The members of the River City Pops choir are true performance artists: they’re dancers, singers and musicians in complete harmony.
"We sing in four-part harmony. We are a full choir. And we do high-impact aerobic dancing to most of our numbers, swing dancing, jazz, latin, but we do stand and sing and sing like a real choir as well,” River City Pops President Cristina Lee Carrizales said.
Since 1984, the choir has been putting on at least two concerts a year.
Each one has a specific theme. Since their upcoming concert benefits the Austin Humane Society, the show is called Animania.
"All of our songs are written by animal groups like The Eagles. Or we're doing songs that have animals in it like the Lion King or 'Red Robin,’ “ Carrizales said.
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River City Pops
The River City Pops has been entertaining audiences for 20 years. Their current concert offering is a fundraiser for the Austin Humane Society.
 
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The Humane Society has provided a wish list of audience donations that includes: cash, canned pet food, toys, cleaning and medical supplies.
"Humane Society is very near and dear to our hearts. We are a group of all ages and we do all have pets. Most of us do have pets, and we feel very, we love each other and we want to love our community, and pets are part of our community,” Carrizales said.
These 30 or so entertainers are all volunteers with day jobs who practice for months at a time to bring quality family entertainment to the stage.
"It's appropriate for families … and very interesting to children because there's a lot going on, on stage: big colorful costumes, lot of actions, and I think that popular music is something that is very much more entertaining to a certain group of people," Vice President Debbie Touchet said.
Musical theatre for a good cause is truly the Austin way of entertainment.
Animania plays through Jan. 16 at the Reagan Performing Arts Center. For show times or ticket information, call (512) 350-7677.
