Bloggin' from Bloomington

Hey all, Sara Evans here checking in from the Corn Palace! Honorary guest blogger for the day. Ok, maybe not so much. But I did just spend an hour pretending to be her “for tv purposes.” Sounds glamorous, but I was merely a stand-in so the tv crew could frame shots with the skaters and Sara as well. The view from the stage is pretty nice, though the lights can be rather blinding! Can’t see all the action on the ice though, depending on the lighting for that particular number. Oh yeah, and the Skating for Life show is actually taking place at the US Cellular Coliseum, although their sports venue back in the day was called the Corn Palace. That would have been classic though, a skating show taking place in a building covered with corn! We are in the heart of corn country here in Illinois. Coming in on the little plane from Chicago we marveled at the miles and miles of corn fields. Bloomington is also the home of State Farm Insurance and Beer Nuts (no, they are not made with beer…). The airport is lovely, the hotel we stayed at had character and best of all, Starbucks was conveniently located right across the street. Couldn’t ask for more!

So anyway, back to the skating. Looks to be a wonderful show for a great cause. If you didn’t know, the performance this evening is a benefit for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the renowned breast cancer foundation. Every participant in the show has been touched by the disease in some way, shape or form. This day in age, it is actually hard to find someone that hasn’t been affected by cancer. The skaters will perform a number in tribute to a family member that has battled the disease. Our host, the lovely Peggy Fleming, is herself a survivor of the disease. At the same time it is a tribute, it is also a celebration. Sara and her band are a-rockin’ right now, powering through the dress rehearsal. The skaters feed off of the energy of the live music, and reflect it in their performances for you! Since the show will be starting shortly, I better sign off. I leave you with a few behind-the-scenes moments:

~Props to Jozef and Steven for sucking it up and traveling with us all day Monday straight from the Phoenix show (this included a 4am call time!).

~Monday night practice, which turned into a dance class with Jennifer Robinson showing the gang a few moves.

~Skaters bundled up in the freezing practice rink on Tuesday, then warming up with a hot meal at Biaggi’s Italian Restaurant.

~Emily Hughes taking time out to skate with a contest winner (6 yr-old Addison) before practice this morning.

(Thanks to guest blogger, Kristin!)