Monday, May 30, 2011

Upcoming Events

UPDATE - I've put all the events into a calendar.  I think that is much easier to follow.

The whole point of this blog is to force myself to get out and do stuff.  Specifically, to go to more of the great, free events here in Omaha.  With that, stuff is better with people so please feel free to join in!

Here are some of the main events I am planning on going to for the summer:

Aksarben Concerts - Every Saturday night 7:00 - 10:00
Shadow Lake Concerts - Every Friday night 6:30 - 8:30
Jazz on the Green - Every Thursday July 7 - August 11
Shakespeare on the Green - June 23 - July 10
Council Bluffs Free Concert - Every Wednesday 6:30 - 8:00 at Bayliss Park
Sand in the City - June 3 - 5 at Qwest Center parking lot
Cheap Trick & 38 Special - July 1 at Memorial Park
Nebraska Wind Symphony & Swingtones - June 12 at Sumter Amphitheatre
Nebraska Wind Symphony & Swingtones -July 4 at Chalco Hills
Soaring Wings free Sunday Concerts - Sundays 2:00 - 5:00
CWS Opening Ceremonies - June 17

There are more but that is some of what I am hoping to do.  Please join me!

Thanks,

Derek

Memorial Park on Memorial Day

Today we went to see the traveling Vietnam Memorial.  I have seen this every time I have gone to Washington D.C. and I have to say the original is more powerful but the traveling version still imparts the magnitude of the loss of war.

There are 58,272 names on the wall.  That is a huge number.  I try to put it in perspective, how many people do I know, certianly not 58,000.  Combine that with the fact that almost everything I know about the Vietnam war has come from watching Forest Gump, Apocalypse Now, and Good Morning Vietnam, I did not feel like the best American ever.



Kennedy enjoyed a breezy stroll in the park and Sarah was nice enough to indulge my desire to get out and do stuff so the trip went off well.

This was a truly free event, though there were donation boxes around.  The only cost came from the fact that we suddenly felt the need to have something on the grill for dinner, forgoing our previously planned dinner and making a stop at the store.  Extra bonus, brats were only $.70 each! (Perhaps not the most patriotic of dinners, still grilled none the less.)

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Lemon Fresh Day @ Aksarben Village

Tonight we walked to Aksarben Village for their summer concert series.  This is really one of the great, free events in Omaha and luckly for me this one is only a short walk from my house.

Lemon Fresh Day is a local cover band, playing classics like Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville",  The Black Crows' "Hard to Handle" and, Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline".  The crowd was mainly families and were only passively listening to the music, myself included.


We had fun at the play ground where Kennedy got to walk around on the soft-play surface.  She tried the slide (which she did not enjoy) and then we got a turn on the swing (which she did enjoy).  After playing for a while we headed home but overall it was a fun trip.


Aksarben Village has weekly concerts and as I mentioned before, it's proximity to my house is a major plus.  Here is their schedule of events so you can plan to see more of this on the blog.

Actual Costs: $0.35 for a soda refill at Bucky's on the way.

Up Next: Vietnam Veterans Memorial @ Memorial Park - May 30th

My First Blog

The purpose of this blog is to get out of the house.  My hope is that by blogging I will feel more motivated and have something to keep me accountable.  I am an events person, I like to go out and do stuff but I find that too often things slip by and laziness or apathy get the better of me. 

My second purpose it so show how many great, free events there are in Omaha and the metro area.  I am by no means rich so keeping the events free is a big positive.  I will try to be honest about the actual costs of my "free" events.

I will try to preview upcoming events so anyone interested, feel free to join in.  With that, here begins my foray into the world of blogging.  Watch out 2002, I am storming in!