Written by Kiani Ned, Marketing Intern
Although Jacksonville was a rainy mess on Friday, June 14th, the Motown Concert here at the Cummer was a huge success! The evening began with ominous clouds, roaring thunder, and wind that viciously rustled the leaves on the trees and the flowers on the shrubs in the garden. Before another round of pouring rain began, our fearless leader, Museum Director Hope McMath suggested we hold the event inside of the museum in the Terry Gallery and in the Loggia. Despite the frenzy that the rain could have caused, the Motown Concert was just as warm, inviting, and nostalgic as it would have been outside minus the soggy grass. In the Terry Gallery, the attendees of the concert danced under the white drapes hanging from the ceiling, and in the Loggia, a delicious array of food catered by The TreeCup Café laid in wait for the lively crowd of Motown enthusiasts. Food, beer, and wine was for sell at the elegant stall created by the TreeCup Cafe but many people brought picnic baskets filled with their own goodies.
By a quarter after seven the local band KTG was in full swing and the museum was filled with the Motown sounds made famous by Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye. The dance floor was anything but still as attendees of the concert expressed their joy in the form of dance and sing-a-longs. Because the skies cleared up halfway through the concert, the attendees got a chance to tour the gardens and enjoy the warm night, the beautiful flowers, and the breeze from the St. Johns River.
