Festival 2026

What a great event!  Fourteen handbell choirs and two orphan ringers spent five rehearsals under the skillful and dynamic direction of Michael Glasgow.  Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in McCall hosted the festival.  New to this year’s festival was a delicious boxed lunch created by members of Pleasant Hill UMC.  It was well received and will be added to next year’s festival!

 One of the special memories from CAHF 2026 was the World Premier of Michael Glasgow’s My Heart’s Desire.  The work was commissioned by friends and colleagues of Kelley Clegg Neal, in honor of her enthusiasm and passion for “all things handbell”. 

Door prizes provided lots of fun.  Each handbell choir was invited to bring one or more door prizes.  The 21 door prize recipients enjoyed choosing the one that went home with them.

The Closing Concert was awesome.  The audience included about 100 children, youth, adults & seniors.  We were delighted that Marlene Taylor, one of the founding directors of the Central Alabama Handbell Festival was able to attend.

Happy Ringing,
Kelley Clegg Neal, Festival Chair