“Popular,” “Circle of Life,” and “Put on a Happy Face,” are all songs any young child would be delighted to listen to on New Years Eve…and they could. On December 31, a singing group, For the Heart, performed at Saugatuck Elementary School as a part of First Night. This is the fourth time the group has performed in the past seven years, and members are almost all Staples students.
Among the Bouncy Castles, hot dogs and pizza, magic shows, face painting, and fortune tellers, many families ventured to the auditorium to hear the current Staples students and some Staples alumni perform.
“It’s a nice break for families to sit down and relax all together and listen to songs that they all know and love,” Cara McNiff ’14, a member of For the Heart, said.
For 45 minutes, the students not only sang Disney tunes, but also contemporary and well-known songs, such as “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, “Gone Gone Gone” by Phillip Phillips, and “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts.
According to McNiff, they “100 percent” tried to cater their song choices to the audience that they expected – children and families.
However, over half of the group is either Staples Alumni or graduating seniors, so For the Heart appears to have an endangered existence.
There are some who joined the group this year, such as Zoe Samuels ’16, and they will miss those who are graduating, or already did. “It felt really great to be up there with all the people that have been a part of For the Heart for so many years,” she said.
But Melissa Beretta ’14, the director of the group, thinks that their performance at First Night will continue for years.
“First Night is a great way for everyone in college to come home and sing together again,” Beretta said. “Even if we live in all different parts of the country we can come together for First Night and continue doing what we love.”
