I arrived in the nick o’time for my Wilmington playground gig, dodging traffic jams on a long drive to town. The local theater company sponsors various artists to come in and do their art on various urban green sites for the kids. With the threat of rain, I decided to go acoustic, set up under a nice tree near the playground and within minutes, several groups of kids showed up, sat on some blankets and I launched in.
In these urban settings, I must seem to be quite an anomaly (I am) so I set out to engage the kids as best I can. It is hard work because the kids don’t know who I am, where I’m coming from and other hurdles. But I enjoy the challenge. In these small groups, I engage with each kids, encourage them to respond, give them shakers of all sorts, get them up, sit them down and basically rattle their brains with my music and presence.
It turned out to be a fine session, with lots of interaction, movement and fun. I got there on time. It never rained. I didn’t have to set up a sound system. And the folks who hired me enjoyed what I had done. Not too shabby for a Tuesday morning in Delaware.