My husband mused on Sunday afternoon, “And tonight we have no plans…”
“… except Concert in the Park! First of the season!” I couldn’t stop the huge grin on my face. The day was finally here.
We moved to Coronado last August, and our Concert in the Park experiences last summer were a blur of children all over the playground, visiting family, and a sea of faces in which we knew no one.
One weekend last summer, when my husband was out of town, I made the terrible mistake of coming to Concert in the Park by myself. Of course, all my two kids wanted to do was play on the playground. After about ten panicked minutes where I couldn’t find them for 80% of the time, I put them in the stroller and went home.
This year, though, we had spent the past nine months slowly making friends around the island, as well as falling in love with Coronado. We looked forward to that first concert as the start of a long, sweet summer.
However, we had failed to make plans with anyone for the concert, thanks to the rush of my husband coming home from three weeks away and Memorial Day weekend activities. So when we arrived at Spreckels Park in the joyful hubbub before the concert, we had no real goal. We meandered towards the playground, scanning the crowd along the way.
You don’t realize how much you’ve missed it until you round that corner and see Spreckels again. Wagons packed with food and children. Folks set up on beach chairs, surveying the crowds. Beers in coozies. Sunglasses, smiles, sunlight through the trees. Blankets spread for group picnics on the ground. A spontaneous game of checkers under the trees. Children — barefoot, laughing, tearing around the gazebo, oblivious to everything but their friends.
Who would be here that we knew? We’d barely entered the park when we passed our church’s gathering spot, and friends greeted us by name and offered food. Farther down the sidewalk, more friends spotted us and waved us over, and we ended up spreading our blankets next to theirs. Ahead of us were another group of acquaintances and friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen for months.
And suddenly we felt right at home.
If you’re a parent of children under ten or so, you will probably agree that the Concert in the Park can be anything but relaxing. As we attempted to eat our picnic dinner, my children spread pizza sauce all over themselves, my friend’s daughter stepped in the container of Boursin, and I watered the grass with my beer as I attempted to stop various disasters mid-explosion.
I realized that day that there is a science to enjoying Concerts in the Park with kids. The first is realizing that there is a ratio between relaxation and proximity to the playground. (Yes, farther away is better. Like, as far away as possible.) There are a few other things that help: sitting with a lot of friends who will help you watch your children, being close to the mosh pit near the grandstand, dressing them in neon clothing, and just going each week until you figure out a set of rules and a routine that everyone in your family understands. Practice makes perfect!
And after all, there isn’t much that is more perfect that a glass of wine in your hand, a picnic on the blanket, and your family around you as you along to live music with your friends and neighbors. Here’s to a summer of Concerts in the Park! View the band lineup here.
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“Coronado Living” is a weekly column written by one of our staff writers, Becca Garber. She blogs about choosing simplicity and practicing hospitality with her family at home in Coronado. You can read more of her writing on her blog.
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Becca Garber
Staff Writer
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