I have to admit that upon hearing the name of this festival, I had no interest in attending. I actually thought it was going to be literally a sandwich on a lawn with old men aka "POPS". Please note, this is not the case. Picnic With The Pops is a two night event that takes place every year inside Keeneland. You can buy general admission aka picnic blanket seating or you may purchase tables that seat up to 8 people. Either way you can hear and see the stage with ease from any location on the lawn. It is great for young and old alike.
The festival features the Lexington Philharmonic and a random guest(s). This year happened to feature Wycliffe Gordon and the theme was "Night on Bourbon Street". Why does the theme matter, you ask? Well, my kiddies, besides the tone of the music provided for the evening there is a table decorating contest based off this theme. This table decorating thing was serious. People brought in props and decorations and lavish place sittings. Just to deck out their table to be the chosen one. I was really impressed. There was even a table bribing people with voodoo cookies. Bribes I say, just kidding. The cookie was yummy. The winning 3 tables get their names announced and received a prize.
This being a picnic wouldn't be legit without food and drink. The event provided a food truck and some drink vendors, but you were encouraged to BYOB. For those of you who aren't familiar with that term, BYOB is Bring Your Own Booze or Juice as I like to say. Some people even opted to have their night catered. I went as a guest at the Yelp table. I was fortunate enough to have Lyles BBQ cater for us. Chandler brought the food piping hot to our table and wished us a good evening before disappearing into the night. I would really recommend them for catering any event.
A few other things to note...You can't get into the parking area without your ticket in your hot little hands, but the ticket takers will allow you to pull to the side and wait for your party. The next thing which I found awsome, the Boy Scouts and their little red wagons unloaded and delivered the coolers and decorations to the tables/area. How awsome is that? The Boy Scouts! They didn't even get a badge for it. Hats off to them for sure.
So if you like music and food while surround by friends and fun, get tickets next time you see them go on sale. It was a great time and great festival. I will more than likely attend again. read more