The recreation centers are alive with the sound of music

It's that season - something featuring loud brass instruments everywhere you turn. Saturday was Baltimore's TubaChristmas, in which squirrel_magnet participated. There was a good turnout, 215 assorted large pieces of brass (or, in some cases, fiberglass - those marching Sousaphones, ya know.) And one of them was a Jewsaphone - a large white fiberglass sousaphone decorated with a huge Star of David over the bell, and lots of little blue stars of David all over it. There was also a parade of the Drunken Santas at the same time - the two events don't always coincide, but they did this time. Which included at least one Santa in a red yarmulke and prayer shawl. And a bunch of 8 or 9 TubaChristmas fans had come wearing reindeer antlers, and when the Drunken Santas happened across the Reindeer, some impromptu skits ensued. The Ravens Marching Band brass were there in their purple uniforms, with a few tricks up their sleeves. There was a helicon, three double-bell euphoniums, one forward-bell marching tuba, and a forward-bell recording tuba (which was sitting right in back of squirrel_magnet). A good time was had by all - especially since there were also waitpersons from nearby restaurants circling through the crowds with little sample cups of desserts and of hot spiced apple cider, much appreciated as the temperature had decided to be in the high 40's after a week of 68-70. (Note: high 40's F = 8 or 9 degrees C.) Cindy took pictures, but didn't bring the USB cable for her camera, so pictures of this will not be available until she gets back to Austin, later this week.

And Sunday afternoon, the Montgomery Village Community Band played at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Rec Center in Silver Springs. The audience was small but enthusiastic. The program included my "Jingle Bells Hora" again - whee!! There was another novelty number as well - our conductor, playing the bass trombone, in a special arrangement of "Frosty the Snowman." We do good holiday stuff, if I say so myself. We get to do it all over again next weekend - 2:30 p.m. at the Lake Marion Community Center (there's a Map of East Montgomery Village here; check the map service of your choice for directions to MV via I-270, or state highways 108, and/or 124, and/or 355, all of which go through Montgomery Village.) I know that several of my flist are in the greater Washington, DC area - if you can make it to this concert, please do come! Montgomery Village is pretty easy to get to via the Beltway and 270. I would enjoy meeting you - and would love to have you hear my music!

Tomorrow, we're going down to DC for a bit of touristing. squirrel_magnet doesn't think he'll do the DC TubaChristmas at the Kennedy Center, though that's tomorrow. Well, maybe next year!