Remembering a Favorite Picnic

I think the weather has finally figured out that it's June.  We had a beautiful day today and my thoughts turned to picnics.  One of my favorites was at Ravinia which is an outdoor concert venue near Chicago.

Our kids bought us tickets to the Moody Blues concert for our 35th wedding anniversary.  The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed the time spent with them.  Of course we enjoyed listening to the concert too!

 

Moody Blues at Ravinia

We've been fans of the Moody Blues since the early 70's and have attended over 20 of their concerts so you can imagine how nice this was for us!

          

We had Lawn Seats which is a part of the "experience" at Ravinia.  People pack picnic meals and bring all the portable comforts of home for an evening under the stars.  Although it's crowded, you feel like you are in your own little world.  After setting up our space  Lee and I took a walk around the park.

It's a beautiful venue with gardens, places to eat, shop and a wonderful Pavilion with traditional concert seating.

 

Many of the picnic spaces had the same small table that we have and simple centerpieces with tablecloths that helped to make the evening special.  The little plastic jug with flowers and a red tablecloth added a bright pop of color to this picnic.  Inexpensive, easy to transport, and the snacks looked yummy!  Candles of all types (including Citronella) are encouraged and added a cozy touch to the evening.

                         

Sarah told me that during some of the concerts (orchestras, etc) the picnics take on a more "upscale" look and silver candelabras like this are the norm.  I loved the combination of paper plates, bags of chips and the fancy silver together.  This group was really having a good time.

We were so busy that we actually pulled our own menu and tablescape together the afternoon of the concert.  Sarah and I did our usual phone "planning" session and prepared a delightful picnic that made for a very special evening. I'll share our table in the next post. Here's a list of the "Top Ten things to bring to Ravinia" that I found on their website. It gave me a better idea of what to expect when I got there.  If you ever have the chance I hope you make the time to spend a beautiful summer evening like this and create your own special memories.

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach






 

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