Ring with us in August!

Are you ready to have some fun with Bells of the Cascades to read and ring new handbell music? Are you a director of a handbell ensemble who wants to pick out appropriate music for your group to perform during your upcoming season?

This is the time and place to do just that! Bells of the Cascades, with director Matthew Compton, can give you the opportunity to choose music while learning to play it yourself. 

Read & Ring with Bells of the Cascades
Saturday, August 15, 2026, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Salmon Creek United Methodist Church
12217 NE Hwy 99
Vancouver, WA 98686

It’s not a requirement that you be a director yourself. Anyone with an interest in practicing their sightreading skills is welcome to join us! If you are a director, you’ll have an opportunity to read through music for all seasons, decide what you like, and optionally purchase it at a discount for your choir to use during the year. You can bring your choir (all members or a few—we welcome you all), or you can come alone and meet new ringers!

THIS YEAR WE ARE TAKING REGISTRATIONS ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME! And the registration fee is $35, whether you purchase ahead or pay at the door.

We do encourage everyone to register ahead of time so that we can have as accurate an attendance estimate as possible, know how many tables to set up, and prepare a name tag for you! Of course, we understand the need for last-minute decisions sometimes, so walk-in registrations are welcome. But please use our convenient online store ahead of time, if you can! It will make everything go quickly and smoothly at check-in.

The Read & Ring day is broken into three sessions, which will include general music and seasonal music for Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter.

  • Directors: Select music for the upcoming year and have fun!
  • Ringers: Have fun, boost your sight-reading skills, and try new positions!

Bells of the Cascades will provide the bells, chimes, mallets, tables, and foam, along with coffee, tea, water, and snacks. Our own members will be there, ringing with you, and available for questions and advice!

Be sure to bring your own:

  • gloves
  • easel binders and/or stands
  • lunch (refrigerator and microwave available)
  • smiles!

Schedule for the day

  9:00 AM: Registration and setup

  9:30 AM: Opening Bell followed by Ringing Session 1

11:00 AM: Break

11:15 AM: Ringing Session 2

12:45 PM: Lunch break (bring your own)

  1:30 PM: Ringing Session 3

  3:00 PM: Closing Bell. Purchase or return music and pack up!

For this event, you are under no obligation to participate on every piece of music. While we do run through a LOT of music, you are free to take this day at your own pace, playing only at the times you are comfortable.

Our registration process

This year we are hoping to make this simple for both you and us! We are using Square to take payments through our online Store.

Click here to register AND pay for your attendance.

 

If you’re registering as an Individual, all you need to do is provide your full name when you make your payment.

If you’re registering and paying for both yourself and others:

  • Select the number of registrations you want to purchase.
  • Provide your full name, followed by the full name of each person you are paying for, separated by commas. You can fit only 150 characters on this line, so no spaces are necessary after the commas.
  • Make sure the number of names matches the number of registrations you are purchasing.
  • You may need to break your purchases into more than one if you run out of room to list everybody’s name—just be sure to match the names to the number, and don’t add your name to subsequent purchases (or pay for yourself again).

That’s it! You’ll get a receipt and we’ll be notified that you’ve registered.

If you are unable to purchase via Square, we are happy to take a check for registration at the door. We are not doing PayPal this year. If this is what you plan to do, please write to us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let us know who will be attending, as well as the amount of your check. Please make the check out to Bells of the Cascades and put “R&R 2026” in the memo line…. and don’t forget to bring it with you!

If you are unable to pay by check, we can do onsite Square payments using a credit card.

Questions?

Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To help us plan and manage a successful event, we encourage you to register as early as possible and follow all instructions carefully. Thank you!