Sara Bareilles - Hometown Star

Sara Bareilles, a Eureka native, is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter. I have to admit that I am not very versed in most pop culture phenomena, but I have heard her songs including "Love Song" on the radio, although there's no way I could have picked her face out of a crowd or actually named any of her other songs. 

Late in September, friends told us about a *free* concert she was doing in Halvorsen Park in her hometown but which had limited space and for ticket reservations were required (we heard that upwards of 11,000 people might be expected!). Kelvin was able to score four tickets for our family for Sunday afternoon (and ). However, our friend Lori really wanted to go but wasn't so lucky with reservations, but since she helped us find a babysitter (Geneva) on short notice, we brought her (and Brenda) instead and left the kids at home, which was actually better! While there were lots of kids at the venue and concert, the line to get in (even though tickets weren't checked and this was hours before she was slated to take the stage!) snaked blocks away past the Eureka library and harbor (thankfully, I was prepared with sunblock, water, snacks, and my kindle!). 

There were several warm-up musicians, and it was a stunningly warm and sunny day (70s) for Eureka. 

(Lori, Sara, Brenda, K)

Enjoying the pre-show in a comfy camp chair in the sunshine and a good book without rugrats! 

The crowd was huge! We saw many other friends, colleagues, and patients there that we knew -- it really seemed that the whole town literally was out! 

Sara took the stage around 4:30 p.m., and Kelvin and I stayed for about an hour of her set and then headed home for dinner, while the other fun-loving adults stayed later.  While waiting in line for an all-afternoon pop concert isn't really my jam (and I can't recall ever doing this in my life!), the experience was still enjoyable for this pretty un-cool middle-aged mom and it was nice to be part of a shared community experience celebrating a hometown star!