My husband and I were at the Picnic with the Pops last Saturday night. For those of you who have never been there or who are not familiar with this Lexington end-of-summer tradition, Picnic with the Pops is an outdoor concert at the Horse Park, featuring the Lexington Philharmonic and a featured musical guest, this year Beatlemania Now.
The music is great, but the highlight of the evening is the table decorating contest, Tables are decorated to the nth degree, some stretching out into huge displays, many in keeping with the theme. Saturday night there were lots of Beatles themes, as well as whatever is currently in the news, and then just some beautiful, colorful, coordinated tables.
At our Lexmark tables, we chose the Lexmark color theme – black tablecloths, white dishes with red accents. We all dressed in black, white and red and we had a fantastic time eating, drinking, dancing and singing along to Beatles songs. (Some of us so much that we were hoarse the next day and also not feeling very well.)
Here are some of my favorite tables from Saturday night:
Strawberry Fields – Tablecloth with strawberry print, strawberries in large champagne glasses for centerpieces, a boom box playing the song, all the partiers dressed in red, serving champagne with a whole strawberry.
UK Blue – Table covered in UK blue Wildcats tablecloth, plates, cups, napkins, you name it. At the head and foot of the table a stuffed suit jacket with a photo head of Billy Gillespie. Go Cats!
Several Yellow Submarine theme tables – yellow table settings, an arch of yellow balloons, partiers dressed in all yellow with sailor caps, and a trio of little girls singing the song. Too cute!
The Price is Right – A box of Rice-a-Roni at each table setting, the Price is Right theme song played for each judge (including each judge’s name, all recorded in a professional recording studio), and a spin the wheel game for guests to spin.
Beatle Karaoke – That’s me in the photo above, singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” with two hippies at this table. After the song, judges Randy, Paula and Simon told me I did a good job and should get a recording contract. (Oh, yeah baby!)
Harry Potter – I got to wear the sorting hat and got put in (oh no!) Slytherin House. The table was decorated in total Hogwarts style and all the partiers were dressed in Hogwarts uniforms with ties for different houses.
Bugs – The table looked like you were deep in the jungle and the partiers were all dressed in bug costumes (“the original beetles,” they said). They sprayed water out of exterminator spray canisters.
The White Album – Everything white, white, white. With the well-worn, much-loved and overplayed album in the center of the table.
And the winner of the night was . . .
Live from Lexington, It’s Saturday Night! – This table was decorated like a studio set with black, white and gold accessories. But it was the partiers that won them the award. Dressed like the characters from our favorite SNL skits, they each performed snippets of skits for passersby: Mary Katherine Gallagher, the Cheeerleaders, Matt Foley (“I am 39 years old, I am divorced, and I’m livin’ in a van down by the river!”), Samuri Chef, that little hyperactive kid that Mike Myers played who is tethered to the playground monkeybars, Church Lady, Wayne and Garth, and the coup de gras – Lorne Michaels with his check for $3,000 for the Beatles to reunite on Saturday Night Live.