LUDLOW, Vt. – Jane McGarry, who runs the popular Singo bingo games at Off the Rails, Black Line Tavern (Magic Mountain), and other New England venues, is hosting a special Singo Night on Monday, June 24, at 7 p.m., to raise funds for the United Church of Ludlow’s Ring Out Love Capital Campaign. Ludlow musician Sammy Blanchette, aka Sammy B, will perform the songs live, adding a unique twist to a fun event that usually offers recorded music.
Singo is a musical variation of bingo that uses songs instead of numbers to fill playing cards. It’s fun for all ages, everybody sings along, and winners get prizes for each of three Singo rounds. Singo cards will be on sale at the fundraiser, with every dollar raised going to the church’s Ring Out Love Campaign. Snacks will be provided, and participants are encouraged to BYOB.
The United Church is located at 48 Pleasant Street in Ludlow. Learn more about Singo at www.playsingo.com. Sammy Blanchette is online at www.sammyblanchette.net.
The United Church of Ludlow is trying to raise $50,000 to restore its historical bell. With the campaign theme “Ring Out Love,” the United Church hopes to not only repair the disintegrating supports on its venerable bell, but also to make upgrades, to improve accessibility, and to help neighbors in need.
Built in 1891 as the Congregational Church of Ludlow, the United Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of the only churches in Vermont constructed in a fully mature expression of shingle-style architecture. Its Congregationalist congregation was organized in 1806, and in 1930 it merged with a Methodist congregation to form a union congregation and become the United Church of Ludlow.
The Church’s more than 1,000-pound bell was cast by the Holbrook Bell Foundry of East Medway, Mass., in 1839, when Martin Van Buren was president, only 50 years after the Constitution of the United States became effective. Community members had the opportunity to tour the belfry in 2012 when the church threw a party celebrating the 120th birthday of its building and the 220th birthday of its founding. More information about the bell is available on the United Church website, www.unitedchurch.us.
Over the years, the United Church has become a community gathering place in Ludlow, hosting concerts, events, dinners, game nights, and meetings of local nonprofit organizations, including Black River Good Neighbor Services’ Memory Café to support people with dementia.
Anyone wishing to donate is invited to mail a check made out to “United Church of Ludlow” to Anne Oakes, Receiver of Offerings, 145 Merrill Roatd, Ludlow, VT 05149, with the memo “Ring Out Love Campaign.”