remarkable.

We, as a group, need to seriously consider this idea of �succession� in order to ensure that our Society continues on with enthusiasm and pride. We need to begin to replace long term faces with new ones. This does not mean that at an Annual meeting, we saddle any newcomers who happen to attend the meeting with executive positions or browbeat them into accepting responsibilities!

It's time to look around and begin to encourage people to step forward and work with present members to gain an understanding of how the Society works and what responsibilities and opportunities being involved can bring.

So, when you come to the dinner theatre this year, come with an attitude of considering becoming involved in a vibrant and forward-looking organization. Ask some questions about how things are run and what the future might hold. KCS is an exciting organization with a positive and progressive attitude and a long history of successful community ventures.

The Annual meeting will be held in late March. Please try to attend and take part-we promise we won�t shanghai you with a position.

Become part of the future in our community!

Castor Dinner Theatre

Susan Sisson of the Castor community is extending an invitation to our community to attend their dinner theatre presentation, �Natural Causes� on March 3 & 4.

�Natural Causes� is a comedy and is held at the Castor Community Hall.

Doors open at 5pm, supper is served at 6pm; the show starts at 8pm and will last until approximately 10:30pm. Tickets are $30.00 each and available from Susan by calling 403-882-4011.

Susan, her husband, Don (who is Directing �Natural Causes�) and some other community members have attended our dinner theatre in the past and have enjoyed the evening and being given a tour of backstage. They will welcome any and all Kelsey customers.

Perhaps this could be a group venture?

A New Septic tank

KCS has installed a new 3000-gallon fiberglass septic tank, which replaces the cement tank installed 20-some years ago. The old tank had sprung a leak, which could have meant contaminating the hall well.

A tanker will pump out the tank, thereby eliminating the surface pump out system previously in use. This new tank and haul out procedure now meets current health regulations for disposal of sewage in a hamlet.

Theo Thirsk was the foreman for this job and Westfall Backhoe of Edberg did the installation.

From the files of the "Kelsey" news , Camrose Canadian

Feb. 7, 1939

Many complaints are heard about the cold spell. The groundhog saw his shadow so we will have at least six more weeks of winter, which we probably would have had anyway.

Our senior hockey team motored to Ohaton on Saturday and lost 6-2. Better luck next time.

Feb. 6, 1940

Both of the Kelsey stores have recently installed telephones.

Feb. 3, 1959

Bawlf High School lost out in the High School Curling Playdowns. On the Bawlf team were Dwayne Aide, Roy Cunningham, Dennis Kinnee and Dale Rhyason.

God Also Has A Sense of Humour
(Provided by Ginette Thirsk)

A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital

While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live."

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a facelift, liposuction, and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color.

Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance.

Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 40 years? Why didn't you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance?"

(You'll love this!!!)

God replied, I didn't recognize you."

Don Gregorwich, Secretary-Treasurer

Home | Kelsey History | Kelsey Newsletter | Community Photos
Kelsey Drama Club | Contact Information