Musical Zoo: Fort Collins Symphony

The Fort Collins Symphony held a Musical Zoo Sunday, February 15th. It's theme was "Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto." The variety of activities to choose from was phenomenal. They had hall entertainers, short 10-20 minute performances, the petting zoo where people could try out the instruments, and then the grand finale in the main auditorium. I was very impressed with the breadth of offerings, and we tried to do a little within each type of category. First, we went to the musical petting zoo. Lexi wanted to try the harp first. This particular instrument had a very long line. But, she really wanted to try get her fingers on the harp strings.

I thought it very brave and generous of the owners to allow the harps to be tipped to their appropriate positions on the kids' shoulders. One of the volunteers brought a harp she had made as part of a school music program. It had an Egyptian theme, and I thought a very nice addition to show kids what is possible in the harpist world.

The second petting zoo room we visited was the flute room. This one was close to my heart as I used to play the flute. I think it inspired my girls, because now they are constantly asking when I'm going to get my flute out so they can learn. Who knows? Maybe a new world for the girls and I to explore together.

We would have visited more of the petting zoo, but time was rushing by, and I wanted to make sure we saw the highlights. So, down to the small performance area we went. We had time to see two short performances. One performance was of young pianists playing a few pieces.

The second performance was very enjoyable with a guitar player and Spanish Flamenco Dancers.

It was a shame that the MC didn't use the microphone and ask the performers to use the microphone when they were describing the music. It would have been much more professional, and those who were in the back would have been able to hear. Since the theme this year was dinosaurs, the symphony invited the Dinosaur Ridge to have a display. I thought that was a very nice tie-in to the dinosaur theme, and I enjoy hearing about new places to travel.

And on to the Grand Finale! Unfortunately, I didn't really think the main performance was worth staying around for. The music and dance performance definitely fit the theme of a Cretaceous Concerto. Nonetheless, many of the dance costumes were crude and revealed too much through the tight fabric. The dancing was stiff and forced. This picture includes one of the better outfits - the others I could not make myself put in the memory bank.

Overall, I commend the symphony on a well-executed, multifaceted event. While I didn't care for the main performance, the petting zoo and short performances more than made up for it. It would be nice if they could logistically extend the time, so that we could see and do more of the musical zoo activities.

Dates for Mom & Daughters

Recommended for Mom's and their budding tweens, this book 8 Great Dates for Moms & Daughters by Dannah Gresh outlines 8 dates to do with your tween daughter. Lexi and I did Date #1 with a slight modification to the recommended location.

Instead of a tea parlor, we went to the Chocolate Cafe on West Olive in downtown Fort Collins, CO.

If you go to the Chocolate Cafe, I recommend reservations at any time of day. We went at 2pm on a Saturday and were told we could have a table as long as we could finish in 45 minutes. As we were there for dessert and conversation, I figured we could meet the time requirements. Next time, I would definitely call ahead for a reservation so no pressure was put on our mother/daughter date ending time. The menu at the Chocolate Cafe is very extensive and Lexi exclaimed right away, "Mom, look at all these desserts!"

Lexi and I both ordered the same dessert- later, I commented that we should have ordered 2 different desserts to share, but in the rush to get our order in that idea didn't have time to insert itself into the decision process. After ordering, I pulled our worksheet for Date #1. Unfortunately, the activity wasn't very user-friendly. I've designed a lot of activities over the years for various training and coaching sessions, and I found it hard to explain and even to visualize the answers myself. Thus, the conversation seemed more awkward than it needed to be. What we were supposed to do was describe our relationship with people and with lifestyle issues by comparing each to either a Styrofoam cup, a ceramic mug, or priceless piece of china. Lexi and I got the concept, but how do you talk about your relationship between mother and daughter as a ceramic mug? Ok, let's forego the description and talk about how we can enhance our relationship to become a priceless piece of china? With that being the goal, Lexi was able to talk about ways to better our relationship.

Hair, clothes, and skincare was not a priority for Lexi so these topics were quickly glossed over. I tried tackling those from several different angles, but didn't get nothing. At age 10, Lexi could be a little young or it could be her school which keeps a strong focus on kids staying younger longer. So, another day we will tackle those subjects as her interest in them climbs. Our dessert came and Lexi was very excited again.

I knew choosing the dessert versus tea route was the way to go with Lexi. Oh, how I remember an endless excitable Lexi at one time. Another year, a different developmental stage, and now moderated reactions become very important with others at this tween stage. Happy that I avoided criticizing the natural developmental stage of anti-most things, Lexi finally took her jacket hood off to enjoy dessert, and we avoided a kink in our date. The white chocolate lemon cake serving was a very good portion size.

The first bite was delicious with a lemon tartness popping off the tongue. After two or so bites, the lemon overwhelmed the mouth and I kept hoping the creamy topping and graham cracker crust flavor would rise to the surface more. Not for this dessert. But, Lexi thoroughly enjoyed her dessert. I enjoyed the quaintness of the small cafe. While Lexi thought it small at first, I think she got the idea behind the intimacy, and really found a magical quality to the decor and abundance of dessert quality.

If you are interested in going to the Chocolate Cafe, it appears there's a long-term deal on Yelp. We got $20 worth of food for $12. After our visit to the Chocolate Cafe, Lexi and I did a little shopping. She got to use a gift card and pick up some composition books she really wanted. A final ending to the day was my gift to her. It was a bible that spoke Lexi all over it.

As we entered the home after our mini-adventure, Lexi exclaims "that was the best time ever." Okay, so I thought she was going to say the outing was "so-so", but to hear this, my heart did a happy jump in my chest. Honestly, it probably doesn't matter too much what you do, as long as the date has enough special elements with quality time between Mom and Daughter. The Chocolate Cafe, with a little shopping, was enough to make this date a bonding experience we are both sure to remember.