Long before we started watching other people sing on "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent," people used to sing themselves. Lots and lots of people.
In the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the Minneapolis Park Board hosted community singing events every night in 11 parks for eight weeks, drawing hundreds of thousands of people over the course of a summer.
"It was not infrequent to have sings attract 10,000 people," Theodore Wirth, the godfather of the city's parks, reported in his 1945 book "Minneapolis Park System." "In 1931, a crowd of 40,000 flooded Powderhorn Lake Park."
A group is trying to revive the notion of mass public singing, with the proceeds going to charity. Minnesota Community Sings raised $2,700 for Haitian earthquake relief by enticing 150 people to sing in public in April. Now, the group hopes to attract even more people and raise even more money with a follow-up event Saturday.
Just don't call it a sing-along.
"We don't use that term because it sounds kind of cornball," said Betty Tisel, who said that she focuses on organizing while her partners, Bret Hesla and Mary Preus, focus on the singing. "We prefer the term 'community sing.'"
Enthusiasm is more important than talent, Hesla said. No one will give you a dirty look if you're slightly off key -- or even way off key.
"This is for ordinary voices," he said. "We don't have a star soloist and then have the crowd chime in on the chorus. The song leader helps get things started and then gets out of the way."
In addition to aiming at singers of all abilities, the event caters to those of all ages. Song sheets with words will be passed out for some of the tunes, Tisel said, "But we also sing songs like 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.'"
The organizers, who would like to make community sings a regular event, plan to fill in the participants on the history of what they are doing.
"The parks competed against each other for a trophy" that was awarded at the end of the year, Tisel said. "It was big news. There were front-page stories in the newspaper about it."
Hesla won't have any trophies to hand out, but he does promise that everyone will leave with a smile.
"One of the beauties of group singing is the way it brings us together," he said. "It's wonderful when everyone jumps in and sings."
Jeff Strickler • 612-673-7392
