Vancouver Children's Festival

My second year helping as coordinator of the Shadow Play tent at the Vancouver International Children's Festival. Oh what fun.

 Part of my job is to get the tent set up with large white fabric for making good shadow-puppet plays on. Then, kids come in and can watch from one side as others play with pre-made (by many creative volunteers) paper puppets. This year was dinosaur themed, so there were dino-heads we fashioned to wear on your head!

This was a large outdoor puppet I made (with some help from Noodle) halfway through the festival. 

 It was fun to take the shadow play outside this way.

This was Noodle's big project... creating the structure of a large dinosaur that over the week, kids would weave the outer part, and be able to run around on its inside!

 I got to see a handful of incredible shows while I was there... Rick Scott: The Great Gazzoon (super nice, charming, charasmatic, heart-felt, fun guy)... Erth DinoZoo (amazing giant dinosaur puppets)... The local "Circus West" circus (it was meh)... Kaput (this was my favorite! So funny I watched it 3.5 times. Here's a link to Tom Flanagan of Kaput: master of acrobatic-slapstick-tom-foolery!) The next photo is what the stage looks like when he's done... and not all of his props are visible... such a mess!

The last fella above is Fred Penner... I didn't know who he was, but met him at the staff party... this is how it went. Me "So you're a children's Musician."

Fred "Yes, I've been on TV, (this and that, etc.), what planet are you on?"

Me "Well currently I'm on this planet, but previously... I'm from Washington State."

Fred "I was on Nickelodeon from about 1988 to 1992, didn't you watch any of that?"

Me "I was in high school during that time, and didn't watch TV."

(Other people come over to chat with him. He begins a story...)

Fred ..."Charlie Chaplin met the Marx brothers... (he turns to me)... you do know Charlie Chaplin? If you don't know Charlie Chaplin, I'll have to take this bottle (he was drinking a Heinekin)...

Me "And hand it to me?"

Fred ..."And break it over your head."

Me "Hm."

(He carried on his conversation with the others)

It seemed quite ironic, and mildly hilarious.

 This is the Trout house, where Noodle was staying, and where I parked Vince outside of.

Noodle and I rode our bike to the festival almost every day. This sign on the ground was so fun for me, it's like it's a "Bicycle hovering lane".

Other than boarder hang-ups, this adventure was sure a good one. Yay for Kid's Fest!

Inflammable Circus Show

The second annual Inflammable Circus Show! I was invited back to MC again, and although I was a bit nervous, I had self-inflicted wireless mic problems, and I had to weasel through the band to get to the working mic, It was a blast.

Chipp (and Claire) made me a flaming moustache that I balanced on my face and then roasted marshmellows on.

Taylor Lee Warner did an adorable hobo fire poi act.

Strangely was there firing it up.

Claire and Chipps did a duo fire juggling act that was awesome!

It started out with these cool fire props.

Taylor Lee with poi fire-crotch!

Claire set up a snake photo booth.

Hot Damn Scandal was our band. They are so AWESOME!

Strangely on his accordion.

Claire and Chipps.

Dream and Greg performed their duo trapeze act. It's amazing.

Max blew fire... daaaang!

Don opened the show with his contact fire ball... his first performance!!!

Dream and Greg.

Taylor Lee Warner.

Claire.

Dream and Greg.

Almost all of these photos were from Thaddeus Hink from Think Studios (that was facebook link, HERE is website). What a great photographer, and how lucky we are that he shares them with us!

Food Show Review

We have put The Real Food Show in front of a feedback audience, Vaudevillingham, and then a preview show audience. It has been so helpful to have eyes and feedback for the show. We were fortunate enough to have our great friend, writer, and circus-enthusiast, Adam in the audience. He submitted this praise to the Coop, which published it in its monthly newsletter.

Wow! What a great thing the Co-op is
doing in sponsoring The Real Food Show!
I had the good fortune of seeing
the show a couple weekends ago when
Della and Jason Quick gathered people
together at The Bellingham Circus
Guild for a preview performance. What
HUGE fun. I have not laughed so hard
in a long time. It was great to sit with an
intergenerational audience being wowed
by skilled local performers unpacking
an important issue—the importance of
real food in our everyday lives. What
I really respect about this event is that
the performers, Della Plaster and Jason
Quick, combine their wide array of
circus skills with a sincere commitment
to make the best show possible.
I believe that the best forms of
community-engaged art are the ones that
are committed to exploring serious issues
and offering up the most entertaining and
dramatically compelling art possible. The
Real Food Show does just that. You picked
the right clowns for this assignment.
It was clear that people in the audience
were eating up the warmth and ease with
which Della and Jason welcomed kids
and seniors and everyone in-between
to participate in the ebbs and flows of
the performance. The circus elements,
the humor, the images, the audience
participation elements all came together
in one big, smile-inducing way. In
the process, Della and Jason conveyed
an amazing amount of important
information. This show may be designed
for youth, but I know that I’ve been
reading food labels with increased
frequency, avoiding sugar (with a better
success rate), drinking more water, and
eating more fruits and veggies since seeing
The Real Food Show a few weeks ago—
and I am 47 years old.
Another positive wrinkle to this
performance is that Della and Jason
are kind people, reliable people,
generous people. It is not every day
that you can find two emotionally
mature clowns to serve as community
ambassadors.
Please extend my thanks and
appreciation to all those on the board
and on the staff involved in choosing
to commission the creation of this
timely event, and for underwriting The
Real Food Show’s 10-school tour this
spring.
The Real Food Show made me laugh,
it changed my food habits (for the better),
and it made me super proud to be a
member of the Community Food Co-op.
Thanks to all concerned. A collaboration
between public schools, a food co-op,
a local circus guild, and two clowns is
just the kind of local event that makes
Bellingham such a great place to live.
Appreciation and respect to all involved.
Cheers,
Adam Ward, Bellingham
Community Food Co-op member-owner

http://www.communityfood.coop/coop/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/WEB-May14-NL.pdf

Thanks Adam, for such an outstandingly rave review!

Work'n with Flip

Wren's been working for his friend Flip since high school. Last year he worked out with him next to Mt. Raineer. He was invited back, and this time, I got to come out and get wet and dirty alongside them. Here is the gorgeous house.

 This is the totem pole Wren fixed.

 Us during the wet, wet day.

 Happy to have some sunshine.

 My main job was the garden area. I re-soiled the heck out of this!

Wren and I ate dinner with the fellas, then stayed in our own sweet little cabin at night. It was all really great.

Easter at Rivers' Moms!

This Easter River invited Wren and I to his Easter party/evening egg hunt. It was great fun. I was part of the egg hiding, and Wren (and many others) was part of the seeking.

 Here is the loot that won Wren (which he then gave to me) a half hour massage from Joanne (River's Mom).

 What a fun and happy Easter!

Painting with KC

My first day working as a painter: April 14, 2014. And I have the pleasure of working with an awesome, fun, nice person, KC Carlson of Island Quality Paint. Here's a photo from the ferry on the way to work.

The view in which we see while we paint on Lummi.

Taping the deck.

 Inside Dirty Dan's Restaurant is KC spraying on a ladder... ladders seem so sketchy and scary... eeep!

Well I'm grateful for the job, it feels like part time work and full time adventure. Yay.

Ruby

I've know Ruby for about 10 years now, and wow, has she really been an inspiration to me. I was attending Western Washington University, and decided to take a bellydance class at the gym. It was Ruby's first teaching class (she since has been traveling the world teaching and performing). We hit it off. She has big heart, big courage, and big fun. Check out her website Big Fun Bellydance. But for now, here are a few of my favorite photos of my wonderful, talented, and hilarious friend, Ruby.

 This last one looked like she was carved out of glass! What an inspiring woman.