openscarf

Dancing to reggae music at the winery on Sunday was very very good. It was blazing hot; we were brilliant though and got there early to snag tables in the shade of two large trees. Great food, lots of champagne, lively fun friends added up to letting loose on a summer afternoon.

 Now here is the weird part. There were lots of kids there whose parents somehow thought it was perfectly acceptable for the kids, about 10 of them, 8 to 12 years-old; to stay on stage after the band did their obligatory coddling the kids, letting them participate in a song. This little band of children stood on stage, in front of the band for at least an hour, believing themselves to be part of the afternoon’s entertainment, with their little percussion instruments.  After a while they sang along. The dancing adults and the band were separated by this rigid line of children.

 Why didn’t they just dance like most children love to do? Who put it in their heads that these precious children were part of the show and should be on stage? Hmmm.

 Quite a few parties packed up and left. Did it have anything to do with the event turning into a kid’s event? I’ll never know. The event is usually packed until the end. A few of us in my group were annoyed. It pretty much sucked the sensuality and adult themes out of the last couple of hours.

 Some of us thought the winery manager should have encouraged them off; some of us thought the band should have. Some were able to brush it off. Our friend-organizer said she was going to call the winery the next day.

 We may be going to another one later in the summer, for blues. I hope it was just one set of very badly informed parents that would do this and hopefully they don’t show up for the next one I go to.

 It made me quite grumpy. Is it a case of “Get off my lawn you damn kids!” or just that adults need their playtime? It's not everyday you find great places, music and friends all together, to dance at, to and with.