summer solstice/redesigned park party

tonight we went to a summer solstice party (wasn't that yesterday?) in a nearby town that was a citywide event and had dual purpose of debuting a recently redesigned park/rec area. the park was pretty outstanding. it's pretty huge and among various athletic fields they had super cool playground equipment that i've never seen before (and that's really saying something) and back to back sand and water play areas - so it would feel like the coast. (you can tell i'm becoming an oregonian because now i say coast instead of beach.) the event was completely free and they promised and delivered free dinner (hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, drinks). the only problem was that about 800 people showed up and there was one lone guy working one lone grill. the food line was insane. that was pretty much the main attraction. it took two hours for us to reach the front. i say us, but really it was just dave. ellen and isaiah couldn't take it, so i took them to find something exciting. the city brought in a drumming group that was somehow associated with the park designer. they were pretty impressive. and the kids loved them of course. ellen and isaiah found some kids to dance with. ellen did some serious dancing. and here was the great reward for dave's two hour wait: one of the great rewards, anyway. we also scored another hotdog and a hamburger and two chip bags. definitely worth it. :) actually, in typical dave style, he struck up conversation with the guy next to him and now they're best friends and we're supposed to go visit them soon. and after dinner, our favorite storytime lady, Teresa, entertained the kids for a bit.