If you are looking for something enjoyable to do this weekend, with a friend, loved one, or the whole family, consider checking out this weekend's installment of the popular Picnic Pops.
For those who aren't familiar with the Picnic Pops series, it is an outside concert series that has been a summer staple of the West Michigan community for 21 years. This year's offerings promise to be quite enjoyable for those with a love for live music and fresh air.
This year's Picnic Pops are being hosted at the Cannonsburg ski area, which is located at 6800 Cannonsburg Rd NE, Belmont, MI 49306. During the winter, Cannonsburg provides people in the Grand Rapids area with an excellent place to go tubing, skiing, or snowboarding, with multiple hills and even beginner options for children and those still learning to maneuver in the snow.
Now that all the snow is long gone, Cannonsburg is the site of this classic outdoor concert series. They will also be opening a man-made lake for wakeboarding, with mechanized tow ropes to pull people through the water. While that attraction isn't open yet this summer, it will hopefully be available next summer, making for an even more fun-fulled day with the family. They also hope to remodel and upgrade the concert facility, though it is quite lovely in its current incarnation.
Still, for those who have attending Picnic Pops in the past, there will be a noticeable change in the performance venue, specifically that the stage has been reconfigured and will now make the stage more visible to those sprawled out on the rolling hills of Cannonsburg.
Tonight's event features the music of Neil Diamond, with instrumental music provided, as always, by the Grand Rapids Symphony and the vocals performed by Super Diamond, one of the best-known Neil Diamond tribute bands currently touring. Gates open at 5:30, and the show itself begins at 7:30.
Tickets for lawn seating are $18 per adult, $16 for seniors over 62 and students (with ID), $5 for children ages 2-18, and children under 2 are free! Chair seats cost $30, and an individual seat at a table will set you back $48. If you have a group and wish to purchase all eight seats at a table, that will cost $384. If you didn't pre-purchase your tickets, there is an additional $3 charge per ticket for same-day ticket purchases.
If you didn't buy tickets for tonight or aren't interested in Neil Diamond, there are several more concerts planned for this year's Picnic Pops. Next weekend, July 16th and 17th, will feature the ever-popular Classical Fireworks show, which features popular classical music and fireworks, and unlike other concerts in the series, begins at 8pm instead of 7:30 pm. The following weekend, July 23rd and 24th, will feature tributes to Billy Joel and Elton John. The last show of the season, July 30th and 31st, will feature vocals performed by John Ondrasik from Five for Fighting, including many popular hits, such as "Superman (It's Not Easy).” The final show will have a higher ticket price, with lawn seats running $30 ($28 for senior and students) and children's tickets going for $15.
Pack up the family, some food, and head out to Cannonsburg to enjoy live music in a wonderful environment every Friday and Saturday for the rest of July! Tickets are available at the GR Symphony website.