Outdoor Concert

Each summer, Arts on the Prairie sponsors free outdoor concerts at the Phil Patterson Memorial Bandshell in a hillside park just a few minutes' walk from our house.  We often forget each week that those concerts are happening, but we have attended several of them over the past few summers.  Last summer we tried to attend one featuring the male a capella group aka'Fellas, but it was canceled after just one or two songs on account of rain!  Not so this year, though, so we were at the bandshell tonight to hear them sing.

The view from our seats.

We grabbed our lawn chairs, walked to the park, and found a spot to park ourselves just in time for the performance to begin.  It had been a hot day, and the sun glared in our eyes due to our facing westward toward the bandshell.  However, once the sun disappeared behind the shell, the evening breeze felt cool, and it was pleasant to be outdoors.  Our neighbors' kids, Madeline and Jack, found us right away and got their parents' permission to sit with us for the concert.  During intermission, several of the girls' friends from church and school came and got them to run around with them in the park.  Had we been hungry, we could have bought food from the concessions trailer parked just a few yards to our right.  It was a great setup for a fun evening out!

The aka'Fellas have had guys join and leave the band over the years.  The last time we saw them, they had five members; but Brad has since left due to a move to eastern ND for a job.  Here are the current members:

Ryan (a music teacher whom I supervised when he was student-teaching), Sam (who has been my student and who gives Suzanna private lessons on the trombone), Lance (who is involved in the local community theatre group with me), and Conway (whose wife used to be the girls' dance instructor and still is Susan's Mary Kay consultant)

Jack and Madeline walked home with us after the concert, and we escorted them to their house before going home ourselves.  It's nice to have good neighbors, nearby parks, and fun summertime events in the community.