Student Mariachi Band performs on Orcas – Thanks to many for their hospitality

Orcas Island School Superintendent and High School Principal Barbara Kline being serenaded by members of Mariachi Huenachi last Friday.

Contributed by Marian O’Brien

Orcas Island rolled out the red carpet on Thursday night for the Mariachi Huenachi band students from Wenatchee School District along with their parents and teachers.

The richness that music brings to our children’s and our community lives is the stuff of the heart and soul. All of you made that possible!

For many of them it was their first ferry ride, then they were met in the dark of night by Camp Four Winds with a pickup truck sign lit by headlights to show .

The next day they woke up to the (sunny!) splendor of our Island, were greeted by our high school students and then played a fabulous concert for K-12, toured the school, and had a hearty dinner served in the school home ec room. They finally capped their envigorating day by delighting the audience at Orcas Center with their beautiful music and heartfelt appreciation.

So many thanks for this event!

First to Barbara Courtney and Deborah Sparks of Orcas Center for bringing the band and making it possible for the Wenatchee students to spend as much time with Orcas students as possible.

Then to Camp Four Winds and Susan Babcock for being hosts extraordinaire.

To Lizz Hanks for always thinking of ways to engage and involve our music students and making it possible for the band to feel at home in our school.

To our ASB President Maddy Smith for taking the lead with her usual enthusiasm in welcoming the Mariachi Huenachi band students to Orcas High.

To Key Club advisor Serra Benson and Key Club members, along with Tri-M Music Honor Society students for everything from making favors to prepping dinner to serving and cleaning up.

To Jan Reid for beautiful centerpieces.

To PTSA for funding the dinner ingredients.

To Island Market for making it possible to purchase the ingredients locally by offering a discount.

To Jim Hanks for rustling up a lot of delicious chili.

To the Boucher and Grantham families for brownies that really nicely finished off the dinner.

To the newly-formed Music Boosters who provided invaluable assistance.

So much goes into making something like this possible, and the long-lasting effects that our students and the Wenatchee students have taken away from this day are really the point.

Mariachi Huenachi Director Ramon Rivera said to his students many times during the day that Orcas Island had really rolled out the red carpet for them, and he meant it. He and his co-director Aaron Davis were visibly touched by the hospitality and warmth that was shown to their group.

It was a memorable moment when Rivera asked the entire K-12 audience how many musicians there were in the audience and a wave of hands went up. He was visibly startled by the numbers and said: “You must have a really great music program here!”

Our students responded with thundering applause and that said it all.