Finally, It's Time For Kollege Kapers

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And for the cast and crew of the annual Kollege Kapers variety show, it's been a long, long wait.

The show is usually held in April, but thanks to a brutal winter, the all volunteer group lost several weeks worth of rehearsing and was forced to reschedule the event for the fall. Finally, this Saturday, October 29th, Kollege Kapers will present "A Marshmallow World", starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Davis Auditorium of Naugatuck High School.

"Since the snow changed everything, we decided on this theme covering the fall through Christmas," said Kollege Kapers president Pat Gunnoud.

Attendees can expect musical numbers covering such topics as football, the fall, Halloween, right through to the Christmas season, and ending, as they always do, with patriotic music. It's a light-hearted evening of familiar and fun tunes, all under the direction of longtime musical director Tony Rocco of Naugatuck.

This year, however, it really hasn't been easy.

"The winter killed us this January. We lost a month and a half of rehearsals," Gunnoud said. "First it was the snow. Then when it wasn't snowing, there were parking bans on in Naugatuck. We were in such a jam. This has never happened before."

But you can't keep a five decade old tradition down that long. The group, featuring 28 singers, kept at it, rescheduled the show and its theme, and before long, they announced a fall show and started rehearsing again.

"But wouldn't you know, our first rehearsal of the new show, Hurricane Irene hits Connecticut," Gunnoud laughed.

The annual musical review serves as a fund raiser for a modest scholarship, given each year to a high school graduate from Naugatuck who plans on furthering his or her education in either music or performing arts.

"It's not a big scholarship, but it's usually enough to pay for that student's books," Gunnoud said.

In addition, this year, the folks of Kollege Kapers are asking all those planning on attending this Saturday to bring in a non-perishable food item, to be donated to the Naugatuck Ecumenical Food Bank, as they try to stock their shelves prior to the upcoming holiday season.

General admission tickets for the event are $10.00 and are available in advance from the following borough businesses: DeCarlo's Thrifty Cleaners, Ed's Hardware, Ford's Pharmacy, Mountview Liquors, and the Old Corner Cafe.  Tickets are also available at the door.