Now that Cara Cantonwine no longer is organizing Fort Vancouver’s Fourth of July celebration, she might get to see the next fireworks show.
Cantonwine, former program director at the Fort Vancouver National Trust, is the new executive director of the Portland Symphonic Choir.
“I’ve been singing in the choir for about eight years and have been serving on the board a little over a year,” Cantonwine said. “It’s a large group, about 150 members. The mission is to sing the choral masterworks, to engage and inspire the community.”
In her new job, she will manage the choir’s operations, production, marketing and communications.
There is a bit of overlap in her job transition, the Vancouver resident said.
“It’s a great opportunity to match my administrative and networking experience with something I’m passionate about,” she said. “I’ve worked with musicians all along the way, with the city and the Trust, particularly on larger-scale events.”
Cantonwine served as the city of Vancouver’s special-events manager from 2006 to 2010 before moving to the National Trust. That gave Cantonwine the opportunity to set the stage for one of the community’s biggest annual celebrations.
Not all of the set-up work is what you’d call festive, including “doing the bids to see who is most cost-effective in providing porta-potties and chain-link fences.”
Mobilizing volunteers is key, she quickly realized — and not just for the July 4 event.
“When I first organized the fireworks show, I got a lot of advice about what happens the day after,” she said.
That’s clean-up day.
“We did not have enough of a volunteer crew to do it,” she said. So on July 5, people from the National Trust were out bright and early, picking up trash.
Learning experience
With insufficient volunteers for the cleanup, “I felt like I failed in a big way,” Cantonwine said. “It was not my finest hour, but I learned a lot.”
Other National Trust events include the Veterans Parade at Fort Vancouver each November and the Marshall leadership awards program. Natalie Hantho now is handling the National Trust events that Cantonwine had overseen.
Cantonwine’s new position aligns nicely with her educational background. She earned a music degree at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, with a double major in music education and vocal performance.
The soprano was on stage for two December concerts when the choir was part of the Oregon Symphony’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
It might be her last performance for a while.
“The (choir) board would like me to continue to sing,” she said. While a May concert is on the choir’s schedule, she’d prefer to sit it out.
“I’d like to see how being executive director goes before trying to do both.”
Cantonwine hasn’t ended her relationship with Vancouver’s July 4 celebration. She might even get to see the 2016 fireworks display. While the pyrotechnics are lighting up the sky each July 4, organizers are busy getting ready for 35,000 to disperse.
“I can’t even tell you the last time I saw the fireworks,” Cantonwine said.
It’s likely she will be recruited as a volunteer for the 2016 celebration. It would be another busy day, but “I do hope to see the fireworks. That would be great.”
