A Prayer for Clowns/The Clown's Prayer

I recently came across an article about Stan Laurel, of "Laurel & Hardy". It was there that I found a wonderful eulogy by Dick Van Dyke, for Stan Laurel, delivered on February 26, 1965. He recited a poem, that he had once found and sent to Laurel in a Christmas Card, and shortly after he sent it Laurel called him to tell him how much he loved it.

I find this poem inspiring and touching for those who are in the world of performance and entertainment. Those who devote their lives to lifting spirits, transporting imaginations, and making the world a little bit more sunny out, and for those who love them, enjoy!

"A Prayer for Clowns"

  

God bless all clowns.
Who star in the world with laughter,
Who ring the rafters with flying jest,
Who make the world spin merry on its way.

God bless all clowns.
So poor the world would be,
Lacking their piquant touch, hilarity,
The belly laughs, the ringing lovely. 

God bless all clowns.
Give them a long good life,
Make bright their way—they're a race apart!
Alchemists most, who turn their hearts' pain,
Into a dazzling jest to lift the heart.
God bless all clowns.

I did some more digging and found another poem, titled "The Clown's Prayer". Unfortunately, I do not know the authors of either of these poems, but I feel fortunate to have found these beautiful words to share with you.

"The Clown's Prayer"

As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more cheer than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.

Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.

Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
make them happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.

And in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
"When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile."

Last night, at the Superior Cafe...

 

Good times at the Superior Cafe, as always! Everyone was there, you know... my Dad, my cousin and her fiance, the dude from the gym, over a dozen lovely fantastic friends, the two men visiting from San Fransisco (who I swore I had met before but couldn't remember their names, but actually had never met them before in my life). Does this ever happen to you? It's happening to me more and more.

There were many new faces as well, and with a full house, they were all a pleasure to perform for.

The atmosphere of this restaurant is awesome. I love the decor, I feel right at home playing in there, and the staff of the Superior Cafe are so welcoming and nice to hang out with - not to mention all looked great in their suspenders :)

The food is scrumptious, and the fun going on in this place shows in the guests of the restaurant. A happy mood is happening inside the Superior Cafe.

I had some fun technical figuring-outings... I have no idea how to turn on an amp, and plug my patch cable in, without blowing everyone's ears out. Someone tell me how, although the amp was a rental and I don't have to bother with it for a while now. So that's always fun. I know the sound is about to come, but no one else does, so it is *a bit* of a surprise to everyone. Oops :S

I don't sell CD's at my gigs, I sell my underwear (hot shorts & boxers), and ohhhh did they sell!! There's always some good button slinging too. Everyone needs a saucy Accordion Girl button! Ah, but yes, I will have my music available for download verrrry soon! Check back with me!

Why yes, this is my Donna Summer outfit! Thank you for asking.

You like?

Never underestimate the power of DISCO!

I LOVE FRED PENNER!!!

Raise your hand if you grew up watching "Fred Penner's Place"! ME!!!

What an absolute thrill to meet Mr. Penner face-to-face. I ran up to him, both of us opening our arms to each other, and we met one another with a great big hug!

At one point, while I was watching the first half of his performance, I got a bit emotional under my massive sunglasses (and again as I wrote this blog). I was getting to see what felt like an old friend, I got to meet one of my first friends from childhood! It is kind of like revisiting your childhood, seeing yourself as a little one again through the excitement of the new generation of little ones. There is something sacred about these moments :-)

For those who don't know, Fred Penner is a Canadian Children's Entertainer, who continues to make a wonderful impact on children with his career, spanning over 30 years now. With his guitar, he sings happy songs like "The Cat Came Back".

Who spent their childhood wondering where this log was? I wanted to crawl through it and find this fun forest!

I have two sides to my performance life. As you can clearly see, I enjoy wearing fishnets, sequins, massive heels, and entertaining adults in a mature manner. This feeds me creatively and is a lot of fun... but there's that side where my heart explodes and I get to laugh and dance around while playing my accordion for children. Performing for kids is pure bliss for me.

The kids were so much fun. They loved my accordion, and I made sure they could play a note or two or three, and see what this instrument is all about. So many buttons! Along with some great little dance parties, we had some pretty good chats too.

I've met many rockers, actors, musicians, performers, entertainers, and Mickey Mouse of course, and it doesn't usually faze me, but Fred Penner had me starstruck. I was at a loss for words. Instead, I found myself staring deep into his kind eyes. I'd love for him to know that I love him, that I love performing for children, that entertaining children is a gift and an honour, that he is such an inspiration to me, and getting to perform on stage with a childhood hero is BEYOND AMAZING!!!

I was invited up to play a few songs, including "The Cat Came Back", and enjoy all the little smiling faces looking up at us.

THANK YOU to the first annual Island Children's Festival for having me, I had such a great time playing for and chatting with all the kids, and THANK YOU Fred Penner for having me on stage and for being so wonderful :-) What a thrill!!!

Music, food and friends :)

 

I finally saw Yann Tiersen on Wednesday, May 9th 2012 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver BC, Canada. I say finally because I have wanted to see him for some time now. He's definitely inspiring to me, and I love his soundtrack work, specifically for the film "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain".

I was living in Orlando FL, USA during his last tour and managed to find out that he performed there the day AFTER the concert happened. It was quite frustrating at the time, as I was hungry for some comfort in what I found creatively wonderful. I did see a few concerts there that were fantastic, but adding him to the list would have been nice. When I got wind of his latest tour I made sure to get a ticket!

 

This tour had him without his accordion, which is disappointing, but no love lost! I can't complain, he had a million pedals to play with, charmed us with his guitars, violin, mandolin, melodica, keyboards and I am a softy for synthesizers. Bring 'em on! Turn those knobs, flip those switches! I love synth!
 

 

The trip over was well over due. I was able to stay with my friend Melissa, have some girly time with her, meet her boyfriend, and have my woolie bedtime socks adored by her cat "Kitty".

I had some silliness with my friend Camiel aka Cammy-Sass-a-frass, did a photo shoot, made new friends at the show, bought some costume pieces...

Ya, I'm not sure what that was about either...

There was a strong presence of foodie-ness. The West Coast is such a great place to eat. We love good food. Mmm! Talking Indian BBQ with my cab driver, recommending restaurants to my concert friends, eating yummy ceviche and drinking good German beer for dinner, scarfing down toast and peanut butter and a green shake for breakfast, having vegan tacos for lunch. YUM!

Music, food and friends! A perfect getaway!

Island Children's Festival!

Families and friends, have a look at this upcoming event I will be performing at!

The first annual Island Children's Festival is all happening on Saturday, May 12th 2012 from 1pm to 5pm at 5575 West Saanich Road (across the street from the Red Barn Market).

Plenty of great activities, food, and performances for everyone to enjoy - including yours truly! My accordion and I will be performing between 2pm and 3:30pm!

Fred Penner will be taking the main stage at 3:30pm, and I am very excited to see him play!

For more information, please visit: www.islandchildrensfestival.com

I hope to see you there!