Evening with Lorie Line - Fabulous!

This was the 5th year of a tradition that our daughter, Dawn and I started 5 years ago, on the Friday after Thanksgiving. NO, it's NOT shopping at 3 or 4 am in the morning! It is attending the Holiday Concert at the DECC of Lorie Line, pianst and her Pop Chamber Orchestra. It really puts us in the mood for Christmas, listening to her Holiday music. Her show is a big production number, just like the shows they produce in Las Vegas. We always enjoy it. We say each year, "this is her best show, better than last year"... we can't believe that it could get better each year, but it really does. This year she had such a good Soprano soloist performing with her, she performed "Ave Maria", the best I have ever heard! She had "The Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah music printed on the program, and when they performed it, she invited us all to stand and sing along...that was awesome! There were also two other great numbers from Handel's Messiah.

She always invites the children under age 15 to the stage. This year they outfitted the kids in costumes (behind stage then they come out for the song) representing the gifts of the "12 Days of Christmas"... the kids were just darling, the costumes darling and it's so much fun for the kids!

(See the photo above)

Before the concert, Dawn and I go to dinner, usually to a nice restaurant that is too expensive to indulge in with our husbands. This year it was Bellisios (Italian fine dining).

When we leave the concert, we always feel a bit guilty that we didn't share it with the men or with the 7 year old Granddaughter. But, we enjoy having this special tradition to ourselves, maybe we are being selfish. We talked on the way home about the possiblity of Madelyn being able to go with us next year, as she will be 8 then, and maybe would sit through it and truly enjoy it. (Of course, we really feel the guilt when all the kids are on the stage!) We'll see ... we have till August to decide. I go to the DECC ticket office and buy tickets the first day they are sold, so we get good seats. Last year we were in the front row of the orchestra pit. We decided that was a "bit TOO close". This year we were in the FRONT row, right in the center. They were the PERFECT seats, however, for the music there really are no bad seats for Lori Line's music!

There was a lady sitting next to us. She drove from International Falls, alone, to see the concert. It was her first year of coming. She told us before the concert started that she had to pay $144 for her motel room (and that wasn't even downtown or at the canal!), Comfort Suites. At intermission, she told us the show was worth every penny she was paying for her overnight room!