Well the festival is actually over… This post was drafted after day 2, then edited after day 3 and ready to publish on day 4. Now you are getting it on day 6 of a 5 day festival.  Nice eh?

Day 2

On Day 2 of this year’s Children’s Festival I got to spend the whole day with a couple of great guys in the EPIC Adventure tent.  I had a blast with them and worked with some great volunteers. They had the youth not only help write an epic adventure story but they become the story tellers! I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with a drama teacher who brought a drama class from Londonderry junior high school who had such refreshing views of public education that I actually got a little faith back in our system.

See more about the EPIC Journey here.

I really hope to see this group back next year.  The younger kids walk in excited but watching the 15-year-olds walk into the tent you could just tell that they didn’t want to be there for the most part (and some went to the washroom for most of the show).  By the end you could feel the excitement in the majority of the group that weren’t too cool to stick around.  They got right involved in the story telling and role playing and ended up having a grand time with their hosts.

Day 3

I got to spend the morning back at the Chinese Calligraphy tent again with Stephen and Megan and learned more Chinese characters.  It was such a thrill to spend time with the parents and teachers as they watched their youth light up with excitement at the prospect of learning something new.  The more I spent watching the Chinese Calligraphy activity, the more I want to see it back next year.  It has appeal to such a broad range of youth and encompassed skills and knowledge they will never have the opportunity to gain through the public school system.

In the afternoon I went back to visit an old friend (not that old but someone I have worked with several times in the past few years). Parents, teachers and youth who visit the sound lab and hear Dave teach the kids all about his love of noise are always rewarded with a treat. I met several parents and teachers who were not even aware of what  Foley Artist was.  When youth see the possibilities of what they can do with their life it opens up new doors.  Too many youth today are being Americanized by the idea that they need a post-secondary degree to be a “success” in life.  This is not just untrue, but often the opposite of the truth.

Check out more about Dave Clarke here… and follow him on Facebook…

On a side note, if anyone else out there likes watching the bonus features on their movies, please let me know if you have seen any that talk about the Foley Artists and what they did for the movie.  I know that I have seen some great featurettes but I can’t remember any off the top of my head… and yes, there is a draft of a new post about Netflix coming here as well…