Hello and welcome to Put Down The Tablet! This is the column where my daughter Josie and I seek out fun activities across our coverage area while our devices are recharging. While we wait for the weather to warm up, we found a couple of indoor events to keep us busy.
One of Josie’s favorite summer activities is to help me in the garden, and we found some flora fun as we checked out the Southern Tier Orchid Society’s 40th Annual Show, held in Johnson City the first weekend of May. Josie and her cousin Isabelle were fascinated by these interesting plants and there was a scavenger hunt that helped us identify the unique characteristics of each orchid. There were prizes for best area orchids as well as demonstrations and talks throughout the two day event.
It was the first flower show for all of us and we are planning on coming back next year when we might actually be brave enough to buy an orchid instead of just tote bags. For more information about local orchid activities and to receive news about next year’s annual show please visit Southern Tier Orchids.
This past weekend we went from orchids to opera as Josie experienced her first performance at Binghamton’s long running Tri-Cities Opera center! We dressed up and attended the Pocket Opera Project which does an amazing job making this challenging medium accessible to music fans of all ages. The mini (or “pocket”) operas are based on winning entries from WSKG’s Student Writing Challenge so the subject matter is certainly not the standard fare. This year’s performances featured opera about legos, bananas, cryptids, mermaids (Josie’s favorite) and even a world-wide ant invasion in the grand finale!
While the subject matter might be off kilter, the performances from the amazing resident artists at TCO were all top notch. Jason Gonzalez, Michael Segura, Kate Johnson and Darya Narymanava all sang and acted magnificently while being accompanied by a small set of musicians near the stage. Not surprisingly, I ended up watching Josie’s reaction just as much as the performance itself and she was engaged and entertained throughout the 75 minute runtime. This is the 4th edition of the Pocket Opera Project, but the first with the addition of ‘super titles’ above the stage. Josie was happy to be able to read along to the action! She was so taken by the pageantry of the performance that she now wants to take acting lessons this summer. Who knows, maybe there will be a Pioch Performance at the Pocket Opera in ten years! For more information about the Pocket Opera Project or Tri-Cities Opera’s 2026-27 season please visit their website at Tri-Cities Opera.
