Omaha, NE is certainly not the most exciting place to be, but it gave the Belle Chanter girls choir a great chance to show off their voices.

The large choir traveled by bus on a six hour drive to Omaha in early April. They got a rewarding experience out of it. The five day trip included sightseeing, bonding and of course a lot of singing.

The girls made the most out of their trip and had plenty of stories to tell when they returned. Between going to the world famous Henry Doorly Zoo, eating at a murder mystery dinner theater and exploring around downtown Omaha, a small city with a lot of art, they had some memorable moments.

“My favorite memory from the trip was the second night,” said sophomore Grace Baldwin. “We had a few free hours and a bunch of us went out shopping and found the cutest little vintage store. They were selling random ‘grab bag’ that had around eight or so random pieces of clothes, so a group of us bought them and went back to our hotel. We opened them as a group and the clothes were absolutely ridiculous save for a few cute things, and it ended up with about 15 girls screaming running around in eighteenth century nightgowns and ponchos.”

Another great memory from the trip was their time at the zoo.

“My favorite was the zoo because it was huge and there were so many cool animals in their different habitats. Also we didn’t have to be with a chaperone so that’s a plus,” said sophomore Sara Swartz.

Aside from all of the fun they had, their voices proved to be worth the trip. They took advantage of many stops along the way; there was no specific competition but there were many opportunities to for the choir to sing. At schools of all levels, the girls got to see what music programs are like outside of the Stillwater community.

“We sang at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, Albert Lea High School, Van-Meter High School and University of Nebraska Lincoln. It was a really great opportunity to perform and learn from other choirs, and it really made us appreciate our music programs at SAHS,” said Baldwin.

Omaha proved to be a good destination for the choir. They came back with good spirits and loved the experiences they had. They explored some of the coolest parts of the city and many girls say they would love to return there someday.

“I probably would go back to Omaha because our hotel was pretty fancy and nice, it had a Starbucks in it. And the zoo there is amazing,” said Swartz.

The choir takes a trip every year, which they fundraise for through the usual selling of Happenings books and fruit. Last year the choir trip was to Chicago and Mrs. Mitchell, the choir director decided to switch it up for this year’s trip. A girl in the choir suggested Omaha, and then they did some research and decided that they would go there. No one expected much from it but were surprised at all of the fun things they found to do in the city. Even the six hour bus ride was pleasant.

“The bus ride was great! We had an awesome bus driver named Stewart who was the sweetest old man ever. We loved him! It was a pretty long bus ride, but we got to watch Frozen, Catching Fire and some other cheesy romantic comedies that I think I fell asleep during,” said Baldwin.

All in all, the trip was a success. There were many memories made that the 2014 Belle Chanter girls choir will cherish forever.