Musical group

Longtime ‘Lawrence Welk Show’ regular to sing at fundraising gala in Cedar City – St George News

Screenshot of Sandi Griffiths performing “Sentimental Journey” on “The Lawrence Welk Show” in 1973. Griffiths and two of her daughters will perform at a fundraising gala in Cedar City, Utah on August 27, 2022 | Image courtesy of Jenni Wilson, St. George News/Cedar City News

CEDAR TOWN — A St. George woman who was one of the star performers on ‘The Lawrence Welk Show’ for more than a decade is set to perform a selection of her favorite songs at a fundraising gala in Cedar City on 27 august.

Screenshot of Sandi Griffiths (center of the trio) performing on “The Lawrence Welk Show.” Griffiths and two of her daughters will perform at a fundraising gala in Cedar City, Utah on August 27, 2022 | Image courtesy of Jenni Wilson, St. George News/Cedar City News

Sandi Griffiths, who appeared on Welk’s signature musical variety show from 1968 to 1980, will appear with her daughters Jenni Wilson and Emili Whitney at Festival Hall from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All three women are residents of southern Utah, with Griffiths and Whitney living in St. George and Wilson residing in Cedar City.

Among the songs featured on the evening’s playlist are “Sentimental Journey”, “I’ll Be Seeing You”, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”, “Walking in the Sunshine” and “Top of the World”.

Griffiths said participating on Welk’s show was “an amazing experience.”

“It was a wonderful time in my life,” she told Cedar City News, adding that she started the show as a duo with Sally Flynn Hart.

“When Sally went solo on Broadway, I started singing in a trio with Gail Farrell Anderson and Mary Lou Metzger,” Griffiths added.

During her years on the show, Griffiths married husband Brent Griffiths and they had their four oldest children. Sandi Griffiths eventually retired from the show in 1980 in order to be more at home with their growing family, she said.

Griffiths said she stayed in touch and continued to sing with her “Welk buddies” over the years, appearing in occasional gigs until 2011.

His daughter Jenni Wilson said she remembers being on the show as a young child, mostly at Christmas when she and her siblings sang Christmas carols and other festive favorites.

“There’s a video of me when I was 2, singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ with my mom on the show,” Wilson recalled.

Promotional flyer for “Welk Memories with Sandi Griffiths,” a fundraising gala scheduled for Cedar City, Utah on August 27, 2022 | Image courtesy of Jenni Wilson, St. George News/Cedar City News

Cedar City’s upcoming event, titled “Welk Memories with Sandi Griffiths,” is intended to help raise funds to help build a school for children in Pakistan, according to Wilson, who started the nonprofit Living. Hope Educational Enterprises about four years ago to help Pakistani children break out of the “cycle of illiteracy and poverty” by gaining access to formal education.

Although the school’s planned enrollment started at around 40 students, it quickly expanded to more than 100, Wilson said.

“It’s been working successfully for over four years, but we’ve never had a really good building to come across,” she said. “We just met at a local residence. And now, with the growth of the school, we need a larger facility that can only be dedicated to our school. »

For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to Living Hope Educational Enterprises, a Cedar City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, visit its website.

Griffiths said she looks forward to the upcoming event.

“Over the years, I’ve also loved singing with my family,” Griffiths said. “When my My daughter Jenni invited me and another daughter Emili to perform a charity concert for her non-profit school in Pakistan, we were happy to lend our hands and voices to this wonderful cause.

“We invite you to come join us and share a beautiful evening of music, stories anddaughter as we sing and reminisce about the sound of Lawrence Welk’s big band and the joy of music,” added Griffiths.

The evening will begin with a VIP reception from 6-7 p.m., when VIP guests can meet Griffiths and her daughters, take photos and enjoy light refreshments. There will also be a silent auction. Formal or casual attire is preferred, depending on the promotion of the event prospectus.

Then, beginning at 6:45 p.m., VIP guests and those arriving for general admission will be seated, with the featured two-hour program to follow thereafter, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 for general admission, $125 for VIP, with group discounts available.

To watch a YouTube video of Sandi Griffiths and others performing “Sentimental Journey” in 1973, click here. Other videos of this type can be found in the playlists here and here.

Event details

  • What: “Welk Memories with Sandi Griffiths”, a fundraising gala benefiting schoolchildren in Pakistan.
  • When: Saturday August 27. VIP reception 6-7 p.m., program 7-9 p.m.
  • Where: Festival Hall, 96 North Main, Cedar City.
  • Tickets: General admission $50 per person, VIP $125. Group discounts available. Details here.
  • Further information: Living Hope Educational Enterprises website.

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Copyright St.George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

Jeff Richards, a Salt Lake City native with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime reporter and high school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading and taking photos.

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