Is there anything better than a warm summer evening under the stars…spent with good friends, eating great food, drinking fine wine and listening to beautiful music? Well…for me, no. In fact, that evening sounds just about perfect.
Lucky for me then, I was invited by good friends to enjoy such an evening this past Saturday night — as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra kicked off their annual Picnic With The Pops outdoor summer music series with an all-time favorite of mine, Christopher Cross.
The music series spans six weeks each season and performances take place on the campus of Chemical Abstracts Service, host of Picnic With the Pops and Popcorn Pops since 1982. Picnic with The Pops annually attracts more than 70,000 people to its’ spacious lawn.
For me, the opportunity to gather with friends and family and share dinner picnic-style under the stars is not to be missed.
Picnic with the Pops draws a very popular and eclectic roster of musical talent, sure to please almost any musical taste. Upcoming shows include Marvin Hamlisch with Broadway star Linda Eder, The Oak Ridge Boys, Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers Band and The Music of Abba. Hmmm….the Jonas Brothers must have been too busy.
As I mentioned above, I’m a huge Christopher Cross fan from way back, so I was thrilled to get this invite and pretty much sang along to every tune (my table-mates were quite understanding, to say the least!).
Seriously….I’m a wannabe karaoke queen and with award-winning hits like: Sailing, Ride Like The Wind, Think of Laura, Say You’ll Be Mine and Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)….how could I not sing?
Christopher sounded great and the large audience was very appreciative of the marvelous music and warm memories. Well, I definitely know that I was.
By the way, here’s an interesting fact: Did you know that the beautiful song Think of Laura was written for Laura Carter, a Denison University student who was killed by a stray bullet in Columbus in 1982? Cross shared that Carter was a friend of someone he was dating back then, and he wrote the song for her.
Think of Laura then became a big hit in the mid-80’s when it was used as a theme song for the character Laura Webber (of “Luke & Laura” fame) on the popular soap opera General Hospital.
(Hey, I knew that.)
OK, so if you’re like me and wish to enjoy a fun summer evening under the stars with a picnic and some beautiful music, check out the line-up for the remaining performances of the Picnic With The Pops summer music series below.
Oh, and If you do go and happen to hear someone singing loudly at a table near you…make sure to stop by and say “Hello”. I truly enjoy meeting fellow music-lovers, and I’m thinkin’ my table-mates will probably thank you for pausing my sing-along.
Just a guess.
Columbus Symphony & Picnic With The Pops – Summer Season 2009
\”Picnic With The Pops Makes Triumphant Return\” – Columbus Dispatch Review
