update.

Hey, friends. I apologize that I have been MIA for the last month. Life took off and I have been dealing with the always evolving transition of change. So I thought I’d give you all a little update on what I’ve been doing.

Summer Sounds kicked off Memorial Day weekend and peaceofmycity.com ran the beer tent. I am so appreciative of my volunteers and bummed that we got rained out. But we made the most of it and had such a blast. I hope we get the opportunity to be involved in this again.

The next day, my oldest daughter Jillian performed in her fourth dance recital for The Laurel School of Dance and she killed it. I can’t get over how quickly my baby girl is growing up.

After all of that, I came down with some awful version of the adult flu. I had a fever for 6 days and as an adult…that hurt!

After I recovered from the plague, I took off on an amazing adventure with three of my very good friends to Bonnaroo – a music festival in Manchester, Tennessee. This experience was one of the most amazing times of my life. To be in a place with thousands of other people promoting peace and love was incredible.

 

 

It gave me a new found faith in humanity, and I was reminded that the world is not bad. There is so much good. One of my favorite moments was hearing Ryan Lewis and Macklemore sing “Same Love” in front of a crowd of at least 45,000 people and the hush and stillness of the crowd as we all took it in together. The moment was so beautiful, and I’ll never forget it.
Coming out of Bonnaroo into learning of the shooting in Orlando and the shooting here in Danville, where the 16 year old kid was shot at Garfield Park – my heart sank. It was hard for me to go from this new hope to being smacked in the face with the reality of the world we live in. There really is more love than hate in this world. Even though I’m staring at our world where hate is in the forefront of conversation, where hate crimes are happening all around us, where addictions have taken over our loved ones, where life should seem like it’s truly falling apart- I believe in love and the power of positivity and hope.

I believe there are more of us who want life to be lived in peace. So let’s continue to come together and lift one another up. We are good, and we are strong. Don’t forget that.

This is from one of the many marches and rallies against violence in Danville. I really believe in these things. It’s so beautiful to see so many members of our community coming together to support each other and to take a stand against the evil that is trying to take over our city.

Some awesome news – my little sister who is expecting found out that she is having a boy!! The first boy in a long time in our family. My mom had two daughters – I had two daughters – my sister has one daughter and is now pregnant with a boy! It’s so exciting! This is my adorable niece, Aubrey, making the announcement.

 

Since then, summer has taken over and Danville is filled with so many amazing events happening. I just love my city in the summer! The Danville Municipal Band plays at Lincoln Park every Sunday night and we have definitely taken advantage of that. What an amazing gift to the community they are!

 

Both of my daughters participate in the Summer Reading Program at the Catlin Public Library and that started up last week.

Which brings me up to the last week in which Danville has been blossoming. Last week was the Art Beat Music Week in downtown Danville which correlated with the First Gig Rock-n-Roll Camp for Kids held at the David S Palmer Arena – free live music downtown every single night along with vendors, food, and, of course, Joyful Bubbles.

And how can I not mention that Dick Van Dyke was in town last week?! Big time kudos to David and Jennifer Woodrow and the rest of the crew that put on the show at DHS Friday night – it was fantastic. I love that we have such an incredible group of celebrities from Danville. The feeling of community especially made its appearance at the Dick Van Dyke events this past weekend.

The week wrapped up with Arts in the Park. What a great event! My daughter and I performed on Saturday, and I spent the day Sunday volunteering. They are doing a great job of updating and keeping the event relevant and an amazing part of the traditions in Danville. There was talent in every single step taken at Lincoln Park from the main stage, to the artist promenade, to the kids tent, to the photography, to the pop up artists. It may have ended a little early due to rain, but the weekend was a hit!

With all of this being said…thank you all, my readers, for being patient with me. I’ve been a busy gal! However, I am sitting on a few interviews that I cannot wait to write up and share with you…so keep checking back with me, follow me on FaceBook, and keep on spreading that peace, friends.

Peace & Love,

Stay up-to-date on what’s going on! Click here & hit “LIKE!”