COLUMBUS — Nothing says summer more than a crowd of all ages sitting on a blanket or in lawn chairs on a sultry evening, watching fireflies dart around, and scratching the occasional mosquito bite while listening to music: a big brass band, a folk concert with sonorous guitars, raging rock or rap, or perhaps a mix of pop and classical music.
That happens in various places in northwest Ohio and the rest of the Buckeye state, including the state’s capital city, Columbus, which offers more than football, hockey, and a General Assembly.
Nationwide Picnic with the Pops and Popcorn Pops take place at the Columbus Commons, with the orchestra playing from the Columbus Bicentennial Pavilion.
The Columbus Commons is a green space wedged in among the big, imposing skyscrapers that house Columbus’ titans of business, including the Nationwide building. The insurance firm that pledges to be on your side appears to also be on the side of the arts. A major donor to the CSO, Nationwide also put up a chorus to perform with the orchestra, and they sang the “Star Spangled Banner” to start the show.
The Picnic with the Pops is a series of seven concerts where you can buy a catered picnic or just pack your own, as simple and elaborate as you want. On the Commons are several vendors, including Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Tortilla Street Food. Alcohol is sold in the Commons, but any spirits must stay inside the Commons.
Two Popcorn Pops concerts are geared for families and young children, with carnival-like music and dance. Those concerts have finished for the season.
Concerts are almost over for the Picnic with the Pops, with a concert on Saturday at 8p.m. with Cody Fry , an American Idol alum, who is a singer-songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist, a composer, and a producer based in Nashville.
And on July 25 and 26, the Ohio State University Marching Band — commonly known as TBDBITL, The Best Damn Band in the Land — will get the blood pumping as a prelude to the fall football season for the Ohio State University Buckeyes.
The Yarnall family was one of about 500 attendees at a late June Picnic with the Pops, a part of Columbus’ many musical and cultural offerings.
Kevin and Stacey Yarnall and their daughter, MacKenzie , of Galena, Ohio, sat with about 500 people on a hot evening that threatened — and then delivered — a soaking, 10-minute rain that sent less hardy folks heading for their cars.
With the Yarnalls were their parents — or inlaws and outlaws — Randy and Kathy Yarnall and Barb and Butch Morgret . All four are from Pennsylvania.
Their parents were visiting and taking in the night of patriotic music, as well as songs by Ira and George Gershwin played exquisitely by the CSO. Some Gershwin show tunes were sung by Broadway star Julie Reiber.
Kevin Yarnall said they’ve been attending the Picnic with the Pops for about 15 years, especially for the Patriotic Pops before Independence Day, something especially important for Randy Yarnall, who is the national president of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America.
What was important for Randy Yarnall and many others was maybe more than the Gershwin songs — his Rhapsody in Blue turned 100 years old this year — but the rest of the program which saluted the armed forces with the orchestra playing songs from the four services. It ended with the 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky accompanied by a brilliant display of fireworks in the skies over Columbus.
Kevin Yarnall said they enjoy more than the music too. “I like the camaraderie,” he said. “We have a little more space to work with, being outside, than being on the inside. It’s more informal.”
Stacey Yarnall agreed. “You can’t do this,” she said, with a wave of her hand, “inside a concert hall.”
Meaning, you can’t have hot dogs or ham sandwiches and potato salad, and, perish the thought, anything crunchy such as potato chips.
And, the couple who, during a Gershwin song sung by Reiber, couldn’t have danced cheek to cheek in the front row.
Yes, the urban setting was impressive and beautiful. But wouldn’t the strings of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra or the voices of the Toledo Opera along the Maumee River on a sultry night sound and look just as pretty, if not prettier? Sigh. We can only dream.
For more details about the CSO’s summer concerts, visit columbussymphony.com .
Coming Up:
■ Toledo Zoo, 2700 Broadway, Toledo; 6 p.m. Sunday. Christmas in July. Velvet Jones , and DC Taylor-Acoustic Duo, in the Main Plaza. Tickets: nonmember adults, $17 and nonmember children from 2 to 11 and nonmember seniors over 69, $15; zoo members and children under 2 are free. Visit toledozoo.org .
■ Huntington Center, 500 Jefferson Ave., Toledo; 3 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday. 19th annual African American Festival. The 19th annual African American Festival. Performances by Jagged Edge, Zapp Band, Raheem DeVaughn , Bootsy Collins , Pokey Bear, parade (10 a.m. at the corner of Dorr Street and North Detroit Avenue): Doors open at 2, event at 3. Prayer breakfast is at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion, 2444 Monroe St.: Fri., 8 a.m. Tickets: $29 to $69. Visit ticketmaster.com .
■ Concerts in the Park, 520 Conneaut, Bowling Green; 7 p.m. Sunday. Swingmania. Free.
■ Rhythm on the River, M.J. Wright Pavillion on the Towpath, between the canal and the Maumee River at the end of Lincoln St. (behind LaRoe’s Venue), Grand Rapids, Ohio; 4 p.m. Sunday; Duane Malinowski Orchestra. Bring your lawn chairs/blankets. In case of rain, the program will be moved to the Old Fire Station, farther west on Front St.
■ Jazz in the Garden: Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Dr., Toledo; 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Tumbao Bravo, Cuban Jazz Combo. 7 p.m. July 25, Ramona Collins Quintet. Tickets: $10 (cash only at the gate). Parking is available at the Bancroft Street entrance with disabled parking at Elmer Drive entrance.
■ Fremont Amphitheater, 209 S. Arch St., Fremont; 7 p.m. Sunday. Dana Dorsey and the Blue Notes. Free.
■ Music Vine Concert Series: at the Pavilion at Bittersweet Farms, 12660 Archbold-Whitehouse Rd., Whitehouse; 11:30 a.m. Friday. Curt Wolfe . Free and open to the public.
■ Hoover Auditorium, 115 W. 3rd St., Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio; Ernie Haase and Signature Sound “Decades of Love”: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Girl Named Tom: Saturday, 7:30. For information including ticket prices and parking, visit lakesideohio.com .
■ Marathon Center for the Performing Arts: University of Findlay, 200 W. Main Cross St., Donnell Theater, Findlay; 7:30 Saturday, Eliot Lewis : Sat., 7:30.
■ Frozen Sing Along: Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant St., Maumee; Sunday showtimes begin at 1:45 p.m. By Laurel’s Characters and Company: Tickets: $17-22. Call 419-897-8902 or visit maumeeindoor.com .
■ TAPA in the Parks Family Fun Days: Ottawa Park, 2205 Kenwood Blvd.; 2 p.m. Sunday. TAPA in the Parks Family Fun Days. Live performances by musicians from the Toledo Symphony, instrument demonstrations, music enrichment classes, dance classes, and other interactive activities. Free.
■ Glass City Convention Center, 401 Jefferson Ave., Toledo. 3 p.m. Sunday. Live! At the Jazz Alley: Gene Parker and Friends. Free.
■ Fountain Park, corner of West Main and South Jefferson Streets, Van Wert, Ohio; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feel Good Friday Summer Concert Series: Gone 2 Paradise Celebrating the Music of Jimmy Buffett.
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