Concerts

 When we moved to Lowell and I saw how the riverfront walk was used I  said it was Lowell's front porch. It's where you can see someone reading on a quiet afternoon or strolling with a dog or eating at a restaurant open to the river or meeting a friend. The area runs from Main street along the river past the library. It's a beautiful space.

It is also where concerts are held on the stage on Thursday evenings all summer.  And let me tell you, nothing fills this front porch like the concerts.  Last night was no exception.  People talk about a perfect storm?  Well, combine the Thursday night concert with a hugely popular band, the absolutely gorgeous summer evening, the Riverwalk Festival beginning at that moment and you get 

this, the biggest crowd ever. 

And this is only part of it.  People were sitting every single where possible, even in the parking lot. They were dancing, walking, hugging, enjoying every single thing about last night.  This empty space you see? Not for long. And you know what?  It was peaceful.  People were happy.  People were there to enjoy the music, to dance, to be together and I doubt even one person worried someone would spoil it.

One of our Lowell people, Bruce Doll, is a photographer. Bruce makes it his mission to document life in Lowell.  He is everywhere,  documenting everything and we are all grateful to him for his passion.  If you want to see what life in Lowell is then look up his FB page. We are all there.  We are so used to seeing him with his camera pointed at us no one ducks.  We all smile big for him.

Last night, silly me, I thought I would take some photos to show what WE do on concert nights.  But we were slammed, busier than we've ever  been, sold out of everything we had and hardly looked up. Bruce generously said I could use some of his photos here.  Like I said, he really is generous with his mission of documenting our lives.

And here we are, our little booth that PH and I work in more than half of the concerts.  He is grilling (green apron) and I am in the navy shirt.  Don ( in stripes) is PH's bun man.  PH needs a someone to hear the order and put the buns on the plate, open, so he can just slide the burger or dog on. It can get intense.  The  friend in blue checks was there to learn PH's technique and tips because we aren't going to be there next week.

  Our Adelaide is a popcorn maker, too. She loves making the popcorn and we get many comments about how nice it is to see a middle schooler working with a bunch of  old fogies. She is a take charge kind of kid and so good at it I'm a bit afraid for my job!   She spelled me last night so I could be the runner when we needed more supplies in the stock room.   It's a simple set up but last night we were absolutely gobsmacked. 

                                                 It looks so peaceful from afar!

 

And this lady with the Mona Lisa smile is enjoying her last Riverfront Festival as director of the Chamber of Commerce.  She is retiring and everyone is scratching their heads wondering who the city can possibly find to fill her shoes. Under her care Lowell has done nothing but grow.