Picnic Pops

I suppose that if you didn’t have a child participating, you could spend your whole life in Ann Arbor unaware of the exceptional nature of our school music programs. And that you could see it in action at the annual “Picnic Pops” an entire day devoted to showcasing the Pioneer and Huron bands, along with the eighth grade ensembles from the various middle schools.

I heard groups from Tappan (pictured below), Clague and Huron perform. As many of you know, Pioneer received the Grammy Foundation Signature School award in 2006 for best high school music program in the country, and Huron has also been highly awarded by the Foundation. Ann Arbor and districts throughout the state are facing a serious budget crisis with our schools. Our bands in Ann Arbor are an example of the excellence that can be achieved when an entire community understands the importance of music in education.

In addition to the music, there were games (my favorite was the “Rooster Booster” – small rubber chickens catapulted in your direction, and you try to catch them in a basket), moonwalks, a cakewalk, and lots of prizes. One boy dropped a two-liter bottle of root beer on the sidewalk (by accident), and the bottle shot like a rocket about 30 feet across the lawn. He did not, unfortunately, win a prize. Only a “lucky you didn’t hit the car” comment from the grouchy man staffing the raffle of a new car, which barely avoided the shower of soda.

All age groups enjoyed the music and the day – toddlers to grandparents. Rain may have threatened, but the “ice cream social” atmosphere couldn’t be dampened.