Celebration at the Station a Favorite Tradition

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Memorial Day is one of those holidays that somehow used to get lost in the mix of other May activities like weddings, graduation parties, and vacation planning. At the very most, it was a pleasant excuse for time off from work and an opportunity to host a BBQ (if I even thought ahead that far), but more often than not it just flew off the radar. This may be due to the fact that I don’t have any family that has served in the military... or it may not. But I remember how all of that changed the year we moved to Kansas City.

In May of 2009, my husband and I were in the thick of renovating our first home, a major fixer upper, all while establishing new jobs, caring for a 10 month old, and discovering we were expecting again later that year. It was a hopping time and we found out quickly that we bit off more than we could chew with home renovations (I chalk it up to watching too many HGTV renovation shows before home ownership, which led me to erroneously believe we could knock out walls and have a house gutted in half an hour). When Memorial Day weekend came around the bend that year, one thing was clear: we needed a break! Someone suggested we check out an annual concert called Celebration at the Station, a free patriotic performance led by the KC Symphony on Union Stations’ front steps.  It sounded like the perfect break from our frenetic pace.

As my husband and I searched for a parking spot downtown, it quickly became clear that this was no small shindig! Thousands of people had already staked their claim on the Liberty Memorial hill (we later found out that it is the largest free Memorial Day weekend event in the entire Midwest). Thankfully, we were able to inch our way in and still find a good spot. A cool spring breeze swept around us as the orchestra began their opening number. Only a few minutes into the concert, I leaned over to my husband and excitedly told him, “We should do this every year!”. He nodded in agreement and since then, it’s become an annual tradition we have upheld all but one year since (and I feel it bears mentioning that the year we didn’t attend was only because I had had a baby a few days before… and even then I contemplated whether or not we should go!). We have learned every year ways in which to improve the experience; where to get the best parking spot, how much earlier we should get there, and what’s worth bringing (and what’s not- keep in mind you have to haul all your things back to the car afterward!).  And each time we’ve attended we’ve brought more and more friends and family with us. It’s certainly an event to share with others! The concert itself is breathtaking and the fireworks display at the end of the show is like none other.

Sometimes when I share about our Memorial Day weekend plans with others I’m met with a puzzled look, as if to say, why would you want to bring a baby to an orchestra concert? And keeping an eye on little ones when there are tens of thousands in attendance? That just sounds like torture, right? Surprisingly, not at all. One of the sweetest privileges has been observing how our children have responded to this event, especially as babies. They bounce to the music and squeal with delight. They ooh and ahh at the fireworks (although we have one child in particular we learned quickly prefers to have his ears covered when the 21-gun salute takes place!). And I can’t imagine a better way to introduce our kids to concert etiquette than at an open air event where there’s grace for wiggles and some talking.

If you’re on the hunt for a family friendly event to attend this Memorial Day weekend, look no further than Celebration at the Station. Pack a picnic, grab some lawn chairs, and rally up the kiddos. We hope to see you there!