
DATE: Thursday, July 31, 1997               TAG: 9707300073

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   98 lines

GOSPELRAMA REACHES OUT TO ALL

GOSPELRAMA, billed by its organizer as a ``unity celebration,'' will play both sides of the Elizabeth River this year.

The 11th annual show will be at Portside in Portsmouth Saturday and Sunday, and at Nauticus in Norfolk Aug. 9 and 10. Gospelrama is free and open to the public.

The format will be the same in both places with a different group playing about every half-hour from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. each day. However, performers in Norfolk will not be the same as those in Portsmouth.

``We have many, many people who want to come here and participate, so the program will not be the same in both places,'' said Christine Davis, who started Gospelrama in 1986.

Davis, 72, said she has a two-fold mission.

One is to ``reach the unchurched.''

But, just as important, she would like to promote unity of people - black and white, young and old, rich and poor - through music they all understand.

``We have black and white gospel groups on the program, and we want our audience to be black and white,'' Davis said. ``That's very important to me.''

The gospel programs are sponsored by HOPS (Helping Others Progress Successfully), a non-profit organization Davis started in 1985 in her Prentis Park neighborhood. Her goal was to expose young people to the arts and to provide tutoring for those who were floundering in school.

The HOPS mission has expanded in other directions to help people in need of food as well as inspiration. Persons who attend the Gospelrama programs are asked to bring a donation of canned food that will be distributed through local programs to help needy people.

Gospelrama began in 1986 as a one-day event at I.C. Norcom High School. All of the participants were black, and so was the audience.

That was not what Davis had in mind.

``We want people from all races,'' she said. ``We want all God's children.''

After two years at the school, the event moved outdoors to Portside. About half the performers were white, and the audience was mixed.

``It's a beautiful sight to see people of all backgrounds sitting together, clapping and singing with the music,'' Davis said.

Last year the city estimated that about 5,000 people attended the event.

Among those in the audience was a young man who suggested that Gospelrama would be a good outdoor event for Nauticus.

``He went to the people at Nauticus and told them Gospelrama would be a good thing for them,'' Davis said. ``They called me, and we worked it out.''

A classical musician, Davis is a church organist and piano teacher. She started the Portsmouth Community Choir 30 years ago and later started the Virginia Opera Guild, the organization that last year staged ``Let My People Go,'' a two-act opera about the Emancipation Proclamation and its effect on Virginia slaves. The opera, written by Davis, will be presented again this year in several New York churches. ILLUSTRATION: Voices of Hope is scheduled to perform Saturday at

Portside.

Forgiven, left, and Glory Road will perform as part of Gospelrama

Saturday at Portside in Portsmouth and Aug. 9 at Nauticus in

Norfolk.

MARK MITCHELL/Virginian-Pilot

Christine Davis, 72, started Gospelrama in 1986 to reach the

unchurched and to promote unity.

Graphic

GOSPELRAMA

PORTSIDE Saturday - 2 to 9 p.m.

Performers: Amy Williams, Forgiven, Philadelphia Church of Christ

Choir, Family Inspirational Choir, United Full Gospel Revival Center