Violins meet Roses!

I love Portland, and I must say I love Portland 10-fold in the summer months. It has been such a busy summer, and I've LOVED every minute of it. I vowed at the beginning of summer that I was going to have fun this summer and do as much as I could, whether it be a new or repeated experience. I've had lots of both! This weekend was the first since the end of May that I didn't have something scheduled, though I knew the weekend could fill up rather quickly, even without scheduled events.

The weekend started out nicely...breakfast with a friend at Bob's Red Mill, one of my favorite places for gluten-free goodness. Then the rest of Saturday is a blur, probably because I didn't do anything too outrageous...did buy a purse-I was way past needing one. Sunday was good, church, hanging out with Ezme, and "attempting" to tackle my list of things I needed to do around my apartment that I have neglected the last couple of weeks. At 5 I decided that I was going to a concert in the park that started at 6...why spend time inside when the weather is so beautiful? That is what I asked...then assured myself that all the things I needed to do would most definitely by waiting for my later tonight, or tomorrow, or next week. So, spur of the moment, like so many decisions I make, I headed to North Portland to one of my favorite parks...Peninsula Park and Rose Garden. You see, every summer, the Portland Festival Symphony has free concerts in the park. They have 6 different concerts in 6 different parks. This year it was down to 5, so I couldn't miss out. Once I got parked I was walking towards the park, which has a huge rose garden and I could smell them. It was wonderful! I meandered through the roses, by the fountain and made my way to the concert area. I got myself all situated and sat down with the crowd of people. There was a group of kids who I think must have just performed. There was an Einstein looking man interrogating them. I felt for them, but could also tell he was just a little quirky. Shortly the adult group got up and was setting up to perform when their conductor was introduced....as that Einstein looking man, Lajos Balogh. He was quirky, but this symphony has been his life since he moved to Portland from Hungary. He was passionate about the music and was wonderful with kids. Below you can see a picture of one of the girls being "interrogated". My favorite was when he asked one girl if she knew how much time t.v. took away from practicing her instrument. Her response was..."do you know how much time homework takes away from practicing my instrument!" You go girl!

At the end of the performance Maestro Balogh invited all the kids up for the "Toy Symphony" and they all got instruments (recorders, rattles, etc) to play with the larger group. It was fun for them all.

While the symphony was performing the kids loved to dance...ahhh, life through the eyes, and with the energy of a child, especially a child in the summer. Enjoy! I sure did!