Tops in Blue

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving we saw Tops in Blue.

First is the article I wrote from Examiner.com, then some pictures, and lastly was our experience.

"There is plenty to get excited about in this year's Tops in Blue musical performance "To Dream" at the Ervin J. Nutter Center on November 25th. This year they will be celebrating 56 years of entertaining audiences around the world. The mission of Tops in Blue is to entertain Air Force members and their dependents. In Dayton, however, this a free event open to the public, including families!

"The opening act is Johnny and Shelby Hansen. They are a military couple stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force base. The Hansens participated in and won the Air Force Family Talent Competition in the couple's division last fall. After that they send in a recording of their performance to an Air Force wide competition. They won that competition, so now they will be doing the opening act for the Tops in Blue show in Dayton. They plan on playing a little bluegrass tunes to kick off the show.

"This year's Tops in Blue's show entitled "To Dream" will included music from almost every genre and decade including pop, R&B, and country/western. Hence, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Of course, there will be the usual patriotic, heartrending tribute to America and Her greatness. According to the website, this year's act hopes to instill in the audience that "America is indeed the place where dreams really can come true" through the "sight and sound of music and dance".

"Many may not know but Tops in Blue performers are actually on a one year Permissive Temporary Duty (PTDY) away from their normal duty stations. These are active duty members that have talent and a passion to perform. Contest winner then go through about two months of rigorous preparations before hitting the road to present the show to audiences around the globe.

You can read all about their history, mission and news at the Tops in Blue website.
Details for the event:
Free!
Show starts at 6pm, doors open at 5pm.
First come, first serve seating arrangements.
Ervin J. Nutter Center
3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, OH 45435
(937)775-3498 "

There were tons of different acts and costume changes according to the genre and age of the music, as shown in the pictures below:



It was a good show, but lets just say that were are glad it was free. The kids sat through most of it, then got bored. Some songs almost seemed out of tune. The visuals were stunning, but some improvement could've been made in the vocals. We did enjoy Shelby and Johnny. They were an excellent opening act!

Overall, we were glad to go and have a good time out!