Labor Day 2010
Mike and I traveled east to celebrate Labor Day with his family this past weekend. Mike's parents host a pool party every year on Labor Day weekend as a "final swim of the summer" type gathering. We had a wedding to go to last year so we were so excited we could be there this year. While the pool party was a blast, despite the mild cool down, another highlight of the weekend was seeing Train live at Rivinia Festival! Have you heard of this festival? Me either! While we were packing I, of course, was asking Mike a ton of questions in order to pack the appropriate attire to which he answered, "it's an outdoor venue, but you'll want to look nice... think 'formal outdoors wear'"... right, got it! Needless to say I packed about 4 possible outfits because I struggled to pin-point what this description actually meant!
When we arrived on Saturday evening, I found Mike's answer to be quite spot on! Ravinia is crazy! It's a huge gated park. You arrive before the gates open to "tailgate" in line. Only this tailgate included wine and assorted finger food/appetizers. Then, when the gates open, you make your way to your "spot" for the evening and unpack all your goodies. By goodies I mean... more food than you can imagine (think at least a 3 course spread) complete with tables, and table decor! You picnic and enjoy your surroundings until the concert begins around 7:30.
This is our table and, compared to others around, this is very low-key.
The gang enjoying the spread.
The concert was great but one thing I noticed was Ravinia is much more than just an outdoor concert. While there were actual seats near the stage, most of the people enjoying the music can't actually see the stage. They have speakers set up around the park so you have no trouble enjoying the music but, compared to other outdoor concerts I've been to, where the focus is on the performers alone, this was very different. I look forward to checking out the line-up for next summer. Hopefully we are able to enjoy Ravinia again!!
When we arrived on Saturday evening, I found Mike's answer to be quite spot on! Ravinia is crazy! It's a huge gated park. You arrive before the gates open to "tailgate" in line. Only this tailgate included wine and assorted finger food/appetizers. Then, when the gates open, you make your way to your "spot" for the evening and unpack all your goodies. By goodies I mean... more food than you can imagine (think at least a 3 course spread) complete with tables, and table decor! You picnic and enjoy your surroundings until the concert begins around 7:30.
This is our table and, compared to others around, this is very low-key.
The gang enjoying the spread.
The concert was great but one thing I noticed was Ravinia is much more than just an outdoor concert. While there were actual seats near the stage, most of the people enjoying the music can't actually see the stage. They have speakers set up around the park so you have no trouble enjoying the music but, compared to other outdoor concerts I've been to, where the focus is on the performers alone, this was very different. I look forward to checking out the line-up for next summer. Hopefully we are able to enjoy Ravinia again!!
What a fun festival! I have never seen something like that where people brought tables and all the gear. Most of the festivals I've been to, it was blankets and camp chairs. How fun!
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment over at the Boorman Twins and had to come over (and not just because we're fellow cold weather lovers) because we are just a couple of states away from hitting all 50 at BlogTrotting and Iowa is one of the ones we're missing! Would you consider doing a tour post for us?