July 6, 2010

It’s summer again, and the weather is perfect for a picnic in the park. If the warm sun and green grass are not enough to lure people outside, Portland offers the extra incentives of free concerts, movies, and activities in the parks during summer months. The first concert of the summer at Mt Tabor Park featuring Paula Sinclair and the Pistols took place last night. My husband, Alex (the baby), Alex’s grandparents, and I packed up a picnic and headed out to the park.

We arrived a little after 6 pm, and I was a bit concerned about parking since Mt. Tabor does not have much. The event was very well organized, however, and we were quickly guided to a parking spot along the side of the road. We did have to walk a little bit to get to the concert (and I suspect hauling the ice chest and picnic basket was no easy task for my husband), but I was very happy with our parking spot (especially since it, like the event, was free).

The concert took place in the amphitheater area next to the basketball courts. We set up our blanket in the back corner to make it easiest with the baby. We enjoyed the picnic we had packed, but had we not brought food, there were vendors with pizza, pie, and other food available for sale. Donations were also being collected to help fund the concerts.

There was a fun craft activity behind us where kids were making critters using clay, feathers, beads, and other odds and ends. If Alex was a bit older, I’m sure he would have enjoyed it. I like to sculpt a bit myself, but I no longer qualify as a kid, so I will have to wait until Alex is old enough to give me an excuse to join in. When will he be old enough to play with clay? When he no longer sticks it in his mouth?

Paula Sinclair and the Pistols came out and performed their show. They were very good (you can sample some of Paula’s tunes on her myspace page). The music was advertised as Americana Rock and it struck me as somewhere between country and rock- very pleasant for an outdoor concert. Alex danced with the music and had a great time.

Intermission was at 7:30 pm and I would have liked to stay for the second half of the show. In fact, I was sitting on the blanket not even thinking about the time when my husband pointed out that the baby’s bed time was in half an hour. Unfortunately, being a mom means the kid comes first, so we packed up and left before the second half. I’m sure it was lots of fun too, but Alex fell asleep in the car on the way home, so we made the right choice.

Mt Tabor Park is located at SE 69 and Taylor in Portland. Upcoming concerts at Mt Tabor this summer are Lloyd Jones Struggle performing swingin’ blues on July 13, Melao de Cuba leading a salsa dance party on July 20, and a great Celtic show with Craicmore on July 27. All concerts start at 6:30 pm with art activities for kids starting at 6:00 pm. A complete summer concert schedule for the free concerts at the Portland parks an be found at http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=52644.

The days are getting warmer and while the evenings are lovely to spend outside, the hot days are more comfortably spent indoors where it is cool. Bring the kids to Inflatable Kingdom for an Open Play session to enjoy some active play out of the sun.

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