A fine day to be from Auburn

 

M. ALEXANDER OTTO; The News Tribune
Last updated: January 23rd, 2006 03:57 PM (PST)

The event, a variety show at the Auburn Performing Arts Center followed by dinner - all free - was about building community, said Janice Nelson, one of the event's organizers.

For 6-year-old Sylvia Jones, though, it was more about fun. She brought the house down with her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Her mom, Cynthia, mouthed the words from the audience in case she needed a little prompting.

"I got to sing and it was lots of fun," Sylvia said backstage, suddenly shy in her pink dress.

Uniquely Auburn got its start through Auburn-based Trillium Employment Services, which works to integrate people with disabilities into the community and find jobs for them, Nelson said.

Building a sense of community isn't always easy. "People need help to create community and make bridges," she explained.

Enter Uniquely Auburn, where those connections can be made for those with disabilities who attended the show, and others.

Nelson and other organizers have been working on the event since September. The roughly $3,000 cost was covered by the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Auburn Arts Commission, and a long list of other local business, individuals, and organizations.

Sometimes organizers find the talent, other times the talent finds them, as in Sylvia's case. A teacher at Chinook Elementary suggested she strut her stuff at the event, Nelson said.

About 60 people took the stage before the maroon curtains of the center. They sang and danced and talked. The Auburn Elites, a troupe of about 40 kids aged 6 to 15, juggled, walked on stilts, and did other circus arts, glowing in fluorescent face-paint under a black light.

Night Flight, a four-woman barbershop quartet, gave a pitch-perfect renditions of "I've got the World on a String" and other classics. "We love to sing," said tenor Robin Hobson, of Puyallup.

Four members of the Auburn High School debate team argued both for and against the Bush administration's efforts to catch terrorists by tapping phone calls without a warrant.

After leading the team to 36 state and three national championships, former debate team coach Mike Burton was honored at the event. The team recently became the first nonathletic team to be inducted in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame.

Children showed a video about what life is like in Auburn for Latino junior high students. One boy remembered the person who taught him English when he arrived in the country from Mexico four years ago.

"I want to thank him a lot," the boy said in the tape.

"These kids are going to amount to something," said Billy Robinson, 76, of Federal Way, during the intermission.

Autumn Judge, one of two performers of a Muckleshoot canoe song, explained why she was there. "We are part of the Auburn community. People don't always know that," she said.

Auburn resident Karen Hassen, 36, has come to Uniquely Auburn for nine years. "I enjoy it. It's such a variety," she said.

"I've always been very appreciative of what Auburn puts on for the people for Auburn," said Barbara Melesis, 69, whose family escaped from communist Poland in 1949. "Auburn has become my home," she said.

They and others were taking master-of-ceremonies Brian Love's advice at the start of the show: "Get to know the neighbors next to you."