Dear Real Sofia,
Flat Sofia arrived safely at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and got to learn a lot about it in her short visit.
Wolf Trap is the only national park dedicated to preserving the performing arts. The park was created in 1966, after the land was donated to the Department of the Interior and specifically the National Park Service. The woman that donated the land was named Catherine Filene Shouse. The main performing venue at the park is named after her family the Filenes. Ms. Shouse had owned the land since 1930 when it was originally farm land and as the surrounding area developed she looked for a way to preserve the land and promote the idea of a park for the performing arts.
Her idea became a reality and there are two performing venues at the park today; the Filene Center and the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods. Both are outdoor venues that allow patron to experience not just the performances, but the surrounding natural beauty too. There are over a hundred performances held at the park and they cover a variety of genres and types of shows that can cater everyone.
Flat Sofia arrived just in time to attend our 2013 Holiday Sing-A-Long, which is an annual tradition at the park and is held the first weekend of December. Flat Sofia waited at the Main Gate with the other patrons and made a few friends while there.
An hour prior to the show Flat Sofia rushed to get a seat in the House (the covered seating area of the Filene Center). She received the night’s program from two of our volunteers that were dressed for the occasion and help with all of the performances. The program included information about the performers for the evening and the song lyrics, in case she didn’t know all the songs.
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and almost 400 choir members from the Washington DC area performed for 90 minutes. Flat Sofia seemed to enjoy the view from the Lodge (upper seating area) and sang along with the other 4500 people in attendance. To keep warm she had some cookies and hot chocolate. The final song of the night was “Silent Night” and during the song the audience lit their candles and joined in the candlelight recessional as everyone headed out for the night.
Thanks for letting Flat Sofia visit us! I think she enjoyed her visit to the only national park for the performing arts in the United States.
Your friend,
Will Rifenbark, Lead Park Guide
P.S. If you want to host Flat Sofia, please email Real Sofia at sofia@gswfamily.com.
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