East Hampton - Fifty-nine youth and 21 adults are preparing to leave on a tour of a lifetime to New York City and Boston early this Saturday morning! They wish to thank all B.A. members and groups who supported their tour.

They will travel all this week, then return to Tulsa Friday evening and sing their home concert next Sunday, June 13, at 6 p.m. All are welcome!

They will arrive in New York at 5 p.m Saturday, then sing for Sunday worship at Christ UMC on Park Avenue in Manhattan before sight-seeing the rest of the day.

"Because the group is so large and we'll be traveling by subway, we will divide into "clans" of five to seven youth with two adults," explained Dr. Joel Panciera, Chapel Choir director. "We usually mix up each clan, but have decided to keep friends together for this trip."

Part of the choir will tour Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Times Square on Sunday, then see Top of the Rock and St. Patrick's Cathedral and attend Phantom of the Opera on Broadway on Monday evening. The rest will attend The Lion King or Memphis on Sunday, then tour on Monday with a twilight cruise. The group will stay at a hotel in Times Square.

All will enjoy a "hop on, hop off" tour to Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo, Tribeca, Macy's Herald Square, Ground Zero, Wall Street Financial District, Rockefeller Center, and the United Nations and will eat at Ellen's Stardust Diner, which features singing waiters.

Tuesday includes an optional stop at the "Today Show," then a visit to Radio City Music Hall or the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art before they travel on to Bristol, Connecticut, to sing at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.

Wednesday will be spent in Boston, with time at Faneuil Hall Market area, a guided tour of the Freedom Trail, and possibly a visit to Harvard University.

Thursday the choir will travel to East Hampton and spend time on the beach. That evening they will sing at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman's congregation. Rabbi Zimmerman was this year's Barton Clinton Gordey presenter.

They will travel home Friday afternoon. and sing at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday morning, June 13, before the home concert at 6 p.m.

"Since NYC is called 'the crossroads of the world,' our tour theme this year is 'Crossroads,'" says Dr. Panciera. "We will learn more about historic people who either grew up or had "crossroads" moments in New York City or Boston that benefitted our country. Some of those will include George Washington, Jonas Salk, Lou Gehrig, Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Ella Fitzgerald.

"Each of them had crossroads moments and made wise decisions. We'll look at what we can learn from those people and their decisions. What can they teach us about good leadership?"
Dr. Susan Panciera will accompany the choir.

The Jewish Center of the Hamptons is located at 44 Woods Lane, East Hampton, 631-324-9858, www.jcoh.org.