Full house of smiles today at Ellington’s Music & Café! It was a very good day that just kept getting better. I lost count at 8 kids; a few were behind my camera when I took this photo…
Almost every chair was filled and the floor was crowded. The red & yellow ukuleles were passed around, never touching the ground. The shakers & hand drums were a toddlers’ symphony. The teddy bears got hugs, kisses and chair rides.
The goosebump poet returned, and yes, I got goosebumps again…from a poem about a dragon. Then The United Jesters made a comeback with an enjoyable and sharpened act that included some surprisingly funny improvised jokes. The rappers also returned and delivered their performance with confidence, grace and wit, and with a groove that had the crowd clapping along and dancing in their chairs.
After each of their performances, I took the mic and interviewed the poet, the Jesters, and the rappers. I asked them questions about their performances, and I also told them what I thought; some might call it praise. I didn’t mean to make them blush! The applause raised the roof, and I could see the way it made them stand taller.
A preschooler duo rehearsed for 10 minutes on ukuleles, but one of them got stage fright at the last minute. I asked the other boy if he’d like to perform alone, and in a heartbeat he said, “Okay!” and ran to the stage. The whole room cheered. He performed ABC solo (with his mommy and baby brother at his side). Then his friend joined him at the piano and strummed along while the first boy sang a song about how Halloween is “scary, scary, scaaaary!” It was just a bit cuter than you might imagine.
Then I asked the other boy if he was ready to take a turn singing into the microphone. He leaned right into the mic and said, quite confidently, “No.” That was one of the biggest laughs of the day!
I sang ABC/Twinkle/Baa to a mosh pit of bouncing toddlers and drooling babies. Some of them couldn’t stop moving, while others sat perfectly still and listened with the widest eyes I’ve ever seen. There are many happy feelings to be found in moments like those.
How could such a good day get better? Well, in turn, as each family was leaving, they smiled, waved, and said, “See you next time!”
Maia Waern
Sunday, October 19, 2014