Community Corner

Winton Club Tambos Celebrate 40 Years

The performers are part of the Winton Club Cabaret show.

The following was submitted by Buck Locke of the Winton Club.

This is the fourth decade for the Tambos in the Winton Cabaret. A wonderful tradition of local ladies bringing delight to . Tambos are one of the highlights of the annual .

Ann Bannister joined the Winton Club in 1964. The club began in 1911 to support the social welfare and health of Winchester. It was originally started to sew linen for the Cottage Hospital. The hospital moved to Highland Avenue in 1917, becoming

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Beginning in 1921 the Winton Club began presenting an annual Cabaret to raise funds for the hospital. The Cabaret is supported by a volunteer cast, which includes town and hospital personnel and enjoyed by audiences from Winchester and the surrounding communities during its five night run.

In 1972 the Tambos held their the first performance in the Cabaret. But the story begins before that in Maine on Squirrel Island. A group of men from Massachusetts had learned the tambo routine and vacationed on Squirrel Island.  These men taught it to teenagers vacationing on the island. Mary Gillespie grew up in Maine and became friends with Ann Bannister’s daughter on Squirrel Island.   

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Ann learned the routine with the girls and brought it back to Winchester. Mary later moved to Winchester and joined the Winton Club in 1979. 

Returning from Maine, Ann Bannister asked her friend Ann McGovern to find 12 girls to learn the tambourine routine and practice with her. Ann McGovern found 13 girls who wanted to learn and be in the Tambos. In the beginning none of the girls were in the Winton Club and the Tambos was open to anyone who wanted to learn the routines and play.

For many years the Tambos was open to anyone, but to date only one man has performed with them and that was for four years. In the early years women with babies were not allowed in the Cabaret; they were supposed to be at home.  Now there are no restrictions except for energy level; the Tambo members rehearse two times a week for a month at Town Hall leading up to the Cabaret.

Over the years the members have taught children to play as the older group wanted to pass on their skills to the next generation. The number of performers has varied but now is around 25. The popularity of the group has caused some directors of the show to request they not have so many members as there is a need to have space for the paying public.

The Tambos have also performed at nursing homes and for activities like the Citizen of the Year events for Ann McGovern, Marie Johnson and Chad Maurer. 

Ann Bannister remembers many wonderful things that occurred over the years.  When they first started and came out to play members of the audience put money in the tambourines. One year they came out in Salvation Army costumes.  When the audience demanded an encore they dropped their skirts and played in their bloomers.

Music for the Tambos is selected by the producer of the Cabaret to match the theme of each year’s show. This year we will be in store for a treat as the Tambos celebrate this year’s cabaret theme, It’s About Time, playing “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”.  Come to think of it we can celebrate the 101st year of the Winton Club supporting Winchester Hospital!  Now that is a long, long“It’s About Time”.

History and traditions happen because people take action. Today’s Tambos are a glorious blend of history and tradition. The three ladies mentioned in this article have all been producers of the Winton Club Cabaret. Their work along with the timing of Ann Bannister’s being the producer in 1972 has led to the Tambo tradition in the Cabaret now in its 40th year.


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