Friday was another busy day for us here in Branson! The day began with a trip to Silver Dollar City, an 1800s-themed amusement park. In addition to the cave attraction that was the beginning of the park, there were plenty of rollercoasters, shops, shows, and food booths to keep everyone busy and well-fed.

The cave was VERY cool - the largest cavern is big enough to fit the Statue of Liberty inside! At the end of the tour, you rode out of the cave on a mining train.


The coasters were also big hits, and offered a great view of the surrounding hills and lakes. Several of us got to see a performance by Peruvian "scissor dancers," who perform increasingly difficult physical feats while dancing with scissor-like percussion instruments in their hands. Afterwards, Mrs. Millsaps had the chance to purchase a traditional Peruvian hat!


As we were exiting the park, I saw a large group of students in front of me veer to the right. Sure enough, there was a music vendor selling dulcimers, spoons, and other mountain music instruments. It took some coaxing to get some of them on the buses!

Happy band kids in front of the music booth.

After returning from the park, the jazz band students departed early for the Branson Belle to prepare for our performance. It was a fast-paced and exciting environment as light and sound checks were made and microphones were added. The band had a great performance, and the rest of our Minooka group was a fantastic audience. Pictures of the actual performance will be coming soon - below is the jazz band at the entrance to the boat.


After the jazz band's performance, we all enjoyed dinner and the main show. The show was very entertaining, including a comedian/magician, vocal quintet, and solo violinist/pianist/vocalist/acrobat. All the performers here in Branson seem to be so multi-talented! The violinist was well-received by our students from her first note, as she began her performance with music from "Fiddler on the Roof." Highlights of the show included the violinist playing electric violin while dangling upside down from fabric hanging from the ceiling, and a boy band medley performance which elicited a lot of screaming and singing along. :)

After dinner - Jake, Courtney, Sarah, Caleb, Justin, Ashley, Megan, and a few more in the shadows that I can't make out.

The violinist playing while dangling from the ceiling!

Needless to say, we were all ready for bed by the time we got back to the hotel last night. Today has been another busy day and it's only just started - more on that later!