On the Road to Mamma Mia

Written and sent by Ed James at the request of Kel Smith and Ed Arndt

The whole group of intrepid educators after the event on the trip home.

Most teachers are an adventurous lot and the former school employees in the SWA Chapter are no exception. I have also found that they tend to be life long learners as the world is constanly changing. Our local chapter meets every so often for a lunch to remember the “Good Old Days “ or talk about their newest adventure.

At most of these luncheons there is a guest speaker with a topic of interest to us! One of the yearly highlights of the group is a spring road trip to some location, that in the past have included all four points of the compass. The location is decided by majority vote and plans are made by the trip co-ordinator, who for the last several years has been well-known locally and almost retired teacher, Kelvon Smith.

This year’s destination was very different in content and date, when the group decided to motor to Winnipeg on the air-conditioned bus borrowed from the local Virden hockey team to see Mamma Mia at Rainbow stage in Kildonan Park. Since the total package included the bus, all meals, tickets, bus refreshments and games, it was important to fill all the seats on the bus.

Kel opened the trip up to chapter family members and before we knew it, we had 44 people ready to go, on that hot August afternoon. During the drive, there were movies, bingo and trivia games, along with lots of fellowship and fun! The trip was well worth it and the play was very well done had most of the group singing and clapping along with the stage action. On a personal note, the actors included a varied ethnic mix and Kel Smith ready to enter the and a good selection of body types, Rainbow stage theater since in the real world, one size does not fit all, just like a single lesson plan in the classroom! On the ride home there was a stop at a Portage la Prairie hotel for the Sunday night buffet and our group took no prisoners with the dessert bar being very popular. The rest of the trip home was very quiet, after the supper stop . Getting back to the play, I still felt that a live stage performance is better then a movie, for as Shakespeare said, “The play’s the thing!” Tour leader Captain Smith said about the day, “We saw Rainbow Stage at its very best,” and I believe our crew of 44 will agree with this statement! I highly recommend “Mamma Mia” to all of you. ¡