As part of the great ongoing lineup of events at Forest Park, the Queens Festival Band gave a concert on Sunday, June 28th.  We stopped off at Manor Deli and got ourselves a few sandwiches, got to the bandshell early, sat in the shade and had lunch.  We watched them set up the instruments and it turned out there was a little early drama -- remember our tour of the bandshell?  Well, apparently they were about 15 seats short for the band -- and the rest of the chairs were behind a locked door.  And no one had the key! 

So, it was a little tense for a while (though they made a few calls and got some chairs delivered in time).  It was a beautiful day -- with no rain for a change!  In fact, everyone seemed almost afraid of the sun -- look at the early crowd below, they're all sitting in the shade!

 Before the show, Conductor Michael Canipe posed for pictures with his baton.  The show was about to start.  

I don't want to complain -- but, what the heck -- I will complain.   There was a small crowd, maybe 60 to 80 people.  Many of them, like ourselves, were in the first few rows.  And many folks thought absolutely nothing of walking between you and the performance.  Look, I'm not a crank -- a few people here and there wouldn't bother me -- but on this day it was a constant flow of vendors (like the one below) and kids on bicycles, etc.  Okay, I'm done ranting.  For now :-) 

The little kid below left was pretty entertaining. And Melinda Canipe came out between pieces and gave a little explanation about what we were about to hear.

As this was about a week before the Fourth of July, you would expect a few patriotic pieces -- and the Queens Festival Band did not disappoint.  Here they are with "America, The Beautiful" and "The Star Spangled Banner."

Then we were treated to a variety of pieces, including some selections from South Pacific, and the Tuba Tiger Rag, which was basically "Hold That Tiger" -- except as the tuba players faced off, the band started singing "Hold That Tuba."  Those tubas do look pretty heavy.  Here are the two tuba players after the piece.   

Later in the show some young kids came by and, for a few minutes, pretended to be the conductor.  They were having fun.  But, as kinds are prone to do, they got out of hand and started making too much noise and were chased away. 

Here, Conductor Michael Canipe surveys the crowd, making sure the kids behave themselves.  It's Rule # 1 of going to a concert like this:  You don't mess with the Conductor. 

By the end of the first half, the sun was starting to get low and was shining on us -- so at intermission, we moved towards the back and enjoyed the rest of the show in the shade.   Oh, and I had an Italian Ice -- Lime! -- and it was real tasty. 

All in all, we had a great afternoon.  Lunch from Manor Deli, fresh air in the park, some sun, some good music, an Italian Ice, some relaxation in the shade.  The Queens Festival Band will be back on Wednesday, August 5th at 7:30 PM.  We hope to see you there!

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

Return to Project Woodhaven's Home Page