My Happy Place; Charlottesville, VA

Recently "The Guardian" reported the following about Charlottesville, VA:

Last week, this central Virginian town was named America's happiest city – or Joy Town, USA, as America's media quickly had it – by the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). It's quite an accolade. But an informal poll of residents didn't find too many who rejected the finding. "I don't know about the happiest but it's certainly all right," says Jackson Greg, on Main Street late on Friday evening.

Since moving here, we certainly have been happy, and have found C'ville filled with friendly, open and interesting people as well as great restaurants, shops and a lively communal downtown. One of the features of the downtown mall is free concerts every Friday night, and other concerts in between in the Pavilion.

Last night, the concert was with "Baaba Seth" and their world music. It was fantastic and sure helped underline the happiness of the area.

The music was the kind that you couldn't possibly sit still for and the dancing was both enthusiastic and varied!

The great part about these concerts are they are so varied. Every kind of music gets its due, so all audiences are welcome. What that does for the community is really help the feeling of inclusion and provide a platform for interaction of all demographics. What a wonderful thing!

The band was also quite the mix of talent and people! I think every musician played several instruments and, as you can see here, sometimes two at once! Thanks to  them and kudos for the fun they had and brought to us!

Here are a few more shots of Baaba Seth;  just click on any of them to see the whole picture and a larger view!