Last week was Troy’s fall break from the U, so we decided to have a little mini-vacation. I took a couple days off work and we spent some time goofing off… It was great! We haven’t had a lot of free time during this semester – it’s been a bit brutal – so we tried to forgot about school for a couple days (worked better at some times than others.. haha!) and tried to just enjoy ourselves. We didn’t manage to get to a few of things we had planned – i.e. the zoo, a play, a movie, etc – but we still enjoyed the break!
Here are a few highlights –
- We had a lovely dinner with our friend Kathleen Gardner (formerly of the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera). She has become a dear friend to both Troy and I and while we miss seeing her at the Symphony and Opera, we were happy to find that she seems to be enjoying her new job with Odyssey Dance Theatre. It was wonderful for us to visit with her a bit and we “talked shop” a bit too…. It’s funny how many of our discussion lately revolve around Vivace, Studio D, Ririe-Woodbury, Odyssey, etc etc.
- The next night we attended Odyssey Dance Theatre’s Thriller… it was a fun Halloween themed show. There wasn’t as much focus on dance as Troy and I would have liked, but the show is very entertaining and the audience loved it. Many of them attend the show year after year and cheer very enthusiastically for their favorite numbers. After the show we attended the cast party and met several of the dancers, as well as, the Company’s Founder and Artistic Director, Derryl Yeager. We enjoyed the evening very much.
- Next on the agenda for the stay-cation was for me to do one of my favorite things…. SLEEP IN! It was Heaven!! :)
- Our 3rd Annual Charity Halloween Party is coming right up on the 25th, so a portion of the weekend was spent doing prep work for the party… getting decorations, finding volunteers, picking up food and candy, etc. Everything seems to be coming together quite nicely! And we can’t wait to don our Globetrotter costumes! (Thanks again for the loan Pand!) The party this year is a combination food drive for the Utah Food Bank, and a fundraiser for cancer research/care. We are looking at a couple different options now for the donation to go to, but I think a portion at least will go to the Cancer Wellness House.
- Along with the shopping for the party, and what seemed to be a never-ending quest for a new suit for Troy… haha! (The real challenge was finding a place that could have it done by Saturday! Yikes) We managed to have a delicious dinner at one our new favorite restaurants… Fratelli. It’s a little Italian Restaurant in Sandy that is just yummy! On Friday we met one of the owner’s (his brother and the other owner is the chef) and were introduced to his whole family via the photos on the wall (ancestors who came through Ellis Island, etc). The photos were great! We are excited to head back on November 1st, the night where they are celebrating an annual tradition by donating their proceeds to the Utah Food Bank. I love when I get to see company’s giving back to their communities! I am looking forward to the dinner and to being a part of their event.
- Saturday was the Season Opener for the Utah Opera – Madame Butterfly. Along with the opera we attended a dinner before the show, and a Soiree after the show. What a fun evening! The dinner was especially fun because we were seated with the Peterson Family. Glade Peterson is one of the Founder’s of the Utah Opera and while he has passed away, his lovely wife Mardean (I hope I spelled that right!) was there. Their daughter Michelle is the Company Manager for the Opera and their other daughter Leslie is the Director of Development for the Symphony/Opera. Kelvin, their son, happens to work with Troy at Continental (and so does his wife, Robin) so it was just a fun evening for us! We always enjoy chatting with Robin and Kelvin, but it was great to meet Mardean and Michelle, and to see Leslie again as well. We felt privileged to be a part of their family for the evening!
The Opera was amazing! Troy has seen Madame Butterfly many times, but this was my first time and I very much enjoyed it! I can easily understand why it is the most frequently performed opera in the United States. I just loved it and Troy did too! And the little boy just stole the show - He was great!
The Soiree was great fun as well! It was officially a Vivace Party, but we also had several of the opera donors attend, as well as, a large number of the cast and orchestra. Troy’s sister Tamara also joined us at the party and as always, we loved seeing her. There was great food, all with an Asian theme (dessert sushi, spring rolls, etc). There was a costume showcase featuring new designs from two of the seamstresses from the Opera Costume Shop (one of them being our friend Jennifer – go Jen!). The new USUO CEO (Melia) was even wearing a gown designed and created by someone from the costume shop. She joked about the company starting a new line of business “Gowns for Galas”. Troy and I have met Melia on a few occasions now and also met her husband, Mike that night. Mike was very entertaining and so far we like Melia too. We hope that she does an excellent job with USUO.
I hope to have pictures from the Opera Soiree soon! :)
- And thanks to all the Hickman Clan for a great dinner on Sunday! It was wonderful to see everyone (everyone that's in Utah... we missed those in Idaho)!
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