Candlelight Concert: Abba vs. Queen

On Sunday afternoon, Steve and I headed to Old Sacramento State Historic Park. Old Sacramento is an 8-block historic district that sits on the Sacramento River. 

If you've never been, I definitely recommend it. The 50+ buildings are from the Gold Rush era, with cobblestone streets and boardwalks for pedestrians. It's the boarding location for the outstanding City Cruises Sacramento and the ending location for Sacramento's Urban Adventure Quest. There are tons of shops and restaurants and it's not unusual to find special events, festivals, or other things going on at Old Sac. 

One of the highlights of Old Sac is the California State Railroad Museum, which was our destination for the evening. It's a fantastic museum, but we weren't there to see the exhibits this time. Instead, we were there for a special event.  

But first, we walked around and enjoyed the outdoor exhibits. 

Remember this roundhouse for later.

We strolled along the river and through the rest of Old Sac before returning to the Railroad Museum. 

I love the artwork in the lobby. 

  

We walked past quite a few trains...

... on our way to the roundhouse. This was the venue for the concert we were there to see: Candlelight. 

The Candlelight experience is a one-hour classical music performance, built around a theme. In our case, the theme was Abba vs. Queen. True to the name, the concert is conducted entirely with candlelight. A LOT of candlelight. 

This is what the stage area looked like when we arrived. Candles, everywhere. 

For an hour, the string quartet kept us riveted with gorgeous renditions of all the biggest hits by Queen and Abba. It was so cool. We absolutely loved it. 

There is no photography allowed during most of the concert. During the last song, the musicians invited us to take photos. 

Candlelight concerts take place in more than 100 venues across the world, so if you're not local to Sacramento, check out the website to see if there is a location near you. If you end up going, let me know what you think!