Youth Choir Concert ends with a tribute to America
BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI)- A youth concert ended Saturday with a tribute to America. The concert included songs from many different genres and eras but ended with an armed forces medley and "It's America" by Rodney Atkins.
The students say they really enjoyed participating in the concert as well.
"It was awesome. It is a little bit scary sometimes, but the after feeling is awesome," said Hannah Smith.
"I think it's my first time doing it. It's a really fun experience. I love it. And, well, my brother loves it, too," said Grace Parrish.
"I actually had a lot of fun. I was also kind of nervous, though, because, like during the armed forces, I felt like I wasn't being, like, sharp enough and I got kind of nervous, but otherwise, I thought it was awesome," said Maycee Nelson Higbee.
During the Medley, a representative of each branch in full dress or "dress blues" came out when their branch's song was sung. Members of the audience who had either served or had family that served stood as well when each branch song was sung.
For the members of the choir seeing that was exhilarating.
"I actually got to see the people who helped keep our country safe," Smith said.
"I loved it. It was really cool for me cause I just love seeing the people who help us. And I was just thinking about how what an awesome experience it was to meet them," said Parrish.
"My great grandpa, he was and he trained for the Navy. He was in the Navy for a while, though. But he, you know, trained for the Navy. And I just thought that was so cool that I got to see like. Like what? Their uniforms of, like, and all that. I thought that was, like, really cool," said Nelson Higbee.
For Lance Kolbet being a part of that as a representative of the Coast Guard was special.
"I think it's a really big honor. I was really tickled when we got a call from Cindy Bowen and we had a person from each branch of service come in. And, you know, this is the first time we've done this. And it was really nice to see. When it came time to just reflect back on what it is to be an American and, you know, everybody stood up and you could just see the audience, the sense of patriotism," Kolbet said.
He added that many came up to him afterward and thanked him for his service and were curious about what his dress uniform was from. "I obviously had a number of people that had to come up to me and say, I don't know what that uniform is. That's the Coast Guard here in Idaho. So that was fun."
He says that seeing everyone come together as Americans was something that he wishes would happen more. "We live in a society right now where it's so divisive in our politics and whatnot, but I love the fact that we can drop an American flag and that transcends everything, all of our political parties, our beliefs. We are really all in the same boat, rowing in the same direction. And I have a lot of hope and optimism for the future because when we drop a flag, we all are on the same team."
