Olympic-size order for Elk Grove shipper

About 100 boxes belonging to the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra sat in an Elk Grove warehouse Monday, covered in "handle with care," and "fragile" stickers.

No kidding.

The boxes contained about $2 million worth of instruments and other equipment bound for Beijing. The cargo was driven from Cincinnati to Chicago on Monday after flights from Cincinnati were delayed or canceled because of weather.

This afternoon, barring further flight delays, the equipment will be flown to China, said Heather Stengle, the orchestra's operation manager. Stengle - who graduated from Hersey High School in 1992 - is in charge of making sure the cargo gets to Beijing in time for two performances this weekend. A group of lighting and sound technicians joined Stengle on the trip.

"They couldn't guarantee us a flight," said Stengle inside CEVA Logistics on Monday while rain poured outside. "So we rented a car and drove. We have to be here to check everything."

They were late, but at least they made it about 6:30 p.m. Monday to the Elk Grove warehouse, where the violins, tubas, harps and trumpets were wrapped with plastic and prepared for today's flight to China. The 100 boxes - some of which weighed about 400 pounds - arrived well before Stengle, about 11:30 a.m.

"We just sat here and watched the planes take off and land," said Danny Reed, who drove one of the two trucks.

The orchestra's 88 musicians will fly to China and be rejoined with their instruments this weekend. Because of this week's weather, some are flying out of Chicago and some flying out of New Jersey. Many don't like to part with their precious instruments for the flight, Stengle said.

"It's hard for them; it takes years to build up enough trust to let us take care of their instruments," said Stengle who has been working for the orchestra for 11 years.

The orchestra - under the direction of Erich Kunzel - is the only international orchestra invited to perform as part of the opening weekend festivities for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The orchestra's two performances include:

• The Gala Olympic Concert at the new concert hall at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening. This performance is for the dignitaries associated with the Olympic Games.

• An outdoor concert on the Olympic Green at the Olympic Grounds on Sunday evening. The performance is open to all the people attending the Olympic Games.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="Lhttp://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/Media/beijingtour08.asp?event_id=324779">Cincinnati Pops Orchestra web page</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>