Sod in January? Strange.

Sod indoors in January? Really strange.

Sod indoors in January in Crossroad’s Mall at Opera Omaha Gala? Strangely awesome.

Interesting request, interesting location and an interesting project for our winter season; so at this point the conversation turned from the excitement and glamorous appeal of the party to the logistics of harvesting 2,400 square feet of lawn in the middle of January. The Purple Polos at Kinghorn Gardens had some experience with obtaining sod in the off season for a ribbon cutting ceremony in March in years past, so we had an idea of where to begin, but no absolutes for the process’s success in January.

Over a dozen phone calls were made to sod suppliers from Florida to Texas searching for the living piece de resistance for the gala and after hearing many no’s about cutting and trucking 300 rolls of lawn across the country to an almost vacant mall in Omaha. Our Operations Manager, Dan Moore, finally found a company in Dallas, Texas who was happy to help. The green base for the gala was ordered, shipping was confirmed and Weitz, Cavanaugh, and the Kinghorns all breathed a little easier.

With the sod figured out, Dan Moore and Aaron Bryan (Kinghorn Garden’s Crew Production Manager turned carpenter) got to work on Opera Omaha’s second request: 44 nature inspired centerpieces. Working from a conceptual drawing provided by the artists designing the event, Aaron and Dan crafted a prototype for the gala tabletops’ comprised of nine spruce and pine boxes stained with a walnut finish. Some boxes were made of four pieces of inch thick lumber creating an open box for a living, green pop of color, while others were four inch blocks with a single hole bore to hold candles and provide a warm glow to the tablescape.

The rough centerpiece prototype Aaron produced for review was a hit with the event coordinators and the wood-working pair got to work producing 404 individual pieces, using over 74 pieces of lumber, 2 gallons of stain and 60 man hours (not to mention the 32 gallons of sawdust produced by the sanding, boring, and sawing). In the end, both the Purple Polos and Opera Omaha were very happy with the final product.

With the centerpieces complete all that was left to do was unroll the “green carpet” the day before the event, but the similarities to “A Flowering Tree” didn’t stop with the decor; oh no, this sod procurement expeditions had as many twist, turns and eventually triumphs as Kumudha and the Prince have in John Adams’ composition.

Eight days before the gala the trucking company scheduled to deliver 300 rolls of dormant Bermuda grass inter-seeded with winter rye backed out. Finding another shipping company was a task due to the nature of the cargo. Sod is a perishable good and is best kept above twenty-five degrees which is not always an easy task in January. Phone calls were made, gray hairs were added, second guesses were made about the reality of sod in January, and after 5 days of holding our breath, an alternative transporter signed on with wonderful assistance from Machaela Cavanaugh and her Texas connections. Phew, we were back in business, or so it seemed.

For Act II in our journey of twist and turns, enter stage right, the Nimbus clouds of Texas. Now just four days before the Crossroads Mall soiree, the winter rain poured down in Dallas where our lovely gala grass lay. Now too soaked to cut, the cumulative blood pressure and gray hair count rose on both Opera Omaha and Kinghorn Garden’s staff. Luckily our new friends in Texas didn’t give up; after all “the show must go on.” They promised us 2,400 square feet of turf and 2,400 square feet is what we shall receive – even if they did have to purchase rolls from their competitor.

The semi rolled into town between midnight and 2:00AM Thursday, January 15th the day of install, with 300 rolls of very hard to track down and transport cargo. The green rolls were a sight for sore eyes for our Purple Polo crew as they unrolled four pallets over the white tile of the event location. A “green carpet” was laid down a long hallway greeting guests with a pleasant surprise at the door, which then led to an elegantly carved oval with dueling pianos carefully sodded around leaving enough room for the foot pedals.

With little time left for more twists and turns on this sod-filled ballad, the install crew finished laying sod around 2:00pm on Thursday and Opera Omaha’s party crew continued to transform the space until the grand reveal.

The final scene unfolded Friday night as guests began to arrive and were delightfully surprised by the presence of a green lawn to greet them. It wasn’t just the visual appeal of green in January that brought smiles to their faces, but the smell of fresh grass and the closeness to nature. This stimulation of the sense and continuity of the rustic, wooden centerpieces really played an ode to “A Flowering Tree” in more ways than one. The drama unfolded, the intensity mounted, a transformation was made and in the end success and celebration.

Though this project began with a challenging request, it turned into an impressive fete, one that we and Opera Omaha, won’t soon forget. We saw what was possible, said yes to those possibilities and had to problem-solve through unexpected, and uninvited, twists and turns. Both teams at Opera Omaha and Kinghorn Gardens, along with many other professionals and suppliers for this event, deserve a standing ovation for creating such a memorable event and embodying the essence of “A Flowering Tree” in one enchanted evening to remember at Crossroad’s Mall.