Skip to main content

Big Kids Little Kids


 

Dan and Claudia Zanes


We were there for it, as the young folks say, from the moment the announcement was made and we snapped up our tickets.



@macsmom (yes, that's me)  Just booked my tickets to see @danzanes and @claudiazanes at the Chrysalis! So excited! The Chrysalis Kids series is back at @InARTrust !

Bonus: getting a retweet from Dan Zanes himself.

I first learned about Dan Zanes from an interview on Public Radio, around the time that his Parades and Panoramas CD was released. I went home and told my husband how cool he was. We bought the CD and were immediately hooked. From there it was a quick jump to his kid-centric, all ages music - - we did have a young daughter at the time. And, of course, I taught preschool music. 

Songs like Jump Up, Mairi’s Wedding, All Around the Kitchen, Wonder Wheel, Catch That Train, and so many more became frequent companions in our lives. Good friends, even. When I began doing my kid’s dance parties at the Chrysalis, one song in particular always made an appearance. Yesterday, before the Dan and Claudia Zanes concert, I wrote:

The song that always indicates that my kids dance parties at the Chrysalis are beginning is: “Hello, Hello” by Dan Zanes. Today *he’ll* be on the Chrysalis stage. 

Maybe he’ll sing it.

They didn’t sing it, and that was just fine, because they opened with a newer song inspired by the life of John Lewis, “Let Love Be Your Guide.” They invited the audience to join in the singing. 

There’s something I must tell you now

Let love be your guide

The longing of the human heart knows how to 

Let love be your guide


I stood among you and I knew

Let love be your guide

It was clear what you were here to do

Let love be your guide


Be your guide when you’re weary

Be your guide when you’re unsure

The winds of change are on your side

Let love be your guide


History tells us this is not new

Let love be your guide

Yesterday’s lessons still hold true

Let love be your guide


The nightmare it was deep and long

Let love be your guide

Now the wind is troubled with the sweetest song

Let love be your guide


I may not be with you when the day is done

Let love be your guide

But I know you’ll be marching ’til the peace is won

Let love be your guide

- - Dan and Claudia Zanes 

Dan and Claudia are a perfectly balanced duo. Their musical collaboration is brilliant and joyous. You feel their love of music and for doing what they do. They speak to children and families with humor, warmth and respect. 

Yesterday I sang, danced, learned some hand motions, and some American Sign Language. I clapped, and tapped, and engaged in one of my favorite past times : watching children dancing on the lawn.




Thank you to Nina Basu of the Inner Arbor Trust and to all the folks at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods for making this free concert happen for kids in our community. 

And for me. After all these years I’m a still kid at heart. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more