A Magical Place

We have long been supporters of the arts. From way back when Max was a wee one we'd venture out to various performances in and around Austin. Austin is the musical capital of the world, after all. But when we moved here to DC, I had no idea the cultural delights that would await us. As we found our way around, one of the first places we discovered was Wolf Trap's Theater in the Woods. It is a magical place nestled in the woods where kids and parents enjoy music, dance, and other performances.

It made my initial homesickness for Austin a little bit better knowing that I could pop out there to catch a show (and catch shows we did!). But as the boys got older and more involved in school, I lost sight of the Theater in the Woods. School schedules became more crowded, weekends became insane, and sports started to dominate our lives.

Then one day my oldest picked up a trumpet and played. He played and played, and the music that he made (beautiful for a first time trumpet player and actually tolerable to my hubby's delicate ears!) reminded me that we do need to plug back into the music and arts scene. I was about Ian and Sam's age when I saw my first real live performance of Grease - nekkid butts and all. I was about Max's age when I did my first cartwheel on Broadway (on the street, not on a stage). And here we were, living in the midst of a plethora of arts, music, and performances, and we weren't partaking. So when I got an invitation to come back to that place that brought me so much comfort and helped to introduce my two little boys to so many cool things, I had to take them up on it. We saw two shows that made my kids laugh, dance, sing, clap, and even giggle. Takes a lot to entertain all four of these kids since they are so far apart in age (10yrs down to 1yr old), but Dinorock and Hayes Greenfield did just that - they brought a smile to all of our faces.

Lucy LOVED seeing dinosaurs, and loved hearing the music. She spent a good deal of both shows dancing around and clapping to the beat. She waved at the Dinos and said "Bye bye" when they walked off stage. She connected with the performances, and she's not even two. The boys, on the other hand, really got it. They got the jokes, they got the story, and they got the messages. And when Hayes Greenfield and Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz came on, the kids plugged right in to the music. They were entranced by the sounds, by the music, by the beats, as were the rest of us there. All three boys go to a school where they have more access to music and arts than most kids around here - it's a magnet school for the arts and sciences. And all three get to play instruments very early on, so it was wonderful for them to see what it's like as an adult playing an instrument, and how much fun it really can be.

But outings like this, considering our schedule, are rare. I just need to remember to make more for things like this. Clearly the kids enjoyed it, and me, well, I'm making plans to head back there with them very soon.

Tickets provided for free by Wolf Trap, but the sentiment and the words are all mine.

Thank you to Robert Boag for these great images.