This event actually occurred about a week ago, but I never got around to writing a post about it. I figured Memorial Day would be an appropriate time to put this post up.
Generations for Peace is a local grassroots organization, one of many organizations throughout the country working for peace. I'm not a member of the group, but they asked me to be an emcee for their recent coffeehouse program. It turned out to be a lovely evening and a really fun time.
Before the show, I took pictures of the table centerpieces. I just love hydrangeas. I had hydrangeas in the flower girl and bridesmaid bouquets at my wedding. These white ones were from one of the group members' yards. Hydrangeas change color based on the pH of the soil they grow in, so I guess when you're a very peaceful person, you have very non-acidic soil and your hydrangeas are pure white.
Next I photographed the food. A local bakery donated these brownies and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
I just think a tray of cookies is pretty:
Okay, this next video clip is sort of dumb, but I loved these solar-powered dancing flowers. Also the iconic hippie song "If I Had a Hammer" is playing in the background on some kind of peace compilation CD that they played before the show.
I got to take one of the solar flowers home after the show. Nathan broke it the next morning. We can't even keep plastic flowers alive here.
The first performer in the show was a guy named Bill Preston, who plays dulcimer. He makes his own dulcimers, too, which I think is kind of cool because it's the kind of craft that so very few people do. And it turns out, you can rock out on a dulcimer. I liked this song he sang called "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore."
There was a speaker in between performers, who gave a speech called "The Cost of War." The speech was alarming and sad. I don't remember the exact details, but she was talking about all the roads and public schools and other useful things that could be funded with the amount of money the country spends in one day on the war in Afghanistan.
The next performer was a 16-year-old violin prodigy. Now, generally I would expect a young person who devotes so much time to practicing music to be a little bit socially awkward, but this girl had an amazing presence on- and offstage. She was such an excellent public speaker, whereas when I was 16 I would have mumbled down at my toes so nobody could hear me. So, not only was this girl an amazing violin player, but she did a little presentation about each song where she taught us about musical terms, themes, and composers. Also she had all her music memorized, which I found impressive.
The last performer was a Bob Dylan impersonator named Danny Fox. The event organizers told me he sounds "just like Bob Dylan, if Bob Dylan could sing better." Which turned out to be a fairly accurate description of him. You know, like he had a good singing voice, but didn't do all those weird incomprehensible noises that Bob Dylan does. Anyway, Danny Fox apparently has won the sound-alike contest several years running at some kind of festival held in Bob Dylan's hometown. He put on a really fun show. Here's a clip of him singing the classic "Blowing in the Wind."
All in all, it was a really fun night. In the end I found myself agreeing with those crazy hippies, and I might even go to one of their meetings.
The least peaceful part of the night was on the drive home, when I unleashed hell on some leftover baked goods.
1 comment:
I love hydrangeas, too!
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