WHATELY — There was a request from the crowd at the Tri-Town Beach for ABBA’s “Mamma Mia.” So Sara Synder with her ukulele and banjo player accompaniment, went for it.
Soon the two dozen people, mostly seniors, were singing along to the famed tune, one that many of them were particularly familiar with after going to the movies recently for a South County Senior Center outing to see the blockbuster production.
The seniors, along with a few kids in the crowd, sang in chorus: “Mamma mia, here I go again/My my, how can I resist you?”
There’s no resisting senior center events these days either. Now that Christina Johnson is in her position as the new director of the center, people can slot back into their usual job roles and begin to make more programming.
“We wanted an inter-generational event,” Program Coordinator Sue Corey said. “And what better way than with ice cream and singing.”
They were able to host Synder of Joy of Song Community Music, banjo player Karl Ferret, offer ice cream from Bart’s and hold the function at the beach through various funding sources, including grant money from the cultural councils in Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately and the state’s division.
“As far as I’m concerned the more things like this the better,” Johnson said, as she watched the crowd sing along with Synder’s renditions.
Joining in were a couple kids, at times, dancing to the delight of the seniors. They danced a hula as those sang “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”
“I just think it’s good for multi-generations to experience each other’s company and to see what it’s like to be with other people,” Fran York said, between singing notes of “Sweet Caroline.”
For Synder, it’s all about the generations singing these songs together.
“What I really value about this is all these songs are the cultural fabric of our country,” Synder said.
“What I feel like is we’re passing the culture on through the generations. At a time when our culture is so fragmentary, it’s very moving to share this cultural experience.”