Ultimate Performance Art
This weekend we had the opportunity to take in the "Symphony on the Flinthills". For the third year now, the Kansas City Symphony has trekked out to central Kansas and performed a concert in the middle of a local pasture. We missed the first two, but Stacy's parents were able to secure tickets this year which allowed us to join the festivities.
If you think putting on the concert in the middle of a pasture is a wacky idea, you don't know the half of it. It sounds like a lot of work, but to see the thing firsthand really helps you understand how much of a logistical beast and event like this is.
For starters, the roads in Morris County, KS aren't built to accommodate 5,000 people at once. So you need to be prepared to be patient on your way in and out. Secondly, pastures don't have paved parking lots. Thus, you park your car in a pasture and then proceed to walk about a mile to the concert site. Thirdly, pastures are not air conditioned, nor do they have permanent seating. So you had better haul your chair on your mile hike, or plunk down your $2 to rent a folding chair at the site. And dress for some serious sweating, my friend.
Even with all of that, the experience was a grand affair. I loved it. The planners nestled the symphony in a soft valley, and roped off one side of the valley for seating. It made for a great view, especially as the sun started to set on our right and the moon shone brighter and brighter on our left. Barbecue was available, and I was more than happy to avail myself to the services of Bad Ol' Bern's meat smoking abilities.
But the undisputed highlight of the night was the performance art that was performed this year. During the first half of the concert, ranchers rode the hillside behind the symphony and provided a wonderful compliment to the music. But that was nothing compared to what they were storing up for the second half of the concert. The ranchers executed a full-on cattle drive across the back of the hillside while the symphony busted out the theme from the Magnificent Seven. I don't even have a word to describe what it is like to witness something like that.
As excited as I was to attend this event, it managed to live up to the hype. It's easy to see why it sold out in just 4 hours.
Fair Dinkum
If you think putting on the concert in the middle of a pasture is a wacky idea, you don't know the half of it. It sounds like a lot of work, but to see the thing firsthand really helps you understand how much of a logistical beast and event like this is.
For starters, the roads in Morris County, KS aren't built to accommodate 5,000 people at once. So you need to be prepared to be patient on your way in and out. Secondly, pastures don't have paved parking lots. Thus, you park your car in a pasture and then proceed to walk about a mile to the concert site. Thirdly, pastures are not air conditioned, nor do they have permanent seating. So you had better haul your chair on your mile hike, or plunk down your $2 to rent a folding chair at the site. And dress for some serious sweating, my friend.
Even with all of that, the experience was a grand affair. I loved it. The planners nestled the symphony in a soft valley, and roped off one side of the valley for seating. It made for a great view, especially as the sun started to set on our right and the moon shone brighter and brighter on our left. Barbecue was available, and I was more than happy to avail myself to the services of Bad Ol' Bern's meat smoking abilities.
But the undisputed highlight of the night was the performance art that was performed this year. During the first half of the concert, ranchers rode the hillside behind the symphony and provided a wonderful compliment to the music. But that was nothing compared to what they were storing up for the second half of the concert. The ranchers executed a full-on cattle drive across the back of the hillside while the symphony busted out the theme from the Magnificent Seven. I don't even have a word to describe what it is like to witness something like that.
As excited as I was to attend this event, it managed to live up to the hype. It's easy to see why it sold out in just 4 hours.
Fair Dinkum