Weekend Update [6.22.26]

It was a patriotic weekend!! It was a full weekend, but a great one!

Friday

Let’s start with Friday morning. My mom and I loaded up my vehicle and headed south to our state’s capital. This was the weekend that I was participating in the volunteer mass choir for our state’s America 250 celebration. It wasn’t a hard drive, but a long enough one (4 hours) lol. We had a bit of rain here and there as we got further south, but nothing too strong.

Since my mom would be in the hotel room all day while I was at rehearsal and wouldn’t have a way to get food, we stopped at a grocery store on the way to get some sandwich fixings and snacks. We made it to the hotel a little bit before check-in time but thankfully, our room was already ready.

We unpacked, relaxed, fixed a sandwich for supper, showered, and then went to sleep.

Saturday

I didn’t have to be at rehearsal until 9:30 but I needed to curl my hair (because I wouldn’t have time between the final rehearsal and call time) so I was up and curling hair at 6:30. Once my hair was curled, we went downstairs for breakfast. Of course, when it was time for me to go to rehearsal, it came a torrential downpour. In case you’re wondering, my hair did survive!

The choir members got checked in, got our event passes and “swag bags” and then divided into singing parts. We then went from the “food/dressing/gathering/everything” hall into the Coliseum (event venue), and got arranged in the “choir loft”.

Our first rehearsal of the day was just the full choir (we had only practiced in regional practices, but this was the first time as a full choir) with only the pianist and some background tracks. After running through 5 of the 7 songs, we stopped for lunch. On our way back for lunch, we saw some of the things the public would see when they arrived for the performance.

After lunch, we went back into the Coliseum for our second rehearsal and, this time, we rehearsed with the orchestra.

We ran through most, if not all, of the songs with the orchestra, had a short break, and then had a full rehearsal with all performers.

After the final rehearsal, we had about an hour and a half to eat supper and get dressed. Since I was staying so close to the venue, I was able to leave and go back to the hotel to get ready. I grabbed my supper and headed back. (I also needed to get my mom too.) I grabbed a few bites, touched up a few curls, put my performance clothes on, and my mom and I headed back. We had to be back and performance-ready by 5:20, and we made it back there with plenty of time to spare. I dropped my mom off at the main entrance, and I went back to the choir/performer parking area. By 5:30, we were in the “choir loft” and ready to go!

It was an absolutely beautiful night celebrating not only America’s 250th birthday, but also our state. There were so many “favorite” moments, but the one that tops them all was that the night ended with singing “The Blessing” by Kari Jobe. What better way to end than by worshipping the Lord!

These are just two pictures from that night. I will share professional photos as soon as they are available.

Of course, my mom and I didn’t get a picture there (it was people-y and we were tired), but we did make sure to take one together while still dressed 🙂

We ate, watched HGTV, and then passed out!

Sunday

Sunday morning, we slept in, then got up, got dressed, packed our suitcases, and headed downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast, we loaded everything up and headed back north for home!

Of course, the cats were glad to see us, and we were glad to see them 🙂

Happy Monday!!