Over my career I've accomplished so many things that I'm immensely proud of, but, as any parent will tell you, my proudest achievements are my children. I'm even more excited that my daughter Kelly has decided to come aboard the Mannheim Steamroller express and handle our growing social media endeavors.
While I was writing my last blog on why I love Halloween, I turned to Kelly for her input and she and I had a nice time reminiscing about the past. The more we talked the more I realized the best way I could explain to you what a typical Davis Halloween was like was by having her help me! So with that said I'd like to turn it over to my daughter and her amazing memory.
As a child growing up my favorite holiday was Halloween due to the fact that my dad made it such a special time of year! Every year my dad would host a Halloween party on his farm in Nebraska.
It was always so much fun to watch as a small army of people transformed the barn from just a regular place that had chicken and horses in it to this magical Halloween world.
There are three stalls in the middle of the barn each with its own theme. One was a spooky graveyard, the other was a fortune teller and the third was a fairy princess pumpkin land. Then in the arena we would put up a big screen and play old "scary" black and white movies like "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy." The arena would be filled with straw and there would be tables so people could go sit and eat and watch a movie!
But my favorite part were the hay rides. There were two tractors that would have a wagon with straw bales in it and they would take you in to the haunted woods!! Your first stop was the knight's tent and he would warn you not to go in to the woods and soon a headless horsemen would come running out of the woods on his horse after you heard the screams of a young girl alone and lost in the woods (that was usually me).
Eventually you went on to the witch's camp where three spooky witches would try to steal kids off of the wagon to put them the fire pit (no children were harmed in the making of this ride I promise). Finally you stopped at a space ship crash and an alien that was eight feet tall would walk over and look at you and try and grab you!
It was always a fun event from the setting up to the tear down! Although for me being able to do this every year with my dad and siblings is something I'll never forget. My father's really just a big kid at heart and I think that's what makes him so popular with Mannheim's loyal fans. With him, what you see is what you get and there's something to be said for that in today's day and age.
Thanks Kelly! That brings back some amazing memories!
I hope everyone has a great Halloween and I invite you to join us back here next month as I'm truly excited to share with you brand new behind the scenes details about our first EVER Las Vegas show at the famed Venetian hotel. This is literally a dream come true. Viva Las Vegas! Viva Mannheim!