Updates, Updates, Updates

As a follow up to the last long post, the Fine Arts Festival weekend finished up with an interesting development. 

 

We had gone through all of our events on that Saturday and executed pretty darn well.  Everyone enjoyed spending the day when they weren’t on stage going to the rooms where other’s were performing and cheering them on.  A good time was had by all.

 

When we were all assembled for the final ceremony where the awards would be announced, the crew was pretty chatty.  Like any statewide competition where there are rural and metropolitan areas represented, the smaller groups tend to be a little outclassed by the larger organizations.  So our kids didn’t have a great deal invested in the announcements, feeling themselves the resident underdogs.

 

And for a long while this was the case.  Event after Event, honor after honor when to the powerhouse groups.  And there seemed to be no regret, no tears, no agony.  They honorees were wished well with honest applause and on to the next announcement.  That was until they came to the sign language event.  In this even a person or group of people learn the sign language interpretation to a song and then attempt to perform that song in sign with all the emotion contained in the singer’s (on CD) delivery.  Facial and body expression as well as stage presence are very important here. 

 

My daughter and her best friend from down the street, who she’s known since we moved here eight years ago, had worked up a song for this event mostly on their own.  They went on the Internet and found video’s of signing for words in the song, and then practiced in our basement for a few weeks, only getting pointer help from the sign language person in our church after they’d gotten it all pretty well together.  This person had directed the other sign language team going from our church, and was impressed at what these two girls had worked up basically by themselves.

 

As we sat there in the crowd, partially distracted by all the goings on around us with the other groups there, the MC announced that the next event awards would be for the Sign Language Group event.  The announcer told how this years top award was a bit unusual, because try as they might, they couldn’t solve a scoring issue that produced a TIE.   And both of the top honors in this event went to----both entries from OUR LITTLE CHURCH!

 

My daughter was so taken off guard that she started clapping and then realized, “Hey! That’s me!”

 

What this means is that they are invited to attend and perform at the national event in August.  In Orlando.

 

Kitten and I had talked beforehand about how difficult it would be to get people from the group down there because of the expense.  I wanted to prepare her so that in case they did get an invite it wouldn’t rain on her parade when we couldn’t make the trip.   But things changed with that award. 

 

You see, Kitten has been getting honors for years from Speech Meets, singing things, even a Math award for an event she hadn’t even realized she was entered in through school.  But her friend. . .the minute they made the announcement, tears started streaming down her face.  It was a mountain top moment.  She told us later how this was the first thing she had ever won in her life.  And I didn’t realize it till then, but all these years she’s watched my daughter bring home trophies and certificates and ribbons, she never expressed a moments resentment or even visible disappointment.  She always was excited for Kitten, and was ever supportive.  Now this was a new moment for her, and the two of them were doing it together.  I don’t think she stopped shaking from excitement till we were halfway home.

 

Right then my summer plans changed.  I determined I was going to get those two girls to Florida any way I could.

 

So, our next adventure is going to be on EBay.

 

This all came after Kitten didn’t get cast in the Spring play, so it was a good distraction for her, too.  But she is going to work on the lighting crew, and she was even asked to run the follow spot for prom, she informed me today.

 

In other news, I found out this week we’re getting an APPLE STORE!  Yes, I did do a happy dance when I found out.  Thanks for asking.  It probably won’t be built till later this year or early next, but it’s coming. 

 

Spring has just been full of surprises.