Music, Music, Music

The Garden Rocks Concert Series is one of the best things about the Flower & Garden Festival, featuring performers and music covering several decades.  Held at the outdoors America Gardens Theater, the performers do 3 sets lasting about 35 min. each (basically mini concerts) every weekend over the length of the Festival.

 

As we were making our way over, we stopped at the Canada Pavilion to check out their new entertainment since we had a little time.  We found a seat and suddenly heard music coming

from behind us.  This is how they arrive to the stage…playing as they make their way through the crowds.  They’re called TradNation (https://tradnation.com/) and are a five-piece band out of Quebec.  Appearing for a limited time, their

     performances last about 20 minutes and generally consist of a guitarist, two violinists, a flutist and a step dancer.  Nice little show but definitely nowhere as good or entertaining as Off Kilter who used to perform there.

 

 It was about 6:30pm and time to get in line at the Theater.  Once inside we quickly found a seat about midway back and then started noticing that several folks had stood up and were pointing their cameras to the sky.  In the distance through the trees we

could see what appeared to be a rocket trail, and everyone continued to watch as it made its ascent into the atmosphere.  Turns out it was SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket which had blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station some 60 miles away.  Its mission was to deliver the SES-9 commercial communications satellite into orbit.

 

First up in the concert series was The Orchestra (www.theorchestra.net) starring former members of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) and ELO Part II who were known for such great
     songs as Evil Woman, Strange Magic, Don’t Bring Me Down, and Telephone Line just to name a few.  The Orchestra has been the name of the band since 2001 which pays homage to each of the band members’ former relationship with
   those bands.  During one of the shows, guitarist Glen Burtnik (also formerly of the band Styx) played his way out into the audience standing on the bench right in front of us!  Unfortunately the glare from the lights kept me from getting a
     good picture but so cool!  Plus Mik Kaminski who was with ELO in the 70s was a true showman on his trademark blue electric violin.  This was our first time seeing this group, and they definitely did not disappoint!

 

Of course we had to stay afterwards and catch some of the Illuminations fireworks…always an incredible experience!

One of the mainstays of the Epcot music festivals and one of our favorites is Starship Starring Mickey Thomas so of course we had to go one of the nights they performed.  As always they were phenomenal!  Mickey Thomas definitely has not lost his voice,
       and Stephanie Culvert handling the lead vocals with him is amazing!  They sang such Starship hits as Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, Somebody to Love, and at both shows we saw had the place rockin’ with We Built This City.  As we
  were leaving the theater after the last show, we actually could see part of the Hollywood Studios Star Wars fireworks through the trees!  How fun to see them even partially from another vantage point!

 

     We opted not to stay for Illuminations this time but enjoyed some of the topiaries colorfully lit up for the evening as we made our way to the car.

 

Rounding out the month was my birthday!  I was scheduled to work, and though I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, at one point I was told one of the managers wanted to see me in back and was surprised with a cake from our pastry department!  My buddy, Rafael, presented it while everyone sang happy birthday so I made him get in the photo with me.  (I’m wearing the old uniform and he’s wearing the new one which I’d be getting soon.) What a wonderfully unexpected surprise for someone who’d only been there a couple of months!

Bloomin' Beautiful!

Ah…the beginning of March…must mean it’s the start of Epcot’s 23rd annual International Flower & Garden Festival!  Though the grounds are always beautiful any time of year, they are taken to a new level during the Festival.  It lasts 90 days, and this year’s theme is “Fresh Food, Fun, & Flowers” featuring Daisy Duck at
the entrance with Donald and nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie appearing at the other end of the garden.  Each year there are some new exhibits and topiaries like Chip & Dale having a picnic and this wonderful Ranger Mickey Mouse that was done as a tribute to the National Park Service’s centennial anniversary this year!

One of my favorite places to visit during the Festival is the butterfly pavilion.  I love walking through taking in all of the flowers, foliage, and many varieties of butterflies freely fluttering around everywhere.  If you look closely at the photo of the black and white one in flight (at right...click to
   enlarge), you can actually see its outstretched legs getting ready for that landing!  There are several displays that educate everyone on aspects of a butterfly’s life cycle, the meaning of their different colorations, the flight paths of the Monarch, and so much more
   including a box that has some butterflies in the chrysalis stage and beyond.  It’s not a very big area with mesh “walls” and beaded entry curtains, and since Russ can take it or leave it, he usually waits outside people watching.

 

  Another cool “butterfly” this year is a topiary that was made entirely of seeds.  Wish I had taken a picture of the description so I could share more about it!  There was also a bumblebee similarly made but I didn’t get a very good picture of it…maybe next time.

 

Though there are HGTV and DIY experts on hand every weekend offering presentations on gardening and home improvement, and plenty of food booths (more each year it seems), the main attraction are the nearly 100 topiaries.  Many are themed together like this one of Captain Hook ready for battle with Peter Pan high up on the rooftop while the hungry crocodile keeps an eye on the Captain!  However some are standalones like Buzz Lightyear located appropriately in front of the Mission Space ride but here are several  others for you to enjoy.

 

Besides the topiaries there are 30 million blooms that blanket the park which require two complete crop rotations during this bloomin' beautiful celebration to keep the displays fresh.  There are more than 500,000 plants, trees, and shrubs planted for the event including floating mini-gardens, container gardens, “flower towers”, and so much more.  Stay posted for more images from the festival!