Beverly and Area
Community News
SPRING 2024
Beverly Heights Variety Show Celebrates 53rd Year The Beverly Heights Variety Show is truly an anomaly. The longest running communitybased variety show in the City of Edmonton, it is such a quintessential Beverly experience that you simply can’t miss it. Its excellence and the passion of the many people behind it are evidenced by the fact that it is still going strong after 53 years, after so many similar communitybased programs across the City have come and gone. The Beverly Heights Variety Show first ran in 1971, when Judy Jacobs and her husband Lawrence saw a similar variety show in another Edmonton community and asked themselves why it couldn’t exist in Beverly. That first year, they held four shows and sold out all 1200 seats at $2.50 per ticket. With its sometimes risqué fast-hitting humour, its expansive and delicious food and drink menu, and its offering of a night out amongst neighbours and friends, the show was a hit. That first show was a major source of fundraising for the Beverly Heights Community League, and has continued to be for 53 years, funding many of the programs, sports teams, and community activities that the Community League has run over the years. Since 1971, hundreds of people have volunteered to support the event, from the actors and actresses to the musicians to the behindthe-scenes lighting and prop volunteers. This includes work beginning in July to form the committee and determine writers and directors, volunteer and cast recruitment in December, and rehearsals starting in January to put on the show at the end of each February. It is a massive undertaking to put on the show each
year, but there is a beating heart of proud community members who are honoured to give their time to such a major Beverly staple. 2024’s show, its 53rd, was titled “Again!!”, and was yet another brilliant performance from everyone involved. As we’ve all come to expect, this year’s show was a fast-paced rollercoaster of laugh after laugh, a hilarious adventure through skits, one liners, and anecdotes that seemed to never end. Discussing the show after, it was apparent how highly regarded it was, many noting it was one of the best yet. If you have not attended the Beverly Heights Variety Show, look out for information on Facebook or at beverlyheights.ca, and plan to attend in 2025, when the show returns for its 54th year of combining hilarity with community spirit.
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