A Capitol Third

One of the best parts about living near Washington DC is that there are lots of very cheap - or free - cultural events going on. We can just pop into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum or National Museum of Natural History for a couple of hours (or, like the other day, bail out right away when they are much too crowded, knowing we can go back). Or go to the National Zoo, or just take a walk along the National Mall and watch people fly kites.

Every Fourth of July, there is a huge concert and fireworks show on the Mall: A Capitol Fourth. It attracts a giant crowd, so if you want to see it in person, you have to be willing to go really early and sit with many thousands of your closest friends. Or go watch the dress rehearsals on 2 July and 3 July, like we did last night at Mama Geek's urging.

The concert is held on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. We got there about two hours ahead of time, found a spot to spread out our blanket and break out the picnic, and settled in to pass the time with books and Geek Girl's horse cards, a Christmas present from friends in Colorado. We had a great view of the Capitol:

and the Washington Monument:


We had time for a Geek Family Portrait or two:



The show started with a briefing from the head of the organizing committee, then Jimmy Smits did his emcee bit and introduced the various acts. We got to see Aretha Franklin perform the National Anthem and later, R-E-S-P-E-C-T and a medley of other classics. We got to see a video message from President Obama. We got to see them perform the 1812 Overture with real cannons. We got to listen to Raphsody in Blue. We endured Barry Manilow, which led to (a) me realizing that a disturbingly large number of people seem to really like Barry Manilow and (b) Mama Geek noting: "I guess you really do love me."

There were also some other special guests, including this large yellow guy as guest conductor:


He brought along some friends, and I got to torment Geek Girl by singing "C is for Cookie" in my best Cookie Monster voice. (I've been playing Cookie Monster for years; ask Nai Nai about The Racetrack Incident.) GG also loved the trash song from Oscar the Grouch. Thankfully, she finds Elmo mystifying.

The highlight, though, was definitely MG and GG dancing a duet to the Jersey Boys' rendition of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)":





After the show, we walked for a bit along Pennsylvania Avenue to see the White House at night before hopping the metro home.

Tonight, we get to go see the fireworks show from a friend's apartment - on the 20th floor of a high-rise building with a great view directly up the Mall. It should be good fun.