Wesley Bell Ringer 2017 Summer tour - DAY 4 - Bakersfield California to Los Angeles California - Tuesday June 13th, 2017

Tuesday morning in Bakersfield CA.  Our hosts at Solera at Kern Canyon rolled out the ....blue carpet & treated the Wesley Bell Ringers to a fantastic pancake breakfast made by all of our host families.  We all enjoyed an amazingly cool summer morning breakfast outside by the pool (Katie, next tour can we just say at Solera in Bakersfield for the entire two weeks????)

Most amazing tour breakfast ever.  Maybe we could enlist this crew to host our WBR pancake Sundays from now on!

Such a great place, we could have stayed all day!

Once breakfast was finished The Wesley Bell Ringers had some time to learn the fine art of Bocce Ball, a sport the residents at Solera take VERY seriously.  After a few quick lessons, the ringers organized teams & took to the courts.   After this morning, there was talk about The Wesley Bell Ringers starting a new youth group....The Wesley Bell Bocce Ball Players?!?!

Getting instructions from the Bocce master

Nice & gentle Molly

The Wesley Bell Ringers played another great show in Westwood Los Angeles.  The church was amazing & the audience, though small, left in WOW of what this group can do with their bells.  Special THANK YOU to Mike & Katherine Sohigian, Uncle & Aunt of Katie who made playing in Westwood possible.  We will be back...soon.

Holden with The Dubinskas family - Close Friends of The Regnier's

Chaundra & Katie

Elana & Chris Dixon - Aunt & Uncle of Connor Stevens



Holden & Tina, Molly, & Marin Meadors- close family friends of the Regnier family




Tuesday's venue

 Tuesday's featured ringer:

Get to know your Wesley Bell Ringers…
You can call me:	Emma (4th year bell ringer) LEAD RINGER
If I were a hand bell, I would be a:	Cowbell
My favorite Wesley Bell song is:	Lux Etera or Rhapsody in Blue
This tour I am most excited for:	Kayaking/Stand up Paddle boarding & The Grand Canyon!
What being a Wesley Bell Ringer means to me?	Being a 2nd generation WBR member  having grown up around the choir, being a part of WBR was my destiny!  It's a family tradition part of my life as an Allison.

Wesley Bell Ringer 2017 Summer tour - DAY 3 - Modesto California to Bakersfield California - Monday June 12h, 2017

   What do you do on a day which doesn't require a lot of bus time & not a lot of options for sightseeing or touring???  You improvise!  On day three The Wesley Bell Ringers left Modesto eager to "find" something fun & they did!  An hour diversion to the west to Gilroy, the garlic capital of the WORLD provided a stop at a roadside stand/shop called, GARLIC WORLD where the Wesley Bell Ringers had a chance to try some garlic delicacies such as garlic ice cream.  And of course, who wasn't excited for a photo op as a giant clove of garlic?!?! 




Connor VW

Ella

Anna

Bobbie

Charlie

Emma

Holden

Jack S

Katie

Liam

Mady

Marko

Nolan

Pamela

Connor S

Jack B

Molly garlic

A great learning lesson happened at Garlic World as well:  When the group decides to buy & try a hot sauce called "Satan's blood" which claims to be 3,000 times hotter than any hot pepper -  stand back & watch out.  The faces below said it all! 

Oh Emma....

The Wesley Bell Ringers 3rd concert was booked as a private event at the Solera Bay at Kern Canyon in Bakersfield, home of Holden's Great Aunt Nancy & Uncle Jim.  It's a rare exception for the Wesley Bell Ringers to play in a non church venue & this night was a special treat.  The Wesley's played to a packed house of Solera Bay residents who were overwhelmed with the level of talent & variety of music that The Wesley Bell Ringers played.  The choir played their best show yet (I probably will say this at every venue!) and were told after the show that The Wesley Bell Ringer's were THE BEST performing group they had ever had at Solera Bay! 

Holden with Great Aunt Carol & Cousin Doug - they traveled an hour away to support Holden



Uncle Him & Aunt Nancy  with Holden

And your ringer of the day is MARKO:

Get to know your Wesley Bell Ringers…
You can call me:	Marko (3rd year bell ringer)
If I were a hand bell, I would be a:	C3 Chime
My favorite Wesley Bell song is:	Fantasy on Kingfold
This tour I am most excited for:	Seeing the Southwest part of the country
What being a Wesley Bell Ringer means to me?	Being part of a family of people from different backgrounds & all over the country (and world) having this unusual connection between all of us.

Wesley Bell Ringer 2017 Summer tour - DAY 2 - Sparks Nevada to Modesto California - Sunday June 11th, 2017

Wesley Bell Ringer Summer Tour - Day 2





This day started off with snowflakes & a hike to Vikingsholm castle at Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.  The Wesley Bell Ringers enjoyed a morning of nature, amazing views, & the history of Lora J Knight & her idea to build a summer home in 1928 in one of the most scenic spots in the world.   True fact -  her home was made from materials found at Lake Tahoe and some portions of the home was constructed without nails or spikes.  And the island in the middle of the bay is called Fannette Island where Lora Knight had her mid afternoon tea.



Emerald Bay - Lake Tahoe CA



Wesley Bell Ringers enjoying the morning of nature!

If only the water was just a bit warmer, right Emma?



We made it down to Vikingsholm & are ready to check out this amazing home.

The 2nd Wesley Bell Ringer performance was at Christ United Methodist Church in Modesto California.  This was the first time the Wesley Bell Ringers had the pleasure to play at this location.  Though it was one of the smallest venue's the ringers have played to date, the audience was filled with hand bell enthusiasts & the the congregation's own bell choir.   It is always a pleasure to perform for a group who have a working knowledge of how hard it is to make amazing music within a hand bell choir. 



It’s worth it to be a Wesley

Mady Roberts

I wanted to take a chance to write about my experience in the Wesleys. A few years ago when I had first started dating my husband, I left on tour and while I was gone I would tell him about everything that went on. Some days were nothing but fun and other days I would feel like ripping my hair out in clumps. On these days, I would often call him to complain and he would say to me “Then why do you still do it?” And that was the question, wasn’t it? Why still be in the Wesley’s even though it includes countless hours of hard work and can often feel thankless? Then I said to him because it Is worth it to be a Wesley. Being a Wesley means that your hard work is never enough. It means doing your best all the time. Not only in your music but in how you present yourself to the world. Being a Wesley also means making the best friends you will ever have with a connection that is incomparable to anybody else. When you spend as much time as we do together, chances are by the end of our two week tour you’ll have 15 people that won’t just be your greatest friends, but the best kind of family you could have ever asked for. Yes, all the activities we do are incredible experiences but at the end of the day, the memories you end up keeping with you are in host homes, churches, or just spent on the bus. You don’t need expensive entertainment to have fun because all of your craziest, funniest, or most emotional stories come from the moments where you are all together doing nothing at all. Now that my husband has had the Wesley experience, He knows what it feels like to play the best music possible and make memories out of nothing. There is a lot of work that goes into this organization and along with all that work comes a great pride in what you do. It’s not just making music, being a Wesley is so much bigger than just making music. Being a part of something that is so much bigger than you or any one individual is part of what makes our organization so special. Many people wonder why an group such as this has stuck around so long and it’s not because of the music or the fundraising or even the tour. It because, like the many other 450+ people before us, we know what it feels like to laugh until our sides hurt, we know how it feels to console another person over something that may seem nonsensical, we know how it feels to work until we’re dog tired and we also know that is worth it to be a Wesley.

Get to know your Wesley Bell Ringers…
You can call me:	Mady (Roberts) Boyle Super super senior!
If I were a hand bell, I would be a:	C6 - it plays/talks too much
My favorite Wesley Bell song is:	Rhapsody in Blue
This tour I am most excited for:	Santa Monica Pier & TEXAS!  Some of the most fun I've had on my past tours was in TEXAS
What being a Wesley Bell Ringer means to me?	Being a Wesley means endless amounts of hard work, lifelong friendships, feeling disappointed when I don't do well & being on top of the world when I do.

Get to know your Wesley Bell Ringers…

 

You can call me:

            

Mady (Roberts) Boyle

Super super senior!

If I were a hand bell, I would be a:

               

C6 - it plays/talks too much

 

My favorite Wesley Bell song is:

       

Rhapsody in Blue

This tour I am most excited for:

        

Santa Monica Pier & TEXAS!  Some of the most fun I've had on my past tours was in TEXAS

What being a Wesley Bell Ringer means to me?

         

Being a Wesley means endless amounts of hard work, lifelong friendships, feeling disappointed when I don't do well & being on top of the world when I do.

Wesley Bell Ringer & Asbury Ringer movie night - Aladdin

For those of you who have been following The Wesley Bell Ringers this spring, you know that they have a fantastic piece based on the Disney movie, Aladdin. Sure to be the crowd favorite.  Though the kids are familiar with the music of Aladdin, many of them had never seen the film.  Lucky for us, Katie had the projector supplies & Jenn & Sean (Holden's parents)  had the perfect back yard to host this movie party on Sunday night.  As they waited to the sky to darken,  the Wesley's & Asbury's settled in with some snacks. 

It was a magical night as kids sang (and practiced their bell moves)  along to the familiar music.  As the Wesley Bell Ringer's start the Aladdin piece at each concert along the way this summer, may the images of this event fill their hearts & inspire them to provide an unbelievable outstanding  experience for all who attend their concerts. 

Not a bad seat on the lawn

Waiting for it to get dark....will it ever happen?



Katie & Anna super excited for the movie to start! 



Thank you Asbury's for coming - Abbie & Connor.  Can't wait for you to be Wesley's!



It isn't a Wesley event without Zooey & Lily.  Future Wesley's too?!



How many days until tour?   This group can't wait!

2017 Wesley Bell Ringer summer tour - before the tour begins - Wesley Bell Ringer Sunday - June 4th.

And the countdown to the Wesley Bell Ringer Summer tour begins...

  Pancakes, pancakes, & more pancakes.  The Wesley Bell Ringers played in both church services as well as hosted church member's for the traditional pancake breakfast for Wesley Bell Ringer Sunday.  Thank you for all who supported The Wesley Bell Ringers AND a special THANK YOU to the Asbury Ringers who worked so hard to ensure this breakfast was a success!

Summer tour map - thanks Darlene for creating this. 



When Zooey is tasked with making Ed a pancake as BIG as a plate, she took this assignment to heart.  Who knows how much pancake batter when into this masterpiece, but it was worth every bit. 



Ed holding on to Zooey for dear life as he thinks about eating all of this!

Priceless Wesley Bell Ringer Sunday moment!