From: Janet
Balej <JanetB@guthrietheater.org>
Sent: Monday,
July 27, 2026 6:01 PM
To: Susan
Barksdale ; Heather Cogswell; James Davies; Sue Druck; Rachel Farhi; Chuck
Hackman; Susan Hawthorne; Bob Oganovic; Joan Potter ; Constance Schey ; Krista
Smedstad; Curt Werdal ; joy.roellinger@mns.com; howellsinger@gmail.com
Cc: Kristi
Bergland
Subject: Choir
Tour - Group airline travel information
Hello,
Group Airline Travelers!
It s
now just 11 days until we depart, so here is some info you will want to know as
well as some additional information you can provide to me to help speed things
up on travel day.
Flight
schedule
as a reminder, we will be flying on Aer Lingus via Dublin to London Heathrow
as follows:
Friday, August 7 depart MSP, Terminal 1 (Main Terminal), at 6:30pm on Aer
Lingus #88 to Dublin, arriving at 8:15am on Saturday morning
Saturday, August 8 depart Dublin at 9:45am on Aer Lingus #158 to London
Heathrow, arriving at 11:15am
Monday, August 17 depart London Heathrow, at 9:50am (prepare yourself for a
very early start to your day!!) on Aer Lingus #155 to Dublin, arriving at
11:20am
Monday, August 17 depart Dublin at 2:25pm on Aer Lingus #89, arriving
in MSP at 5:00pm
Airport
check-in
because we are all in one airline reservation, we need to check in
together. Please plan to meet at the Aer Lingus check-in counter at
3:30 pm on Friday. The counter is located between doors 1 and 2,
closer to the North security checkpoint than to the South, and between Air
Canada and Alaska airlines. As I understand it from Aer Lingus, you will
not be able to use the Aer Lingus app to pull up only your own boarding pass or
check only yourself in.
Luggage
as a reminder, everyone can bring a personal item and a carry-on with them on
the plane and 1 suitcase of up to 50lbs. may be checked.
Seats
seats for the first 3 legs have all been assigned everyone has either an
aisle or a window, with the exception of a couple of pairs (Sue & Chuck,
Susan H & Grant, James & Gary) who are sitting together with either an
aisle and a middle or a window and middle. I am still working with Aer
Lingus on the seats for the final return flight. All of the planes we are
flying on have a layout of 3 seats on each side of 1 center aisle.
Frequent Flyer # - if you would like to add a frequent flyer
number to your reservation, any one of the following can be added: Aer Lingus,
American, Alaska & Hawaiian, British Air, United
Passport info to expedite check-in, I can enter passport
info ahead of time if you want to provide it. The easiest way is to
either email or text me (763-898-0325) a non-blurry photo of your passport info
page. Otherwise, you can email me the following information:
1 - Passport nationality (I think everyone is USA, but just in case)
2 Passport number
3 Passport expiration date
4 Date of birth
Known Traveler Number - If you have a Known Traveler Number
(TSA Pre-check, Global Entry, Clear), please send it and I will work with Aer
Lingus on getting it added for your boarding pass.
Arrival
at Heathrow and transfer to London because we are headed straight into the
center of London, the best way to get there is on public transport. There
are regular London Underground trains, the Heathrow Express (running every 15
minutes for a 15-minute trip with no stops from Heathrow to Paddington
station), or you can take a cab or rideshare. If you want to take the
Heathrow Express, it s best to book in advance, but it s spendy even if you
book today, it s 26GBP for a one-way and 42GBP for a round-trip. I will
be planning to take the Underground and happy to shepherd anyone who wants to
stick together. While you can still pay for a single trip ticket on the
Underground, the most cost-effective payment methods are using a contactless
credit card or a refillable Oyster card. With these 2 methods, there are
caps to how much you will be charged in a single day when you make multiple
trips and there s a lower price rate for electronic payments. An Oyster
card can be purchased for 10.50GBP on arrival, but if you have a credit card
with the contactless feature on it, then that s probably the easiest way to
go. More about ways to pay here: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/ways-to-pay
US
Immigration & Customs on the return trip - Dublin is
one of the airports that uses US Preclearance. That means we should
expect to go through US immigration and customs in Dublin and arrive into MSP
like a domestic flight instead of going through Immigration in MSP. This
means you cannot dawdle during our connection in Dublin on our flight home and
you should proceed straight through to US Preclearance. Once you are
through and near our departure gate for MSP, then you can shop or eat, but do
not do so before you ve made it through US Preclearance. To make this
process go smoother, I strongly recommend that everyone download the Mobile
Passport Control (MPC) app of US Customs and Boarder Protection on their phone
from the Apple App or Google Play Store. You can set up your
profile (along with those of family members) ahead of time and add a scan of
your passport and other data. Then, just before we land in Dublin on the
trip home, you can quickly fill out an electronic customs & immigration
form, take a selfie to verify your identity and submit the form electronically
when we are on the ground. Having done this, you can then proceed through
an MPC specific immigration line instead of the regular line this line is
typically shorter and faster than the general line.
Let
me know if there are other questions.
To
recap, please send the following info as it applies to you:
1 Frequent flyer number you want attached to your travel
2 Passport info to help expedite check-in
3 Known Traveler Number info
4 If you want to travel with me on the Underground into London when we arrive
Thanks,
Janet
JANET E. BALEJ l DIRECTOR
OF FINANCE l GUTHRIE THEATER
818 South 2nd Street l Minneapolis, MN 55415
l guthrietheater.org
Direct: 612.225.6250 l Box
Office: 612.377.2224 l Administration: 612.225.6000
l Fax: 612.225.6004
From: Kristi
Bergland <krisser@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday,
July 29, 2026 11:22 PM
To: Kristi
Bergland
Subject: Important
choir updates - PLEASE READ!
Hello fellow singers!
We are down to the final countdown before the big trip! I hope all of your individual plans are going smoothly. I wanted to give you some important reminders and updates for the next 10 days:
- Be at church this
Sunday.
The choir will be receiving a special blessing for the trip at this
Sunday s regular service. It s important that we have good choir
attendance!
- Our London Choir
WhatsApp channels are now live! One is for official choir communications
and the other is for group discussions. Check them out and get familiar
with their use before we leave and feel free to start your own chats!
- A few people have
been asking about travel insurance. Please share your experience
and tips for insurance in the WhatsApp channel and/or send them to Bob to
share on the website.
- Don t forget to vote early in the primary election! Here s
what to do if you live in Minneapolis.
- Plan to pack
your choir robe, shoes, and music in your carry-on luggage. We really,
really don t want any possibility of choir items getting lost.
- Bespoke St
Mark s choir luggage tags will be provided. They should be ready
Thursday, so if you are singing at the funeral on Friday or being blessed
on Sunday, you can grab yours then.
- We will gather at the North
West Crypt entrance at 1:45 on Monday August 10. We all have
to go in together, so please plan to come a few minutes early.
- Please review the Security
section
of the St. Paul's instruction document.
- Our private
tour of St. Paul's will be at 11am on Friday August 14th. If you told
me you wanted to go, you are registered. If you didn't tell me you wanted
to go, you are also registered. If you are bringing a guest, they are
registered, and I will get in touch with you separately.
- Finally, let's
celebrate our time together in London with a meet up at the Paternoster
Tavern after we finish our last service on Sunday, August 16. Nothing
formal, time TBD closer to the week's end.
Questions or concerns? Now is the time to ask you know where to find me. See you soon, everybody!
Thanks for reading!
Kristi