Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Everything Is Starting to Come Up Roses

Well I am over the fact I didn't have my ticket drawn to win anything last Friday night at "Pasadena Nights"... so I figure what better time than now to reflect on the fun had last weekend.
The weekend started by packing M's lunch extra early so she could head to school for 15-minutes of fame.

Pasadena Nights brought out past parents of band whose kids marched down Colorado Blvd to support this new bunch of band kids.  It even brought out a good handful of those kids who marched down Colorado Blvd back in 2005.  Like Princess A supporting her little sister.  She even did the color guard's make-up that night.

When the band was selected to march in 2005 Tournament of Roses Parade I was on the committee that entertained the president.  We had a wonderful dinner/auction at the Bowling Hall of Fame, geared towards adults, that followed the Cardinal game in which the kids performed the National Anthem.  While the adults where upstairs placing the highest bid on great items and sipping cocktails...the band kids where in the lower level bowling, working out the DDR and some arcade games getting jacked up on Mountain Dew.  The event was a success.  So I feel I have the right to say--Pasadena Nights was a great, even dare I say, a better event.  I say this because it oozed community spirit. 

The local restaurants that came out to serve free food "samples" (I use that word loosely because the portions where full servings) were very generous.  I managed eight of the twenty punches offered on my card before my stomach screamed FULL.  I stuffed it with Dunkin Donut holes, Costco cake, Merbs chocolate, Hwy 61 Roadhouse pulled pork and smoked chicken wings with hot sauce, a Chik-fil-a sandwich, the famous "bandwich", Cafe Manhattan's toasted ravioli and washed it all down with a Diet Coke. Mmmmm good!                

The exciting part of the night was the band didn't have to compete with the football team and pompom squad that night for time on the field.  They performed a field show and more for the TOR president. The kids will say that wasn't there best field performance since so much of the week was devoted to parade music...regardless the quality we parents are always their best cheerleaders, alwasys thinking they are great.

Just as the night ended the morning came with yet more hanging with the TOR president.  This time at Busch Stadium.  First with a lunch of ball park foods--hot dogs, brats, nachos....  Then the kids headed on to Clark Street to perform for the arriving fans. 
   
Of course in any downtown there is always the strange and odd that come out...say like a creepy Barney giving out free hugs.
 
My brother-in-law, niece and I bid M, the band kids and parents farewell-- as they all climbed elevations proportionate to a mountain to those grand seats known as the nosebleeds-- and headed to our great-eighteen-rows-from-the-field-behind-the-Reds-dugout seats.  Tickets compliments of KTRS 550. We got all comfy with the obnoxious Reds fans that surrounded us and waited for the band to play the National Anthem.  Then we licked our wounds as the darn Reds won the game. 

There you have it, a weekend devoted to things "coming up roses".

3 comments:

Lin said...

Oh, that looks like a great event! How is the fundraising coming along?? It's tough in this economy. Folks are really pulling back this year is what we found. Ugh.

That Barney is just wrong.

JODI said...

Lin- the event brought in $7000 at the door. That doesn't account for the raffle ticket sales. Still we have a longggggg way to go. And not far to go to get it.

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