STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Caritas Chorale is staging an evening of tricks and treats when it holds “A Caritas Fundraising Concert: Full of Tricks and Treats” on Sunday.

The program will start at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at Ketchum’s Limelight Hotel. It will feature hearty hors d’oeuvres, wine and, of course, plenty of singing led by the gentle meister R.L. Rowsey.

There also will be a paddle up and great auction items, including Buy Local Baskets containing gifts from local retailers, a Challenger Ski Pass donated by Sun Valley Resort, a four-night stay for up to four in a luxurious landmark apartment in New York City and seven nights for up to six in Mexico at a choice of six locations, including Acapulco and Riviera Maya.

“We’re going to sing a bit, enjoy some food, socialize and raise an awful lot of money,” said R.L. Rowsey, the Chorale’s director.

Rowsey has chosen some fun music in keeping with the season.

“It’s so close to Halloween we’re looking at things with a bit of a ghoulish theme. One piece has lyrics by Edgar Allen Poe. We’ll also have ‘The Time Warp from the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ where we’ll ask audience to join in. When I proposed this to members of the Chorale, there was a lot of laughing and giggling—some had never heard of it.”

This is the first fundraising concert the Caritas Chorale has had since the COVID pandemic The money raised will help pay the costs of staging the Chorale’s free concerts throughout the year.

“Our members were able to stay engaged during the COVID era by making music videos, doing training on Zoom and performing outdoor concerts at the Reinheimer Ranch and in the beautiful courtyard at Our Lady of the Snow Catholic Church. We even started showing up at the Hailey Cemetery for the Memorial Day Ceremony, before the Fourth of July Parade and at Christmas tree lightings,” Rowsey said.

“We discovered we don’t want to ever stop doing all of that. But we do want to go back inside to do some larger standard concerts; hence, the need to come back to a fundraiser. We want to do a piece with an instrumental ensemble, for instance, so it’s time to see if we can put some more dollars in the bank.”

The Caritas Chorale will stage a Christmas concert in mid-December and another concert in late winter or early spring.

“Some of the folks have been around a long time, but we also have new people moving to the valley who are finding out about us and joining us in song, and I couldn’t be more delighted,” said Rowsey.

Tickets to Sunday’s fundraiser are $150 per person, available from Chorale members, at caritaschoralesunvalley@yahoo.com or by calling 208-720-7104. Tickets may also be purchased online at https://caritaschorale.org/.