What ingredients make for a perfect summer night?
Start with a Friday night late in June. Add spacious city sidewalks and a well-designed performance "park" (Downtown Canandaigua Commons) where a mid-size brick soundstage beckons.
Sprinkle said park with several wrought-iron tables and chairs. Pepper profusely with fold-out lawn chairs, occupied by many a grandparent or young parent. Mix in handfuls of small children dancing about in sandals, swinging stuffed animals or sippy cups, distracted by the occasional puppy held in close control on a leash by a friendly face. Place a few youthful couples here and there, perched on low, stone walls framed by green shrubbery.
Add a big band, spreading 20 or so musicians across the stage, and serve up generous portions of instrumental jazz, swing, and "golden" oldies the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Slice into that song sheet with occasional movie themes like "Shaft" or "Happy Feet." Start tapping your toes, or the arm of your chair. Watch others do the same. Stir in the rare child spinning in circles and jump-dancing to the music, just below center stage, holding the hand of her mother who is swaying her hips and swinging her daughter's arms as mothers do when they delight their children and ignore all thoughts of what the nebulous public might think of their little family moment.
Infuse the warm air with the smells of hot food cooking in nearby restaurants. Sip a swig of bottled water or soda. Let a lemon drop -- yes, the old-fashioned kind! -- melt in your mouth.
Bake under soft summer sun, at a comfortable 78 degrees, for almost two hours.
Serve, shared among community, all in the space of one city block, as slow-moving traffic rolling along the street slows even more to catch the sound of a few notes through open car windows already rolled down to catch the mild breeze.
Ah yes, a perfect summer night in your own hometown.
Enjoy.
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