Country and gospel artist Susie McEntire and her husband Mark will be celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary on the same day as her concert in Warsaw. “A Country Christmas with Susie McEntire” returns to the Lakeview Middle School auditorium at 7 p.m. Dec. 12. Doors open at 6 p.m. No ticket is needed for the free 90-minute concert, but attendees are asked to bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys For Tots. In a telephone interview Monday morning, McEntire said she was reminded of her anniversary recently when she was talking to someone about the concert. “Our anniversary is Dec. 12 – 12/12. We’ll be celebrating six years together,” she said. The Christmas show will be McEntire’s third performance in Warsaw, having performed at the event last year and the “Salute to the Heroes” event at the Kosciusko County Fair in 2013. Susie McEntire is the sister of legendary country artist Reba McEntire. Susie shares her big sister’s musical gifts, but Susie has directed her talents to the country gospel side of American Roots, according to her biography on her official website, susiemcentire.com On Monday, Susie said they were getting ready to leave Thursday morning. “I’m just trying to get everything ready to go,” she said. Susie said they just got through Thanksgiving and saw Reba’s show at a casino in Oklahoma. “We helped her do a video in front of our house. It’s been a busy, busy three weeks,” she said. Being at home is busier for her than being on the road, she said. But with everything there is to do at home, she said she loves it and it gets her involved with her family. Susie doesn’t have a new album out, but she’s looking for new material. “I continue to look for new material my husband and I can do. We do an acoustic set in my show. My experience with Mark is that, after the show, people say it’s the most enjoyable part of the show when we perform together,” she said. This year’s Christmas show in Warsaw will be changed up a little bit from last year, she said. The Warsaw Christian School choir will still sing a few songs with her, but she’s looking at different songs to perform. The children were a really enjoyable part of the 2014 show, she said. She also will incorporate non-Christmas songs in the concert. “Mike Loher is always looking for ways to thrill the crowd. He’s a great promoter,” Susie stated. In 2014, the concert collected 12 large Toys For Tots boxes of gifts for local children. “We collected a lot,” Susie said. “My husband and I even went to the store and got presents. The concert was not only fun, but it’s nice to bring toys for it. Mark likes to do charitable events. He likes to make sure those doing the concert are vested in the cause, too.” After the Warsaw concert, Susie said they have one more job in Texas Dec. 19 before spending Christmas in Oklahoma with her kids. They then will celebrate the holiday in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Mark’s kids. As for plans for 2016, she said they were just going to wing it. “It costs us a lot to record. I’m not with a record label. We’ll just work on things like this. I have 19 CDs for people to pick from,” she said. Asked if she would return for a Christmas concert in Warsaw in 2016, Susie replied, “I would love to. I absolutely would love to. I was surprised when Mike asked us to do it again. It’s a great thing.” She invited everyone out to the Dec. 12 concert to reminisce about Christmas pasts and the reason for the season – Jesus Christ. “We want to make people feel like they’re in our living room, celebrating Christmas,” she said. Sponsors include Leesburg United Methodist Church, Times-Union, Louis Dreyfus, Everest Excavating and Stookey Construction, Oldies 101.1 FM, Nifong Farms, Dirt Worx LLC, Rabb Water Systems, Eagle Outdoor Advertising, State Farm, Comfort Inn & Suites, Allegra, Men Following Christ, Willie 103.5 FM, Bailey R. Moore Foundation, In Memory of Gene Zartman, State Rep. Dave Wolkins, Ken and Carolyn Davidson and Lakeview Middle School.
