AEOE 2004 Statewide Spring Conference: Teaching Outside the Lines Entertainment

"Dancing Outside the Lines"

AEOE Statewide Conference Entertainment

Be prepared this year at the statewide conference for two nights of great music and entertainment! On Friday evening, we have three special bands performing. During registration in the large dining hall, once again the talented Mill Creek Expedition will soothe our ears with their unique variety of acoustic folk and bluegrass. While listening to their music, you can catch up with old and new friends, shop at the Acorn Naturalists table, get books signed by AEOE Keynote Speaker David Abram, and indulge in the dessert bar. Then at 9:00, AEOE favorites, Rhymin’ Reason will be back to entertain and inspire us. This duo of public school teachers in Los Angeles is dedicated to teaching environmental education through music: “For Earth and the Environment—Songs to Live By.” Rich and Tonya Mandl are naturals at encouraging the audience to participate and sing along to their catchy tunes.

Then get ready to dance your stress away to Cubensis, the best Grateful Dead tribute band around. These guys are awesome musicians with a dedicated (“Dead-icated”?) following, a true jam band that “like the Dead…plays a wondrous amalgam of blues, country, jazz, electronic and rock and roll music…No two shows are alike. As with all improvisational rock groups, every Cubensis performance is an ongoing experiment” (from the groovy Cubensis website at www.cubensis.com). Starting around 9:45, Cubensis will keep us dancing late into the night.

Saturday morning after breakfast, Abel Silvas, a Native American/Californio whose ancestry comes from the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians of the Acjachemen Nation, will be part of the official opening of the conference. A professional actor, mime and comedian who studied under Marcel Marceau and who appears in comedy clubs, Mr. Silvas will be performing his Running Grunion show. Based on a character he created, his performance will combine all of his talents for an entertaining interpretation of Native American history, culture and his own heritage.

On Saturday night the action keeps coming. After dinner and the AEOE 50th Anniversary Celebration, we will begin the highly entertaining Skit Contest and Talent Show. The grand stage at Baruh Hall will showcase the thespians that abound in our naturalist ranks – a storehouse of talent, as we all know. Be prepared for this group of zany, spirited, and effusive nature raconteurs to amuse and delight you. Special awards, Acorn Naturalists gift certificates and home-made plaques, will be given to winners in our four categories: Most Humorous, Most Aligned to the Theme, Most Educational, and the grand prize for the Most Spectacular Production. We have always had more groups wanting to perform than time allows, so definitely sign up with Paul Grafton ASAP at . Between performances, the one and only Hoppy will once again entertain you as the auctioneer of some stuff you may really want to buy (so bring your checkbooks!)…and don’t worry, this year the auction will be quick.

After the skit contest/talent show, the Casey Neill Band will rock deep into the night with their unique sound fusing folk, punk, country, traditional Irish, and bluegrass. Grooving to the reels, rhythms, and jigs will help us digest, down into our bones, the larger ideas and themes from the day’s speeches and workshops. Casey is especially excited that it is a “May Day” show. His popularity emerged from the vibrant ecology movement of the early 1990s, where his music inspired many to act on behalf of the natural world. In 1996, according to his awesome website (www.caseyneill.org), he “released his first formal recording Riffraff, which has since sold 6,000 copies and become a cult folk punk classic.” Since then, he has recorded three additional CDs on the Appleseed Label. Most recently, he is featured, along with Ani Difranco, Bonnie Raitt, and Bruce Springsteen on Appleseed’s tribute to Pete Seeger, Where have All the Flowers Gone.

Don’t miss this weekend of fun and inspiration! See you there!

By Michael Charnofsky
Naturalist, L.A. County Outdoor Science School
and
Paul Grafton
Naturalist, The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre

AEOE | Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education in California * updated 3/6/04 1:55 PM *