Many Happy Returns

The Downtown Arts and Culture Commission threw a birthday party for Merriweather Post Pavillion yesterday afternoon. As you can see, I got another opportunity to view the amazing chairs from the Inner Arbor Trust "Celebrating the Arts in the Park" contest. I love how different they all are, yet still embody that one theme. Make sure to stop by this summer where they will be on display throughout the park.

We were definitely still celebrating the arts in the park by getting together at the Chrysalis to celebrate fifty years of Merriweather. As the party kicked off you could hear sound checks going on next door. It was clear how important the relationship between the DAC and the Inner Arbor Trust will be in fostering the success of a vibrant Downtown. If it works well, the end result will definitely be bigger than the sum of its parts.

I must admit I dreaded leaving the house yesterday and spending two hours in the summer heat. When I arrived I was stunned to feel the difference in temperature around the Chrysalis. Whoever decided to place this structure exactly where it has been located is a genius. The trees, (you know, the ones they didn't cut down) the hill, the angle...they all work together to protect patrons from the beating-down sun. It was shady, breezy, and altogether gorgeous.

As with any good birthday party, there was cake, and singing, and friends assembled with gifts. Not gifts wrapped up in fancy paper with bows, but the gifts of who they are and what they have done to support Merriweather and the continuing growth of celebrating the arts in the park. I saw so many people there who had gone to meetings, written letters, donated time, money, and talents to the cause. Merriweather has friends--there'd be no point in having a party if it didn't--and they are not just fair weather friends.

For Columbia's sake, that's a very, very good thing.

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