2nd Annual John Denver Birthday Celebration - Dec 31, 2025
Just like last year, Dec 31, 2025 (John Denver’s Birthday) was my favorite day of the year. The 2nd Annual John Denver Birthday Celebration is a gathering of kindred spirits who have been impacted by John Denver and who dearly love his music. The event is held in the afternoon of December 31 to give Whidbey Island residents and their guests and opportunity to end the year in a peaceful, nurturing environment; sharing this time and space with old friends and meeting new ones. What brings everyone together is John Denver - listening his music, of course - but also remembering and celebrating the many gifts he gave to the world. I expanded the 2nd Annual John Denver Birthday Celebration from 2 hours to 3 hours to allow more time for the audience members to tell their stories, engage in the song circle with more song requests and have a few more individual performances.
I’d like to thank the Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship for being the perfect location for this event, and Julie Clark for welcoming us back for a 2nd year.
I’d like to thank Cindy Paget and Sarah Schmidt for helping me with setup, registration, and teardown for this event. I simply could not have put this celebration together without their support.
We had 40 guests for this event, some who attended the inaugural event in Dec 2024 and invited their friends to join them this year , and several people who have recently discovered my music.
I’d like to thank the following people who attended the inaugural event and returned for the 2nd celebration:
- Andrea Partridge and her Mom DeeDee returned this year, and brought Morgan to the party. DeeDee was the first to pull out the tissue box - moved when she heard John’s voice singing “On the Wings of A Dream”
- JoAnn Buff
- Judy Lynn - Judy is one of my biggest supporters, and she invited several of her friends to join us this year, including Anne Harvey, Jan Pickard, Lindy Kortus, & Lynn Marie Jackson
- Kate & Bill Poss - The original members of my Whidbey fan club - Kate & Bill have supported me since day one, and I am so appreciative of their loyalty, friendship, and support.
- Pat McCutcheon - Performed for us again this year during the Song Circle.
A few months ago, Tom Price stumbled onto my new website (www.judy-lunn-music.com) and reached out to me to reconnect. Tom doesn’t live on Whidbey, so we got together via a Zoom videochat. Tom purchased my John Denver tribute CD, called “Songs That Speak To Me” - years ago, but we had never met. When he told me his amazing stories about meeting John on several occasions, and gifting John with an inversion chair that Tom had designed; of the vivid dreams that he could recall; and how John’s spirituality and music touched him so deeply, I asked if he would attend this year’s event and share his stories with others. Not only did Tom agree to join us, he invited five friends from off-island to accompany him! We were all touched by his stories and emotional sincerity.
The Song Circle was a big part of this event. You could feel the loving, positive, energy - as people requested their favorite songs to be sung. Most were too shy to come up to the microphone and lead a song with their voice and/or instrument, but I’m very grateful to the ones who did:
Pat McCutcheon - Played her travel guitar and sang “Grandma’s Feather Bed” and “Home Grown Tomatoes” She also requested that we end the night singing along with John and his rendition of “Silent Night.” It was magical.
Steve DeHaven - I met Steve at the Whidbey Rising fundraiser organized by Barbara Dunn on Nov 22 at the Coupeville High School. After that event, Steve told me about how much his Mother loved John Denver, and how, after John’s passing, she could no longer bring herself to listen to his music. Several years later, in 2007, when John’s “Live in the USSR” album was released, Steve gave the album to his Mother with a simple note, saying “It’s Time.” When his Mother passed away, Steve played two John Denver songs at her funeral. When Pat asked Steve to accompany him on “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” on his acoustic guitar, he jumped right in. Then he sang “For Baby, For Bobbie” and “Back Home Again” to an appreciative audience.
Lee McGuire attended one of my Sunday afternoon sessions at Beaver Tales Coffee. She wrote in my guestbook that she was coming to the John Denver Birthday Celebration and wanted to lead the Song Circle with “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Veronica Spencer - One of Tom’s friends, asked for and sang “Perhaps Love” in the Song Circle
Tom’s friend Beverley got everyone singing along to “Heart To Heart”
Other songs requested and performed or sang during the Song Circle were:
Annie’s Song
For You
My Sweet Lady
(These three songs are included as a medley on the 12th track of my “Songs That Speak To Me” CD)
Rocky Mountain High
Looking For Space
Sweet Surrender
On The Wings of A Dream
The Eagle and the Hawk
Matthew
Colors of The Wind - I sang this track from my “Songs That Speak To Me” CD. John died before this song came out, and I am so convinced he would have recorded it, that I included it on my tribute album.
In all, we listened to or sang to 18 John Denver songs.
There were a few song requests that we just didn’t get to in that 3 hour gathering, so I will definitely add them to the 2026 JD Celebration:
I Want to Live
Durango Mountain Caballero
It’s About Time
Sunshine On My Shoulders
Christmas for Cowboys
Follow Me
The Season Suite
Throughout the afternoon, I shared some of my favorite John Denver resources and information, including the books:
John Denver’s Greatest Hits Songbook from 1977 - This was my first guitar songbook. I bought mine for $6.95!
John Denver, The Complete Lyrics - which is a book of poetry - with the lyrics to John’s songs, and the inspiration/stories behind them
John Denver, Take Me Home, An Autobiography
A Mountain in the Wind - An Exploration of the Spirituality of John Denver - written by Christine Smith
Two lucky winners at our drawing received copies of the John Denver Wildlife Concert DVD.
I’ll provide links to these items on my website. But as they are becoming harder to find (and more expensive), I will see if one of the libraries on Whidbey would be willing to add a “John Denver” collection so that everyone will have access to them.
Also, please check the Photos and Videos section of my website where I will post some memories from this event as I receive them.
Mark Your Calendars! For as long as I am on Whidbey Island, John Denver’s Birthday Celebration will be an annual event. So, please mark your calendar now for
December 31, 2026 from 1-4 pm for our next gathering. I’ll see you then!