Granddaughter Harper and our son Brandon both celebrated birthdays last week. While birthday parties are usually the norm around our house and daughter Kelsey’s, we opted for something different this year and I must say that instead of a birthday party, I am wholeheartedly all in for giving an “experience” instead.
I’ve heard of people doing this for their children at Christmastime. Instead of buying a ton of presents/toys that their children will only play with for a little while, they save that money and opt for an experience — something like a vacation or a trip to the zoo. We even have a couple of friends with two young boys who do this and I have followed them through Facebook while they have been on trips to Cuba, Hawaii, Israel and Italy, to name a few.
Now, while this grandma can’t pull off anything that grand, I did have an idea for Harper that I hoped she would enjoy.
You see, she is a big Taylor Swift fan — mostly from Taylor’s early country music days, when the lyrics were more tame. She loves watching her videos on YouTube, and loves to sing and dance along. She also loves trivia about the singer.
A few weeks ago, we received a press release saying that a Taylor Swift exhibit would be coming to the Grammy Museum Mississippi in Cleveland. For a few years now, I’ve been telling the hubs that we need to go and check out the museum, and to take Brandon because he is quite the music buff and is a very talented musician himself who appreciates the art.
So I asked Harper’s mom if I could take her (and her best sidekick, her brother Beckett) to the museum to experience all that is Taylor Swift. We also asked Brandon to join us so that he could experience all that is not Taylor Swift. Plus, I promised them a great Mexican meal afterward.
We arrived pretty early Saturday morning thinking there might be a large crowd — this was opening weekend, after all. Instead, there were only a few dozen people there including us, which allowed the children a little more freedom from me holding on to them every step of the way.
There were so many things, people and places to read about. There was so much to listen to and experience. It was hard to take it all in — especially with the children ready to move from one thing to another quickly.
They especially enjoyed the stations where you could put on earphones and artists would scroll by on tablet-type screens that were connected. At a touch of the finger, music from their chosen singer began to play in their little ears and they were dancing and singing along. Clay enjoyed this area, as he listened to a popular Mose Allison song. We saw a letter involving Tallahatchie bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson and Mose.
They enjoyed booths where you could go in and shut the doors and hear what a popular band of today might sound like on another medium in the 1920s or 1950s, etc.
They went into a booth that would allow them to write and “produce” their own song. This didn’t pique their interest. They were looking for the familiar, already written tunes.
There was also a room dedicated specifically to projects that Taylor Swift had produced and/or directed, with a large screen of videos playing.
A theater with a huge screen played clips of performances from the Grammy Awards on a loop. In front was a large stage. Both Harper and Beckett took to the stage to sing, clap along, and even turn a few cartwheels.
Every step of the way, there were costumes — beautiful costumes — and accessories.
I believe their favorite area of the museum had to be the kids’ music area. It featured a stage with microphones, a piano, keyboard, guitars, drums and sound equipment. All were connected to headphones that the kids could play and hear themselves play and sing.
If you haven’t been to the Grammy Museum, go! I highly recommend it, and Mississippi is fortunate to have it.
I also highly recommend “the experiences” over the party. Hope to do more of this in the future.
