May 14 – 20, 2024
If you’ve been around the Hanson fandom for awhile, you might recall the days when Hanson Day weekend was multiple shows, but you only got to sign up for one time slot, and there were no extra events. At some point (I honestly don’t remember which year), it grew into two separate shows (without capacity limits) and all kinds of add-on extracurriculars. Since this newer version of Hanson Day, I believe 2024 was the first year I did all the extras. So, I’ll start with those.
Food On The Move Lunch & Learn
While not an official Hanson Day event, Food On The Move had another fundraiser lunch and learn this year. I also was able to attend last year, and it was really neat getting to see how much the space has grown (pun always intended) over the past year. They stepped up their game from last year’s pizza to a full salad bar of vegetables they grew themselves (and chicken sandwiches for some protein). They had a goal of raising $4,100 for Taylor’s 41st birthday, and almost doubled that goal. If you’re not familiar, you can learn more about Food On The Move here. It’s a great concept that is needed all over the country.
The Scavenger Hunt
I enjoyed the inaugural scavenger hunt last year, but in my feedback I mentioned some of the check in locations were too far away. So, I appreciated that everything was within the arts district this year, and thought the puzzles were clever. However, there was a lot of confusion amongst my friends and I as things were popping up out of order. We eventually figured it out together though and earned all our pins. I hope this is something that comes back next year, along with continued improvements.
I ❤️ Hanson Store
I moved across town earlier this year, and in the process I sold off more Hanson t-shirts than I kept. It was at this point that I told myself I wasn’t allowed to buy any more Hanson shirts unless they were unique. When I said “unique”, what I had in mind was something along the lines of last year’s Ambient shirt that was t-shirt style, but lightweight sweatshirt fabric. This year, at the last minute, I ended up buying the Dinosaurs Love Hanson shirt as it definitely felt unique. Plus, I couldn’t resist how soft it is. I had to buy a size up as they were out of my size, so I anticipate mostly wearing it as a lounge shirt or pajama shirt. I also bought the White Rabbit vinyl (I’m surprised it was the only new one this year), the pocket mirror (I LOVED the design on it, and it was fun to have something new/different this year!), and the gallery booklet. While I did like a lot of the designs on this year’s clothing, I stuck to my guns and came out spending less money than I typically do, so that was a win in my book.
Hanson Day Gallery
This was probably my favorite collection of Zac paintings since all the florals in 2017. If I wasn’t already out of wall space (both at home and at work), I would have caved and purchased a print or two. I also loved seeing Taylor branch out and add to his photography (paint? crayon? anyone know what it was?). We weren’t allowed to take pictures, so I’ve made a collection of my favorites via H.net screenshots below.
Painting Class
On the topic of artwork, I signed up for the painting class for the first time since the first year. I don’t consider myself artistic, especially when it comes to painting. That first year, I tossed my painting right into the trash. I had a feeling I’d be doing that again this year, but knew I’d have fun enjoying the process regardless of how my final piece turned out. However, I ended up liking mine more than I expected. Not enough to display it, but enough to hang onto it for awhile. We recreated one of Zac’s paintings that looks like an eyeball in space… but prettier than that description. I liked my almost-finished product (left) better than the final product (right), but that’s how things go sometimes.
I ❤️ 2 Bowl
My same team from last year, Snakes On A Lane, signed up for bowling together again this year. I’ve never been a great bowler, and actually won a trophy for “most gutter balls” at a work party one time. My personal score actually lowered by 2 points from last year, but as a team we were up almost 100 points! I’ve now committed to finding local friends to practice with so I can help our team improve even more next year. We will place one of these days, so watch out!
Karaoke
I really enjoyed moving Karaoke from Vanguard to Cain’s this year. Not only did this mean more people got to attend (and tickets were easier to get), but as a spectator it made things less claustrophobic. I enjoyed just sitting in the bleachers in the back with my friends, watching all the shenanigans go down. I was also happy to see the return of (the) Mac as co-host, as he did a great job last time he was in town. For those of you who participated in singing, I’m curious what your opinions are on the venue change. Was it more intimidating singing to a bigger room?
HTP Live
Like Karaoke, I’m glad HTP Live was moved over to Cain’s this year. Two of my friends were chosen to be reporters, and they both did a great job. When prepping the questions, we were joking amongst ourselves that some of the questions could have easily turned HTP from an interview to a roast. Instead, it was just a grilling 😝. (Jokes aside, this did make me wonder if Hanson would ever be brave enough to let fans do a roast – vetted, of course.) We learned a bit more about the new EP, Time Machine, and they announced two Christmas shows at Cain’s this year… see you all there?
Dance Party
This year’s dance party theme was, and I quote, “Finish off your HANSON Day weekend right aboard the Millennium Ballroom Dance Party. Sport that rebel spirit by bringing your best out of this world attire and dance moves to a galaxy far, far away, with DJ Taylor Hanson spinning favorites from the turn of this century.” There was quite the debate amongst the fans whether this was a Star Wars theme, space theme, or Y2k theme, and the answer we got was essentially, “yes”. Fans turned up as Chewbacca, Zenon, aliens, the Men In Black, and everything in between. Taylor, on the other hand, certainly did not stick to “favorites from the turn of this century”, which I found surprising. This was my favorite dance party so far, despite the ambiguous theme. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year.
Beyond Perennial Concert
I absolutely loved the first concert of the weekend and how many members songs were played. After all, that’s the main appeal of attending members only events. Starting with “Nothing Like A Love Song” was the perfect choice, and it was great hearing “Up All Night” and “Coming Back For More” for the first time in awhile. The most surprising song of the night was “Time Baby Take It”, which I had only heard one other time at BTTI. At this point, there are more members only songs than there are public songs, so it’s always fun to see which ones make the cut.
The Main Concert
I always look forward to Hanson Day and getting to hear the new members EP live, and this years’ songs sound like they belong in regular set list rotation. I’ll do a separate EP review post later, so I won’t go into too many details on that now. During the night cap, we did get a tease that this falls’ tour will be based on the 20th anniversary of Underneath. Getting to hear “Dancing In The Wind” live at Hanson Day has me looking forward to tour, though it won’t be the true Underneath experience if Taylor doesn’t bring back the electric guitar on it. Why did he stop?!? The absolute highlight of this show, however, was getting to hear a snippet of “Thunderstruck”, which they had performed earlier in the week at an OKC Thunder half-time show. This is my official ask (that Hanson will never see lol) for the full song in the future.
I don’t know why, but this year in particular I was looking forward to Hanson Day way more than normal. That’s not to say I don’t always look forward to it, but for some reason I felt like I needed it more this year. I ended up flying down a whole day earlier to attend the Food On The Move lunch & learn, and even spending a whole week in the city felt too fast. It might we weird to end a blog about a Hanson trip to Tulsa by quoting a different Taylor’s song about Florida, but it’s too accurate not to: “Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’re just a guest in.”
Scream And Be Frees 