Growing up, my family and I went to numerous concerts every summer. We would travel far and go to as many venues as we could to see the top artists of the time. But the Fraze Pavillon, a local outdoor venue in Kettering, will always hold a special place in my heart.
According to their website, the arena can hold up to 4,300 guests at a time. There are multiple different seating options for each show. Down in the front there are actual seats you can purchase. In the middle is the lawn option. And up at the top there are metal bleachers.
Whenever we go we bring our blankets and sit in the lawn. There are floor seats available to rent, which normally my parents do. We usually buy snacks from the concession stand. This past week we got pretzel sticks and nacho cheese and two chocolate chip cookies. You are allowed to bring in your own water bottles as long as they are factory sealed.
There is a beer stand and a wine booth. This past week, they also had a merchandise store open. My daughter and I got matching Freddie Mercury mustache t-shirts.
Although I have seen many concerts at this specific venue, no one puts on a show quite like Killer Queen. This year was our third year going to see them. The singer, who dances and acts just like Freddie on stage, might not have his full vocal range. But, he makes up for it with extreme enthusiasm.
He yells out into the crowd and gets people to stand and dance throughout almost the entire show. People of all ages were swaying their hips, fist bumping the air, and belting the lyrics at the top of their lungs.
My daughter and I danced the entire show. The ground was still wet from rain the day before and our feet got soaked. My pants got soaked. But we didn’t care.
The last songs of the night included “We will rock you” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”, some of our personal favorites. The piano came out and everyone was on their feet. The crowd cheered and got out their phones, swaying back and forth in rhythm with the music. The night ended with a group of tired, sweaty people exiting through the gates.
My family and I have tickets to more shows this summer, including a live action Peppa Pig performance. Some of the other performances this summer include Nelly, Donny Osmond, and Queens Boulevard.
One of the things that I really like about the Fraze is the other events that they hold. There is an event coming up this weekend called Sips and Suds and another one later this month called The Taste. It is also a great venue for some local food festivals. We went to a few last year that had food trucks and live music. This year there will Baconfest on August 19th. It is free entry to the public.
Check out their website here for a full list of events.
Jaime Herzog
Intern