Music on the prairie

published June 14, 2012

in the Stockton Sentinel

Stockton, Kansas

            Along with more than 7,000 people, my husband and I took part in a wonderful adventure last Saturday, the 9th, as we hiked out to the middle of a pasture in the Flint Hills for a concert given by the Kansas City Symphony. The event, called “Symphony in the Flint Hills,” was in its seventh year and seventh location in the scenic Flint Hills of east-central Kansas. It was an experience that was as much country hoe-down as it was city high-brow, and one that has to be enjoyed personally to fully appreciate it. Just as a camera cannot fully capture the beauty of the rolling hills, my own words are inadequate to describe the event.

            This was our first year to be in attendance, only because I have not been able to get my hands on tickets in other years. I’ve been on a waiting list for unused tickets and never got lucky that way. But now I’ve got the thing figured out. Since tickets, more than 6,000 of them, sell in a matter of minutes, it is absolutely necessary to either a) go to Kansas City or Wichita where you can camp outside a ticket outlet, assuring your place in line to buy them personally on the day they go on sale; or b) set aside everything you might want to do the opening day of ticket sales and sit at your computer to order online. And order immediately.

            The tickets for this year’s event went on sale Saturday, March 10th at 10:00 a.m. I planned nothing else for that morning other than buying tickets. At about 9:55, I thought I would try to get a jump on it and went to the website, but to no avail; the ticket link went nowhere. Someone, somewhere, was sitting at their computer, waiting to flip the switch on the website to enable the ordering process. So at a minute or so after 10, I refreshed my screen and logged on again, and sure enough – the link was live. By 10:07, I had my tickets purchased! Later, I learned that the event was sold out in about 45 minutes.

            The event was certainly worth the effort (and the cost), and now that I know how it works, I will do it again. That’s what thousands of others are doing also – going again and again. We overheard people talking about how many years they had been attending. It’s just that kind of event – once you attend, it’s in your blood, and you can’t wait for the next one.

            On the flip side, I’m sure there are some who were there who didn’t like it and won’t go back. After all, it was hot, with a strong wind from the south. And there was a lot of dirt, rocks to trip on, chiggers, and tall prairie grasses. There was quite a long hike from the parking area to the entrance gate where everyone could either continue walking another half-mile or catch a ride on a trailer. And everywhere, because of the masses of people, we would wait in line – for food, water or other beverages, or porta-potties. That’s what you’re buying in to, so if you don’t think you could handle it, then don’t go; let someone else have your ticket.

But never, all day long, did I hear a single person complaining about anything. The whole thing was orchestrated so well (pardon the pun), that there was nothing to complain about. Many people are involved in educating and entertaining the masses of people throughout the afternoon. And then the concert begins.

For me, a highlight of the concert came during the playing of “The Cowboys,” the theme song from a movie by the same name, starring John Wayne. About halfway through the song, from over the top of one of the beautiful green hills came a herd of cattle, being driven by a group of cowboys. They moved the cattle right past the band shell/tent, providing a most perfect backdrop for the song. I still get goosebumps as I recall the scene.

All the music of concert was so perfectly selected to fit the venue. The final song of the concert was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and near the end of the song, the sun slipped behind the hill in perfect timing. Then as everyone stood for an ovation, the conductor announced that, in keeping with the seven-year tradition of the event, the program would be closed with "Home On the Range," with everyone invited to join in singing. That song has never meant much to me before, but it took on new meaning as the orchestra accompanied more than 7,000 people in singing, as we stood on the beautiful prairieland.

Sitting out there in the beautiful Flint Hills, the largest remaining tract of tallgrass in the world, while experiencing something that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, I was proud to be an American, but even more so to be a Kansan -- by the grace of God.