My new favorite summer activity in Chicago is going to the free concerts held at Millennium park in the Pritzger Pavillion. Nothing can beat gathering with 10,000 other Chicagoans on any given beautiful evening to listen to great music, and picnic on the great lawn.
The concerts run everyday throughout August, and then gradually fade off in September. The last concert of the season was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) on Sunday 9/19/2010. I was determined to go, not really because of CSO, but because I wanted to go to one last concert. The last few times we have gone, the lawn has been packed, but we have always found a way to squeeze ourselves in among the crowd.
not this week
As we were approaching the park, we noticed lots of people walking AWAY from the great lawn. "uh oh" I thought. This is not a good sign!!
As we got closer to the great lawn, we found ourselves amongst the crowds and noticed many people camping out with their lawn chairs and blankets on outlying green space. Soon we found ourselves elbow to elbow with thousands of other Chicagoans trying to get onto the lawn and hear the concert.
See that area underneath the poles? THATS the great lawn. It holds 10,000 people. We counted at least an additional 10,000 people at the concert outside of the great lawn.
This guy was prepared:
Traffic control had already gated off the great lawn and restricted people from entering. WOW. I have never seen so many people at a concert!! It took forever just to navigate through the crowds, and finally we settled on a spot where we could at least sit down and hear the music. Our spot turned out to be a great little find, because Ryan was able to use a tree as a backrest, and I was able to use Ryan as my backrest :)
The music was absolutely gorgeous. I am amazed by the clarity and exquisite sound that this Frank Gehry outdoor concert 'hall' makes. I also reconnected with my passion for classical music. It is so beautiful. I loved watching the other CSO-lovers in the crowd closing their eyes, and nodding their head, in sync with the beat. My favorite song they played was Romeo & Juliet by Tchaikovsky.
This was our view:
During intermission we figured out what the "Festa MUTI" pins were all about. CSO just signed on a new world-famous conductor, MUTI. This performance was his first official performance as the CSO conductor. Apparently he is a big deal-- who knew!
The pavillion is beautiful at night:
As the concert ended, and the crowds started heading toward the street, we heard a loud noise and realized there were fireworks going off all around the park! What a great surprise and great way to celebrate the end of an incredible evening, and the end of an incredible summer.
As we walked home, hand in hand, I found myself excited for next year's concerts in the park, and picnic dinners.
What's your favorite summer activity?
No comments:
Post a Comment