Two weeks ago, we took my paternal great-grandfather along on a college visit. It’s not the first time we’ve traveled with him. Over the past decade he’s accompanied us on several family vacations, ones that have a connection to places he once lived or places he himself once visited — like Havre, Montana, the Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee, and the Minnesota towns of Bemidji and Crookston.

Lest you think we traveled with a man who would be 148 years old today, if he had not died in January 1946, I should clarify: this version of my great-grandfather does not require a cane or a wheelchair, does not order off the Perkins senior menu, and does not require his own airplane seat. He’s not a flesh and blood man.

My favorite time of the summer is almost here. The 2018 One Day Vintage Band Festival will take place this Saturday, July 28, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. in charming, historic downtown Northfield.

The festival will feature 11 Minnesota bands playing a variety of brass and wind music, including mariachi, New Orleans jazz, and big band/swing. It's appropriate for all ages and is completely free, although we do rely on generous donations from individuals and businesses to make it all happen.

Two weeks ago, my parents rode through my hometown in a red convertible, waving to throngs of parade spectators. As the grand marshals of the 34th Annual Vikingland Band Festival in Alexandria, Minn., they were honored for their decades of service to the community, as longtime public educators and supporters of the arts.

My parents met in Alexandria as new teachers; my dad, a St. Cloud native, arrived in town one year before my mom, who grew up in St. Paul.
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Several months ago, Elias asked Steve and me if we could take him to the Gilmore Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. If you're like me, you may be thinking, "There's a big piano festival in Kalamazoo?" Turns out, there is, every other year, and it's a big deal. In fact, it bills itself as America's most prestigious piano music festival.

Steve and I were totally up for going, especially since Sebastian is a student at Kalamazoo College, and it meant we could rope him into the adventure.

A friend posted a link on Facebook recently that immediately sucked me in. It showed footage taken by a Swedish film production company of various locations in New York City in 1911. A man edited it down to an 8-minute YouTube film and added ambient sounds. Check it out, it's quite mesmerizing: https://petapixel.com/2018/04/17/take-a-trip-through-new-york-city-in-the-year-1911/

My great-grandparents G.

Because the outdoor temperature today mostly stayed in the single digits (it may have reached 10 degrees Fahrenheit when I wasn't paying attention), I have spent most of the day inside, looking through old photos and making a weak attempt at organizing some research files. The few times I have ventured outside with my dog, Waffles, he's agreed with me that a quick, brisk walk was adequate.

One of the photos I came across got me thinking about my great-grandparents, G.

I normally watch the Super Bowl for the ads, and the pop culture aspect of it. Oh, and the snacks. But last night's game held two surprises for me; the first was how much I enjoyed watching the actual game. And the second was seeing members of the University of Minnesota Marching Band appear with Justin Timberlake during the halftime show.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine has a great story about how the opportunity came about for the band; you can read it here.
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Today marked the first snow day of the 2017–18 school year. Elias was happy to sleep in a little later this morning, and I was happy I had no afternoon appointments, especially when the winter storm warning for our county was upgraded to a blizzard warning. It appears we received up to 16 inches of snow!

It reminded me of those good old-fashioned blizzards of my youth—and it also reminded me of two photos in the Riggs family archives.

The most exciting musical development at our house over the past several months has been Elias' renewed interest in playing the piano. We have La La Land to thank for it. Turns out, Ryan Gosling didn't just save jazz (if you didn't catch Gosling's monologue last fall on Saturday Night Live, you can watch it here). He also inspired Elias' return to the piano bench, through his portrayal of fictional jazz pianist Sebastian (the character happens to share a name with my other son).
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