Pioneer Day 2012

We all have ancestors we revere who helped pave the way for the lives we live today. We celebrate the faith and diligence of the early Latter-day Saints who crossed the plains and entered the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.

I love the Pioneer Day concert and was happy that I got tickets this year.

I invited my friends Lorie and Whitney to go with me. Whitney and her husband will be moving to Pennsylvania in a few days. It was wonderful to spend some time with her before she goes. We had dinner at the DoDo and then hurried to Salt Lake for the concert.

Guest soloist Katherine Jenkins ~ This was Katherine first visit to Salt Lake City. She is from Wales and has a gorgeous mezzo-soprano voice.  

I loved watching Katherine on last season of Dancing with the Stars. She said that dancing took her so far away from her comfort zone but she was great and took second place.

We had a fun surprise when Dancing with the Stars professional dancer and former partner with Katherine, Mark Ballas walked on the stage. 

They hadn't seen each other for two months and Mark flew in just for the concert. They danced the Paso Doble, what a treat!  

Katherine and Mark

Derek Hough, another DWTS pro was in the audience, I would have loved to see him dance also!

The concert theme, "The Joy of Song," was exactly that. Katherine sang many of my favorite songs...  "I Could Have Danced All Night" (from "My Fair Lady"), "The Prayer" and "You’ll Never Walk Alone" (from "Carousel"). 

Katherine said, "There's something about music, especially when it's, obviously, set with words, that can make you feel something so deeply that can move you to tears and wake you up."

She said she has always loved to sing for as long as she can remember, "whether it's being a small child and learning nursery rhymes to learning opera arias, it's something that's always made me really, really happy. And words alone may not do that, but music can touch me to my core and make me feel something very different."

What a beautiful night and what a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and from Katherine Jenkins!