'Fly Me to the Moon' named theme of Picnic in the Park
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By
staff
on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 10:12 AM
The organizers of this year’s Picnic in the Park announced today that the theme for October’s event will be “Fly Me to the Moon.” The event, a Savannah tradition, is sponsored by the City of Savannah's Department of Cultural Affairs in celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month.
“We are pleased to be hosting the popular Picnic Contest for the first time this year,” said Greg Parker, president and CEO of The Parker Companies, who is sponsoring the event.
The Picnic in the Park will be held on October 5 at Forsyth Park in Savannah’s Historic District. Each year, picnickers can enter the Picnic Contest where they are encouraged to design an imaginative picnic spread that is inspired by the theme of the evening including beauty, love, elegance, and romance.
“We’re amazed every year by the creativity of picnickers, not only their picnic spreads, but the interesting costumes that some choose to wear,” added Parker. “Many of the theme entrants suggested that people wanted a theme of nostalgia. The romantic theme chosen was a combination of a number of ideas entered."
This year, Parker’s invited the public to suggest this year’s theme and received over 300 entries.
The annual free concert is highlighted by a performance by the Savannah Philharmonic as well as a number of featured performers, and draws crowds of as many as 20,000 picnickers. “There are endless great musical selections that the Philharmonic can choose,” said David Pratt, executive director, who along with Peter Shannon, conductor, will coordinate the musical presentations of all of this year’s performers.
The song “Fly Me to the Moon” was made famous by recordings by African American cabaret singer Mabel Mercer, and later by Johnny Mathis. The Philharmonic will feature this and other romantic musical sections for a night of romance and love for families in Savannah’s beautiful city park.
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picnic in the park
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forsyth park
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picnic contest