“Well we’ll ne-ver have this night to live a-ga-in. So why not [beat] live it up [beat] while we can?”–“Northern Lights” 

So runs the hedonistic chorus to the unofficial island anthem, the traditional sing-along finale to the annual “Under the Big Top” concert. The penultimate event in the W.I. Music Festival, it’s the island talent show–a three-hour marathon of local singers and songwriters. And harmonica players. And stand-up comics. And Mark Twain impersonators.

Actually, it was a lot better than that sounds. Sure there were a few octave-jumping selections from Wicked, and one young man working out a bad breakup one stiff minor chord at a time, but there was twice as much spirited ragtime and Gershwin.

Little Oliver Hansen, who played the title role in the Island Players’ production of Oliver this summer, brought down the house with his reprise of “Where Is Love?,” and then Pastor Frank, after grousing about following the kid, belted out an antiwar ballad from Les Miz and made everybody cry. There were Irish folk songs in bell-like three-part harmony, jokes about the Town Board’s new “clear trash bags only” edict, and grasshopper pie for all.*

They didn’t get to “Northern Lights” till just shy of 11 PM, but afterward a small convoy of die-hards packed up their guitars and headed north to Fiddler’s Green, which stayed open special for the afterparty. I fell out at 1 AM, shortly after the kids from the hotel failed yet again to convince me to come for a midnight swim. But the hootenanny was still going strong with five guitars, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and a percussion section of shaker and maracas.

Between the music and the special guest stars (who only stayed a few hours, but oh such a breath of fresh Chicago air), it was, I must say, A Very Special Episode of As the Island Turns.

 

* Mix CoolWhip and creme de menthe. Spread over smooshed Oreo crust. Chill and serve.