Reflecting Back on the Summer Reading Fun of 2014

Science – Fizz, Boom, Read!

Summer time, I head up to Central New York to visit some of my favorite libraries bringing  programs of dinosaurs and dragons, the mythology of outer space, star tales and moon magic, guitar music and just plain fun.

This tradition began about 10 years ago, when Amanda Briggs – the wonderfully inventive children’s librarian in Waterville, NY – emailed me a request to come to five libraries in the Midyork Library System. I replied "yes, of course - that sounds fun," and ever since I have journeyed up to the beautiful towns and friendly people along the Erie Canal and the Fingerlakes.

What a different experience than my usual NYC patch! Instead of subways and crowded streets with taxis, busses and cars, there are long stretches of country roads, miles of farmlands and small towns dotting the landscape. Even the cities of Utica, Syracuse and Ithaca seem almost bucolic. 

Great community is found in smaller town libraries. Children of all ages - babies to teens -  are mixed with attentive adults  listen together, and everyone is ready to participate. People stay afterwards to talk and to tell you what they liked best, or tell you a story of their own.

Plus…  Have you ever tasted chicken riggies? Or Hofmann hot dogs?  How about Stewart’s ice cream? Michael’s is my favorite restaurant, along with Dinosaur BBQ, Moosewood Café and some great homemade ice cream stands and pizza good enough to impress this Brooklyn girl. For the uninitiated into the glories of upstate NY food, there are some links below.

Thanks for a great summer!  I will be seeing you in Utica and Homer this fall!

P.S.

Here are some of the wonderful libraries and fabulous librarians (plus associates) I have visited with this summer:

Peck Memorial Library, Marathon, NY – Mary Frank

Dewitt Community Library, DeWitt, NY – Jennifer Burke

Maxwell Memorial Library, Camillus, NY – Rose Burdick plus associate

Waverly Free Library, Waverly, NY – Rachel Lee

Frank J. Basloe Library, Herkimer, NY -  Nancy Stowell

Waterville Public Library, Waterville, NY – Jill Getman, Jeff Reynolds, Amanda Briggs and Amanda’s mother

Ilion Public Library, Ilion, NY – Thomasine Jennings

Newfield Public Library, Newfield NY – Tammy Kubinec

Onadaga Free Library, Syracuse, NY – Bette Tucker

P.P.S.
Here are the links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_riggies

http://www.hofmannhotdogs.com

http://www.stewartsshops.com

http://michaelsfoodandspirits.com

http://rocstarfoods.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ice-Cream-Station/114552541893587

The BADYHouseStorytellingConcerts

"I wish I were...homeward bound."

(Simon and Garfunkel, "Homeward Bound")

It has been a long while since I have blogged, so welcome back, dear reader!

For nearly a year, I have been holding house concerts in my living room.

"What's a house concert?" you might ask.

"Ah, my dearie, it is a performance held in a house!" I reply.

Very cozy, very intimate - there are between 8 to 26 people in the audience - I invite three or four performers to be part of  each show.  Each has a 1/2 hour to tell or sing longer pieces of work than they usually have the opportunity to work with. The audience gets to be part of the process.

Why am I doing this?  Well, I have many out of town friends who want to "perform in NYC"  which  is, of course, more easily said than done.  Ever solution minded, I created a venue in the easiest place possible, my home.  All I had to do was to vacuum the living room, clean the bathroom and bake some of my soon-to-be-famous array of homemade cookies.  I gave the venue a moniker which said it all - BADYHouseStorytellingConcerts.

Plus I had an idea I wanted to experiment with - mixing older-style storytellers with modern storytelling. It would broaden  the appeal and reach of the concerts, so I invited some NYC storytellers to share the stage with our outta towners. Let the networking begin!

So far, pretty amazingly amazing!  I have been impressed by the performers and the audiences  as well as with the appreciation of the storytellers for more time to tell longer tales.  I am less impressed by the vacuuming.  But I do love making stuff happen, especially when that stuff involves creating a space for strong performance.

There is not much money made here, not yet. The price is a $10 donation per person, and that goes to the performers.  I ask for donations to cover the cost of the wine. Last show was the first time I made a little money (thanks Tommy Pryor.)  I have been told that this can  be monetized.  It has been suggested I charge more money. Working on that.

What is occurring is remarkable, as the house concert provides a very different venue than the places adult storytelling is usually situated in, at least in my city - bars, coffee places, Off Off Broadway spaces. The intimacy, the opportunity for close back and forth, the shared commitment of audience and performer to the art being made is keenly felt.  The level of performance has been remarkable.  The dates are loose, the booking is usually a few weeks or month ahead when I know when someone is "coming into NYC."  Last show two very strong performers came in at the last moment when a show was cancelled to snow and we lost two performers when we rescheduled.  It was a fabulous show.

Perhaps this type of venue is closer to the way it "used to be." Perhaps this is just another way to share art. Perhaps this is a way performers can get more control over their work.  Perhaps this could be a beginning of a house concert chain across the country. Wouldn't that be great?

I have outta towners coming in through June, so the BHSC continues through then.  Summer break?  Not sure.  But as of this very moment,  I plan on resuming in fall if I am not out of town myself.

Thanks for waiting for and reading this post.  Please let me know what you think or if you have any ideas.