Dahlia Festival

One day soon I'll be caught up on this blog. My apologies to people who are inundated and maybe even a little overwhelmed by the onslaught of posts, I'm trying to make up lost ground here. I'm almost there.

Last night we attended the annual Dahlia Festival at our good friend and neighbor's house, NT and JM. They throw this amazing party with great food and good friends, and the community really shows up for a wonderful evening.

They then set up this amazing stage with all the necessary equipment for an evening of open mic. Best of all, A gets to get up there and perform. The people who sing and dance and read poetry are all amazingly talented, it's a really fun show, though I'm partial to our daughter's performance. She sang an original that she wrote, and our good friend KR was kind enough to get up there and back her for confidence and comfort. She's an amazing friend.

The night was mellow at first. The kids were itching to get there and wanted to be there from the get-go. They knew their friends would be there, and couldn't get out the door fast enough. We got there a little late, but not enough to spoil things. We brought dumplings, of course.

After the food and libations, we headed up the hill to the stage, and the show began. It's so much fun seeing everyone get up there and just have fun. That's the main theme, and it doesn't matter what your act is, everyone can appreciate a good time.

A got up and she and KR performed a duet. First they did A's original, Nature, and then they sang the song Home by Karla Bonoff (I had to look this up on Google). It's a beautiful song and a very interesting choice for a 9 year-old.

She really thrives on stage, and it helps that KR, who is a simply amazing singer/performer, is willing to go up and support her. We love KR.

Several other musicians got up and sang, and it really was a nice show. We wanted to stay for the whole thing, but at some point it was getting late, and we had to cut our a little early, but not before the kids were satisfied that they had seen enough of the show. Left to their own devices, they'd have stayed until midnight.

Thanks to NT and JM for hosting yet another amazing party.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Gabriella Fabbri for the pic.