A wonderfully busy day in the middle of June, with an early am gig in CT and a late pm gig in Bethlehem, with an expanse of audiences as well. I hit the road at 6 am for New Haven and a very nice, and prestigious gig kicking off the the New Haven International Festival of Ideas with a Dino Brunch for the families of donors and festival benefactors at the Omni Hotel in downtown New Haven. I roamed the tables playing for families, and later moved to the side with my bag o’ instruments, mixing it up with the kids. Then came the dinosaur…..
An Australian outfit features a life-sized ‘puppet’ dino raptor, a one-man contraption with sophisticated skin, sound, interaction capabilities that took the room by storm. 15 feet long and wonderfully animated, the dino roamed the room to the delight of the families and kids. I took the opportunity to eat from the breakfast buffet…..
I was only contracted to play til the dino came in, but several kids seemed intent on resuming our music playing, so I did. Very nice. One of the directors came over and complimented my ‘gift’ to engage the kids, and we tossed back and forth the new science of ‘teaching artists’, brain and art connections, etc. It was nice to be recognized for what comes naturally to me.
It was a long trip to New Haven and back but definitely worth the trip. I’ll feel 95 lag, but have some time to recover before tonight.
A prestigious festival that invited me back, and I served them well. good.