The music is back and the doors are open for business for two Vermilion institutions that joined for a Christmas party on Dec. 12.
Dozens of people came out to the Vermilion on the Lake Historic Community Center, 3780 Edgewater Blvd. The historic 1919 building is known as the VOL Clubhouse.
“Today’s an open house for Christmas, just because,” said Dean Yacobozzi, president of the VOL Historic Community Center Charitable Trust Inc.
The Cleveland Browns game was on TV in a corner, but the main attraction was a Christmas concert by the Vermilion Community Music Association Concert Band.
Greg Trocchia founded the music association in 1995 and still plays trumpet and trombone, said Concert Band Director George Harizal, a piano player and retired Vermilion Schools principal.
More recently, the band went 15 months without practicing due in part to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The band had restrictions on large gatherings, members had to isolate due to COVID-19 exposures and some were dealing with other ailments, Harizal said.
“Our members got nailed with illness,” said Harizal, who had to deal with a lingering cough himself.
Indoor concerts were scarce in the last year.
“We had some rough spots,” he said. “So, we’re a healthy bunch again.”
They brought instruments, sheet music and skill to the party, which included a free lunch with hot dogs, chili, popcorn, cookies and beverages.
The VOL Clubhouse did not suffer as badly as some venues due to the pandemic conditions, Yacobozzi said .
The VOL Historic Community Center Charitable Trust Inc. is the legal owner of the facility, which is maintained by the organization’s board and volunteers.
The organization in 2020 and 2021 canceled its popular Lenten fish fries due to COVID-19 health precautions.
The trust rents the historic building largely for wedding receptions, but does not operate a party center, so some gatherings continued. Renters hire their own caterers and the building is booked sometimes up to two years in advance.
The board members and volunteers donate time and the organization reinvests any revenues into the building. The newest additions are more air conditioning and a storage building outside, Yacobozzi said.
“We would like to make it more community based, but right now to pay the bills we rent it out for weddings,” he said.
The board and volunteers work together to keep the building going for future generations, Yacobozzi said.
He is president, but he said there really is no single leader of the organization. “I like it that way,” he said.
The VOL Clubhouse also has become a rehearsal space for the Vermilion Community Music Association.
The band was up to about 60 members before the pandemic.
Now there are about 40 members and more are welcome, Harizal said.
The Vermilion Community Music Association especially could use clarinets and mallet and drum percussionists, Harizal said.
Band members do not have to live in Vermilion; current members live from Sandusky to Akron.
The Concert Band will perform at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at St. Mary Catholic Church, 46 E. Main St., Wakeman.
For more information, see: vcmabands.com.
