It is a tiny town along the shoreline.
Every Wednesday night from June through July we have "Music in the Park". For free, you can stroll down by a little park on a bay (about a block from my house) and sit and listen to a different singer every Wednesday night while looking at the beauty of the lake.
The last Wed. night Music in the Park featured our favorite singer: Cathy Bolton. She has made 5 albums/CD's of her folk singing and we look forward to her coming here and singing for us every year.
So, I am taking you for a tour of the experience (minus the singing, sorry, I did not load her music on the blog post, but you can Google her and hear her awesome singing).
Right beside the park, an enthusiastic townsperson, put this sign on their garage!:
This is the scene at the park as you listen to some great music:
A shot of the crowd, enjoying Cathy's singing:
Here is one of the Organizers of Music in the Park, introducing Cathy at the beginning of the concert:
Some crowd participation!:
The beautiful Cathy Bolton singing with her angelic voice. I could listen to her all day. When she sings "Oh Danny Boy", I get the chills and tears in my eyes. Her voice is crystal clear. What a gift!:
The entertainers sing for one hour, we have an intermission, where you can get a scrumptous dessert for a donation of your choosing and then the singer returns and gifts us with another hour of singing. By then, it is dusk and you can stroll by the lake on your way home:
Our last glimpse of the lake for the night, and then we headed home....our heads filled with the tunes she sang so beautifully. And of course, her new CD tucked under my arm. I had to get it!
What a perfect Wednesday summer night.
Here is one of the Organizers of Music in the Park, introducing Cathy at the beginning of the concert:
Some crowd participation!:
The beautiful Cathy Bolton singing with her angelic voice. I could listen to her all day. When she sings "Oh Danny Boy", I get the chills and tears in my eyes. Her voice is crystal clear. What a gift!:
The entertainers sing for one hour, we have an intermission, where you can get a scrumptous dessert for a donation of your choosing and then the singer returns and gifts us with another hour of singing. By then, it is dusk and you can stroll by the lake on your way home:
Our last glimpse of the lake for the night, and then we headed home....our heads filled with the tunes she sang so beautifully. And of course, her new CD tucked under my arm. I had to get it!
What a perfect Wednesday summer night.
Lake views, wonderful music, a yummy dessert and a visit with our neighbors
all at the same time.
I wish you could have all been there with us.
Those pictures are lovely!
ReplyDeletegood music, nice scenery...what more could you ask for. nice shots.
ReplyDeleteThat's the wonderful thing about living in a more rural area. I grew up in Nebraska. In one small town, there was a "Free Show" every Saturday night during the summer. They featured some of the latest movies along with cartoons and news shorts to keep the kids occupied while the adults came from the farms to do their weekly shopping and then joined the kids. The movies were shown on an outdoor screen. Rows of benches gave everyone a place to sit. My allowance of 25 cents was enough to buy a bottle of pop and a candy bar and still have a nickel for the collection plate at church the next day and money to spend later in the week. I'll have to tell about watermelon day another time.
ReplyDeleteJoan, I felt like I was there with you. It sounds like a wee piece of heaven that you have found on Wednesday evenings. The lake looks so smooth and beautiful...thank you for sharing my friend.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Sunday....:-) Hugs
Wow how lovely! As always, many thanks for sharing with us!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful lakefront area. That sky is the most beautiful sight. You don't ever get that with the horizon of cornfields and beans.
ReplyDeleteJoanie: It really is a beautiful spot and lake. I know you would love it here.
ReplyDeleteBrian: Exactly! What more could you ask for is correct. That is just how I feel when she is singing as I look out at the lake. Perhaps that is a glimpse of heaven.
Mother Goose: That sounds like such fun. I remember drive-in movies and used to love those too.
Bernie: You too. I had no company today so we just relaxed at home and fished off our own dock...but now I have to get busy and read everyone's blogs...I haven't read yours since you got back. I am anxious to hear how your trip was!
Insanity: My pleasure!
L.D.: It is really nice...you would love our lake. I remember living in Kansas, and I loved the sunsets there over the fields, and when they got ice storms, it looked like a glass menagerie...so everybody's area has some beauty all its own!
Houghton USED to have this on Tuesday nights, but they quit doing it...I don't know why. It was always popular, and they had such a great variey. L'Anse still has theirs, I believe. Now I'm downstate, and Cadillac is our closest town doing it, but we haven't made it in yet. Summer is going TOOOOOO fast!
ReplyDeleteWow! You guys get quite the turn out! We have music in the park as well, but if it weren't for the local group home and adjacent senior apartments, the numbers would be pretty sad indeed!
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar thing here. They do things in our biggest park every week too. I think ours is also Wednesday. I keep telling myself I want to go, but I'm not exactly the most comfortable in a crowd. Maybe I should just do it.
ReplyDeleteEvery time you show pictures or talk about the area you live in I wish I could visit. What a fun thing to get to do with that pretty lake in the background. I'd be at those concerts every chance I got.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been there too. It looks so beautiful and serene.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely lake! We have an event called Park Happening, which is basically the same thing, only the view is a little less breath taking. I have never attended it. Maybe I should.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I lived in Flint. We would drive up to the UP to see the trees in the fall. That was the only good part about Flint, it's proximity to all the beauty right outside your front door. What a lovely, peaceful day you had! Thanks for inviting me over... I had a great time.
ReplyDeleteSue: We are going to Houghton this weekend! There is a rock and gem show where I always look for agates and stone jewelry. I love going there. My daughter is an MTU grad. My dad retired in L'Anse, I was born there and I lived there again when I went to college at NMU. Both my husband and I graduated from NMU...so I am so glad you are familiar with them. In fact, the night after Cathy Bolton sang here, she was going to L'Anse to sing the next night at their bandshell. They have developed their shoreline into a nice park. My brother and family lives there now also. Something else we have in common? We used to live in Paris, Michigan, my hubby worked at Reed City and we went to Cadillac alot!
ReplyDeleteManiacal: You should go too...some of the music is pretty good!
Ratty: you can always bring a lawn chair and sit on the outskirts. There is something nice about being out in nature and hearing live music that makes the nature even more intense. I really love the experience. The funny thing is that sometimes the music is not the type I would ever listen to or like, but when they perform live and you are outside, it sounds so rich and better! Try it! I guarantee you will like it.
Catherine: yes, we feel the same way. We go to them even when the weather is chilly or windy and sip hot coffee and bring a blanket to snuggle together in.
Loree: They are always enjoyable. When the water is still, it is very serene. When the water has big waves it is pretty cool too.
Jientje: With your love of life, you would love it..you definitely need to go!! Bring a friend, a bottle of wine and a blanket and go and experience it. You will like it, I am sure!
Sounds just like something I would love to do. A wonderful evening by the lake with great food and music to enjoy. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading about your evening.
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect day! We too have such concerts once a month, but we don't have a lake. And we sit in rows in the park. Sitting in groups is a relaxing idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic way to spend a summer evening. Beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteJudy: Yes, it is a wonderful evening when we do this!
ReplyDeleteLotusleaf: Even sitting in rows at the park still gets you outside enjoying the music with nature. It refreshes the soul.
SquirrelQueen: Thanks, it sure is a fantastic way to spend a summer evening.
what a neat place to spend a summer evening. Sounds like a very relaxing night out.
ReplyDeleteGrannyann: Yes, it was a splendid evening of fun and sun and music!
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly how I would love to spend a summer evening! We have music in the pavillion in downtown Gaylord - I love it. It's just so homey and down to earth!
ReplyDeleteShelley: Me too. I didn't know that Gaylord did that either. I like that area,I have been there before.
ReplyDelete