It’s a Kroc Center Christmas

Titles don’t mean everything, but "Christmas from the Heart" certainly applies to this weekend’s performance by husband and wife team Bill Wiemuth and Laura Sable.

The couple met on a riverboat, performing for audiences on tours of the Mississippi River. Love and careers blossomed.

"We were best friends before we were romantically involved, and we liked collaborating with each other," Sable said. "It’s just a good fit. We have strengths that compliment each other."

"Christmas from the Heart," a holiday concert created specifically for Coeur d’Alene audiences, will be performed at 7 p.m. today and Saturday at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center.

Sable was born in Coeur d’Alene and grew up Newport, Wash. She attended North Idaho College and worked on nearly 40 local productions, including shows with Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and the Lake City Playhouse.

Then she made the jump to New York. A couple years later, she joined the Delta Queens Steamboat Company and met Wiemuth. It was obvious that he was the perfect other half to her life goals.

"I’m very assertive about what I want for a show and he’s very accommodating," Sable said. "I always hoped I would meet a guitar player-piano player-accompanist and marry him."

Wiemuth grew up in Texas and has years of experience as a writer, producer and performer, and is fluent in several musical instruments.

After working together on the riverboat, the duo left to create their own shows. They now custom create productions for specific regions and audiences.

"We go from job to job, contract to contract, and it takes us all over the country. We just love it," Wiemuth said.

They’ve recently held a long-term contract with Holland America cruise lines. It started with Alaska-themed performances on regional cruises, but now the company sends them out to promote their packages. Last spring the company even sent them to Great Britain.

"We’ve literally lived on the road the last five years or so, and when we’re not touring we visit family or take fabulous vacations," Sable said. "We get great discounts."

Sable’s family still lives in the Coeur d’Alene area, making this weekend’s performances extra special. The 80-minute performance will include sacred Christmas favorites, a selection of novelty songs and music from holiday traditions around the world.

The duo will also celebrate the Salvation Army’s efforts as sponsors for the concert.

"We invited one of their majors out to give a history of the bell ringers ... the money it raises and the programs it benefits. And we’ve worked up a beautiful arrangement of ’Silver Bells’ as tribute to the Salvation Army," Wiemuth said.

The concerts will also include special appearances by popular local voices. Mark Cotter and the Hayden Meadows fourth and fifth-grade choir will appear at tonight’s concert, and music teacher and singer Julie Powell joins the duo on Saturday night.

Doors open at 6:30 each night. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors/youth and can be purchased at the Kroc Center front desk or by calling 667-1865. The Kroc Center is located at 1765 W. Golf Course Road in Coeur d’Alene.

By TYLER WILSON
Staff write, Coeur d’Alene Press