Stateside fun

Garrison Keillor warms up the andience

Last evening Larry and I had an opportunity to enjoy a live Prairie Home Companion show at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC. Friends from South Florida invited us to join them for the taping of Garrison Keillor and the PHC crew. Unfortunately, at the last minute J & G were unable to make the trip to NC so we took our 13 and 14 year old grandchildren, giving them an experience they won't soon forget.

Jamie & Brandon waiting for the show

The day was beautiful - clear skies and moderate temperature - and we arrived at the amphitheater "early." We had lawn chair seating and the crowd was growing rapidly as we arrived, but we found a spot to the side of the stage and settled in. We had planned to get snacks there but the lines were so long we decided to dine after the show. About thirty minutes before show time Garrison Keillor came out and, with a wonderful young singer in tow, strolled among the huge crowd singing everything from Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel and chatting with the audience. At precisely 6:00 p.m. the show began and the next two hours were magical.  I have always loved listening the PHC but "watching" the radio show was such fun! The music was varied and fantastic (including an homage to recently deceased NC native "Doc" Watson) and Keillor was in his usual good storytelling form.
We all had a great time; it would have been a perfect  if J & G had shared the evening with us us. Thanks, guys...we missed you and know you would have enjoyed the show as much as we did.