it was a hot and steamy night when the prairie fire lady choir met on harriet island in st. paul to sing aboard the jonathan padelford riverboat.

the program, “river city revue,” was hosted by the mississippi river fund, works progress, and the national park service. the evening’s theme was “wicked river.”

all we needed was a ticket to board and our trusty kazoos.

i got photobombed.

and i purchased two beers for myself so i wouldn’t have to wait in line again.

i also gifted myself with a t-shirt of the mpls skyline (see that “gold medal flour”? that’s how you know what it is) and a poster with the choir’s name listed on it (and it now resides in my cubicle at work).

at the end of the evening, many of us found our way to the roof of the boat — admiring downtown st. paul without any obstructions.

and afterwards i went home and promptly dug into the ice cream that was waiting for me in the freezer.