The #BowlFamily campaign had a simple vision: go around the Bowl before the performances and ask people why they love the Bowl. These little “Slice of Life” stories show the far reach of The Redlands Bowl and the special place it has in the hearts of the people it so dedicatedly serves.
“We truly love the symphonies, they are grand. We both played in a band eons ago and we just enjoy the instruments up there. We also love the variety here. I always see people I know in the various productions, and we meet the same people and we look forward to seeing them. It’s like a Redlands Bowl family.”
“Jim Curry, who covers John Denver music, played years ago. He has a song called home-grown tomatoes. Well, we grow our own tomatoes. So, I texted him, ‘Hey! If you are going to play this song, dedicate it to my girlfriend Debe!’ I thought, if he even played it, he would just get up there and say and ‘this goes out to Debe’, but he gets up there and goes on this whole thing about love for a person and love for homegrown tomatos, then he said ‘this goes out to Debe because she is someone who is really loved.'”
“We know the people who painted the benches, and I was just thinking about what a job that must have been. It’s a comfortable place to come because the people here are respectful. There’s a peaceful, good feeling about coming to the Bowl.”
“I like to come here because of how open it is and the production value of the things put on here are really nice.There is never anything crazy happening. It’s just always a really nice night.”
“I’ve been coming here my whole life. When I was little, I came to see ‘Snow White’ here. I also graduated from middle school and high school here. I also did daisy chain here. I have a lot of memories here from my whole life.”
“We have been coming to the Bowl for 60-70 years. We started as kids coming. Our grandparents brought us. Our mothers have come, and we have come, and we brought our children… It has always been an enjoyable evening to come to the Bowl.”
“All in all, I love this place! I love, LOVE coming here and been here many, many times. My daughter was here with me last week and she was telling her friend she remembers coming here as a little child and she is around 40, so this is a very special place to be.”
“I just think this is an awesome experience. The city of Redlands has a lot going on, and it’s nice that this is open to the public and its by donations. It is beautiful. He lives right over there so we just walk. We can sit out on the porch and listen to rehearsals.”
“I always try and remember what it was like when I was a little kid, because I don’t remember it being this big and just coming with my family it was a big deal to come back then. But I like variety, because you can have the concerto, the young artists, and the more modern music. Some people say that “its supposed to be classical, we don’t want beatbox!” But I think its really cool. Music is music. Everything fits everybody.”
“There was a group of cowboys last year. It was on a Tuesday night, the moon was out and it was really warm and they just started singing. It was so amazing. That’s what hooked us. We were like, ‘Dang, we have to come all of the time and be open to everything that’s going on.’ It was really great.”
“One of my friends was a part of the Bowl, and she kept brining me to different events and I had a wonderful time. So I decided after about 5 years of coming to different events to join. I just enjoy the community aspect of it, getting to meet new people.”
“When I was in middle and high school, there was a TV show in Japan called America’s Top 40, that would play music that was popular in America. So everybody loved listening to the Rock and Pop music.”
“I checked online at the Redlands Bowl because last year I came and I loved to come here and I invited my family to come here today. I love to listen to the music, stay here and relax, and be together.”
“What are you most excited to see tonight?”
Daughter: “The dancing and singing”
Mother: “So everything?”
Daughter: “EVERYTHING.”
COMMUNITY RESPONSE
“Redlands Bowl is a special place to visit! I just visited for the first time and I felt like part of the family hearing stories like this.”
“Thanks, Bridget for the nice post. We enjoyed chatting with you. So sweet.”
“That’s such a sweet story. I remember that concert. It was a very good one. Like hearing John Denver.”
BRIDGET GILLESPIE 