I was able to celebrate the life of Barbara Pearson this morning at a wonderful event at Packard Chapel up at Lehigh this morning. Barbara passed on a few months ago but her family and friends put together this more formal gathering. Barbara was a dancer, arts advocate, mom, grandmom and more, filled with life. She was involved with the beginnings of Touchstone Theater and was privileged to work with her on Bearly Lovable, a Teddy Bear celebration with music, dance and storytelling that we put together back in the day.

Barbara Pearson and Dave Fry – Bearly Lovable.

The event brought together many common friends and mixed in renaissance dance, classical quartet music, some sing-alongs and that mighty church organ. The final Bach piece brought me closer to religion than I’ve been in years. I had to close my eyes in order to concentrate on the music.

The luncheon afterwards was on the top of South Mountain, overlooking Bethlehem and I had to pause in order to take it all in. Again, there were many of my good friends, especially from my Touchstone days, including Lorraine, Bill, Bridgett and others. Good for the soul to step away from my Southside existence to celebrate the arts.

Godfrey’s Open Mike tonight.