Wednesday, May 25, 2011

PLTI Jazz Concert



On Thursday, May 19, 2011, four Guest House residents and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the Parent Leadership Training Institutes (PLTI) benefit dinner and jazz concert!!

The event was to celebrate the fifth anniversary of PLTI Alexandria. PLTI offers free educational services to help parents learn how to navigate the system and advocate for their children, as well as their community. They believe that “democracy includes everyone” and individuals should be informed and active in their decision making.

The event was held at Convergence, a beautiful church off N. Quaker Lane in Alexandria. When we walked in Convergence, we were all blown away by the chic layout of a room, aptly called “The Sanctuary.” The “walls” of the room were almost entirely windows that looked out over the small green field outside. The Sanctuary was already filled with people socializing and eating together when we arrived, but it easy to find a place to sit and even easier to meet and mingle with a wide variety of people.

After about an hour of eating delicious finger-food and socializing, it was time to make our way into the adjacent room, the nave, where we would be treated to a performance by The W.E.S. Group. The W.E.S. Group is an awesome three man jazz band out of South Carolina. The nave, or as they called it “The Lab,” was almost entirely stained glass and when we entered the sun was setting, coloring the entire room.

As the band came on stage, we were all really anxious to hear some relaxing jazz. The saxophonist in the band, Will Smith, PhD, took the time to explained important concepts and techniques of jazz, helping the audience to feel involved in the music. Each song they performed was better than the last!

When the band was done and it was time to leave, the ladies and I were all smiles. We spent the rest of the evening talking about how much we truly enjoyed the entire experience. Just being able to sit with good company and listen to great music helped to relieve the daily stress of life and work.

We want to thank PLTI, namely Fay Slotnick, for inviting us and putting on such a fabulous event. It was really a perfect evening! THANK YOU!

2 comments:

Fay said...

We were so glad that you could help us celebrate!

Fay

Friends of Guest House said...

It was really our pleasure!