Getting Cultured

So far, it's been quite a cultural summer.

There's been music in the park every Sunday, big band, usually. Sometimes I've gone--we had a great family picnic at one of them. The dog came along and every time we clapped, she thought we were calling her over to play and got all excited, so we didn't end up doing a whole lot of applauding.

Other times, I haven't gone because I've biked to the beach to hear the drummers, a group of folk who just get together and drum every Sunday, year round, or watch the surfers.

And my sister1 found out about some neat gatherings elsewhere. We went together a couple of weeks ago to listen to Baka Beyond, hosted by the OC library up in Tustin. I don't have any really good pictures of them because it was getting dark and I didn't want my screen distracting people. Besides, half the time I was busy dancing to the music. My sister picked up a CD & I kind of wish I had too.

And then there was Shakespeare by the Sea. Both sisters and I went to watch a performance of Anthony and Cleopatra, a play I'd actually neither read nor seen before. It was really well done. Of course *anything* appeals outdoors on a summer's eve, but this really *was* well done and they used the outdoors to enhance their performance, which has got to be hard--what on earth is a Roman soldier to do when a helicopter comes over and drowns out his speech?

And there's the Tuesday night street fair. The Book Arts class has meant that I haven't been to it much this summer, but my sister and I made it last week and spent a long time listening to various performers--well, mostly to Seis Cuerdas, but then, they are geniuses, and I always have to stay long enough to hear the flamenco version of Flight of the Bumblebee, and that is always their last song, so...

1Not the one teaching in Mexico, the other one, the one who doesn't have a blog.