If you attend an Elgin Symphony Orchestra concert and notice the pop-up boutique in the lobby, you probably will wind up meeting Carol Prang, Dodie Williams and Sandy Magana behind the tables.
The three are among volunteers from the Elgin Symphony League and usually are the ones setting up shop in the Hemmens Cultural Center the Friday afternoons before Saturday and Sunday concerts.
“Carol and I are always here,” Williams said of the endeavor, where profits from items sold go to the ESO.
As they got things ready Friday, the women noted that a good many items for sale have musical themes about them — from scarves and purses to spangly baseball caps to Christmas ornaments.
However, the clarinet lamps on display are used for lighting and aren’t for sale, Williams said.
The women pick out the pieces for sale themselves and even head to gift shows to find them, they said. So beyond music, the tchotchkes can range from candies, to branches that light up that can be put in vases, to candles and candle holders, to Galileo thermometers.
Williams and Magana, both of Huntley, have been volunteering with the league for more than a decade, while Prang, of Sleepy Hollow, is the rookie of the group, having started a few years ago.
“It feels good to do this, and we have a good time,” Prang said. “The people are wonderful, and we have regular customers.”
The women also enjoy meeting musicians and ESO music director Andrew Grams. The three also take in the performances. They have seats in the back row of the auditorium so they can head in and out to their duties without much notice from other concertgoers.
