Community joins in at Christmas Folk Sing

Cathy Barton and Dave Para performed their annual Christmas Folk Sing in Arrow Rock Sunday, Dec. 6, and were joined onstage by several area residents.

Tempe McGlaughlin of Arrow Rock sang as she shook a tambourine, Tim Nadeau of Boonville recited a Christmas poem by Ogden Nash, and several others came onstage to sing, recite their own prose about Christmases past or accompany Barton and Para on one of the many instruments the duo had laying onstage.

For some songs, the audience was invited to join in and sing along. During "Jingle Bells," Barton told audience members unable to grab one of the few jingling instruments they had on hand, "Car keys work well."

After the song was over, Barton remarked on the voices raised, saying, "You ought to be up here, it sounds beautiful."

Husband-and-wife team Barton and Para have held annual Christmas folk sings in Arrow Rock for 30 years, said Barton.

Their habit of performing at Arrow Rock came about from a request by former Arrow Rock resident Virginia Fischer, who asked Barton to play on the boardwalk during a summer tourism season. That turned into performances on the lawn of the J. Huston Tavern, which turned into a Christmas sing, said Barton.

"So, it's really her idea, and we've loved it," she said. "To me, it's one of my favorite concerts we do all year long. I like the songs, I like the time of year; it just means a lot to me."

The pair have resided in Boonville for just short of 30 years, Barton said, "so this is home," but they don't just perform close to home.

The folk musicians have made five European tours, she said, and have performed in a variety of locations in the United States.

"To make a living doing this, you've got to be on the road a lot," Barton said, and she and her husband spend about half of each year performing far from home.

In addition to traditional folk songs, they also "collect songs," she said, and are "known for doing songs from Missouri and the Ozarks."

"But," she added, "it's not only old stuff; we'll do contemporary songs that ... are just pertinent to the area."

They also write songs of their own, such as Christmas songs, a Lewis and Clark album and Civil War albums, said Barton.

The pair are multi-instrumentalists, with Barton playing the banjo, dulcimer, harpsichord and several more and Para playing the guitar, banjo and the mouth harp, among others, during their performance in Arrow Rock. Barton said she has tackled 13 instruments, all told.

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net

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