On Saturday, October 13, the Blaine High School Concert Orchestra, Concert Band and Concert Choir supported the 18th Annual Northern Stars Celebration at the Hyatt Hotel in Minneapolis.
The Northern Star Celebration, organized by the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation, takes place every year. The main focus of the event is to raise funds to support high quality education in our schools. The donations made this evening afford books, co-curricular art and music and other extra-curricular activities.”Over the years, generous contributions have funded talent development programs and provided grants to teachers to support innovation and higher levels of student achievement across the district.”, says co-chair Ann Sievers.
The evening began around 5:30 pm with a social hour, which gave the guests the opportunity to participate in the silent auction and listen to live music by the Blaine High School Chamber Orchestra. Some Blaine High School students were selling different kinds of raffle tickets and little star pins.
About two hours later, the doors to the ballroom were opened and dinner was served. The Blaine High School Jazz band, directed by Bruce Olson, provided live music. After dinner, everybody who had bought a star pin before, was invited to join a game of ‘Heads or Tails’. Afterwards, the drawing for the cash raffle and a live auction started. Everybody had the chance to bid on different kinds of items, like a trip to Washington D.C. in springtime.
Around 8:30 pm, the Blaine High School Music Department started its performance “A Patriotic Celebration”. It included for example the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America, the Beautiful”. The Blaine Concert Orchestra, Mr. Schaefle, Concert Band, Mr. Olson, and Concert Choir, Ms. Zemlin, worked together to make this evening an unforgettable experience.