Want to know what we did this weekend? It has been a bit since I shared a weekend since a lot of posts have been focused on reviews and giveaways. 🙂 We had debated going to New Jersey this weekend for a fun event but I decided it would be nice to have my husband plan on something that looked exciting to him for our whole family. I generally do not like to dictate what we are going to do during our weekends but I tend to ahead most of the time in order to have something planned.
This weekend Ryan found a free event at the Kimmel Center called Organ Day. Did you know that the largest concert hall organ is housed in the Kimmel Center? Yes. It was really fantastic.
We invited another family to join us on our adventure and boy was it an adventure. It was our family of four and the other family had three kids as well. We took the train into the city and walked a few blocks on Broad street to listen to some of the program. Here is what was going on that day:
It was hosted by Michael Barone
Noon: Official Start and Welcome
12:20pm: American Guild of Organists Members’ Recital
American Guild of Organists Members will present a variety of organ repertoire. The Recital will feature Tim Evers, Patrick Kreeger, Aaron Patterson, Clair Rozier, Kathleen Scheide and Leah Martin, and Parker Kitterman
2:30 – 3pm: Break
3pm – 4pm: Organ and Ensemble: Chamber Music
Experience exciting collaborations! During this hour the organ musicians are joined by a variety of ensemble musicians including strings and the New City Brass Ensemble.
4pm – 5pm: Opera and Organ: Featuring Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia will present a program of arias and ensembles in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the births of two operatic titans: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The talented singers from Opera Philadelphia will perform selections highlighting both composers’ masterworks.
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We arrived at 2:15pm so we caught a bit of the recital. We then took advantage of the break and got something small to munch on and came back at 4pm for the Opera and Organ portion of the concert.
In the lobby of the hall was a French street organ playing that kept Julianne and other kids quite entranced.
This was featured as a come and go event but there were complaints from people that it was too much of a distraction. It was not QUITE a family-friendly event but we hoped with our kids being exposed to music that they would be good. There were a few issues, like a diaper blow-out and a fussy toddler who did not want to sleep but all in all it was a GREAT experience.
There was a flash mob singing experience as well. We knew about it but I unfortunately did not get a chance to bring my sheet music since I was holding a baby. I still stood up and sand “watermelon” and the the tune. I knew the tune and that is what counted. It was beautiful seeing people in the crowd sing “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco. Ryan was singing from the other end with Julianne in the Ergo carrier and I was singing or humming holding my 4 month old. Oh yes, it was real nice.
After the concert was over we walked for 15 minutes to Percy Street Restaurant known for their BBQ. Ryan heard about them on Guy Fieri’s Diner’s, Drive-ins, and Dives show so he called ahead and found out there was plenty of space for 4 adults and 5 kids. Whew!
We ordered the family-style experience with all the sides they have to offer. The only complaint is that the sides were small for 4 people. We had to ask for more. The meat sampler was ample though and we went home with chicken. The experience and food were delicious but by this time our kids were starting to melt down. I’m tired of having to eat so quickly as to prevent from having kids being needy. I guess it always happens at mealtimes right?
Ryan’s beer was so good too! I have kept it in mind for the next time. We took pecan pie to go and that was tasty too.
By the end of it we walked for 30 minutes to the train station with one baby in the Ergo and another in our stroller. Despite being so tired and cranky our toddler refused to sleep in her comfy stroller. Sigh. We finally got home at 10pm and we all zonked out. It was a fun yet tiring day but Ryan and I decided we were not going to let having 2 kids stop us from doing activities.
Don’t let it stop you either cause in the end I know we are exposing our kids to fun times.
Now how about baking some cookies to recover?
What did you do this weekend?
