Confetti Park Children's Workshop

Tag: children

  • Music Medley: Pelican’s Bill

    Brown_PelicanConfetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

    This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

     

    The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

     

  • Storytime: Kyser the Singing Schnauzer by Tommie Townsley

    Storytime: Kyser the Singing Schnauzer by Tommie Townsley

    kyser-the-singing-schnauzerMeet Kyser, a dog who loves to sing! Author Tommie Townsley of Lake Charles, La., narrates this fun tale written in rhyme, inspired by her own dear pet. Apparently, the real-life Kyser really can sing!

    The picture book is available through Tommie’s company, Kid’s Kajun Tales and Ally-Gator Book Bites. Written for 3-6 year olds, it is written in rhyme and rhythm.

    Kyser says, “Sing along with me, and you will see, it is so much fun, and when you are done—YOU CAN READ!”

  • How to talk to your kids about human trafficking, by Stephanie Hepburn

    Conversation With My Daughter About Human Trafficking
    Conversation With My Daughter About Human Trafficking by Stephanie Hepburn

    This is a special edition of Confetti Park.

    Stephanie Hepburn is a writer living in Louisiana. She is a weekly and monthly contributing writer to the New Orleans Times-Picayune and regularly contributes to other news outlets. Her most recent book, Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight, was released by Columbia University Press in June 2013.

    Stephanie is an advocate for her fellow human beings, and works to help others not only through journalism, but also through activism and entrepreneurism. She recently founded Good Cloth, an ethical online clothing shop, as her way to make change in the garment industry and spread awareness on the topic of labor exploitation in a positive way.

    Stephanie is the mother of two children, and has given much thought to how to talk about the difficult topic of human trafficking with kids.

    We want to believe that trafficking can’t happen where we live, but it can and it does because it happens everywhere. Traffickers go to the same places we do, I tell her. They go where there are a lot of people like malls, schools, buses and train stations, and they use Facebook and other Internet sites to try to meet the people they will hurt. They can use classmates at school to recruit and find people to traffic. My daughter is little and this seems unreal, but it happens and we need to talk about it.

    Stephanie has created this piece, Conversation With My Daughter About Human Trafficking, for Confetti Park (it also appeared in Huffington Post). You can download the eBook for free this week from Amazon.com.

    If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center toll-free at 1-888-373-7888.

  • Music Medley: Trains and Sheep

    train on chalkConfetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    Choo Choo Boogaloo – Buckwheat Zydeco
    Choctaw Choo Choo – Confetti Park Players
    Big Brown Cow – PH Fred
    Ice Cream – George Lewis’ Ragtime Band
    Music Memory Ben Schenk
    Pig Latin Song – Leadbelly
    La chanson ee cinquante Sous – Michael “Beausoliel” Doucet With Family & Friends
    You Are My Sunshine – Confetti Park Players
    Circle Of Life – Johnette Downing

  • Music Medley: Nacho Cheese & Snoballs

    Photo by Lara Cerri via Flickr Creative Commons
    Photo by Lara Cerri via Flickr Creative Commons

    Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    I Love Nachos – Philip Melancon
    A Tisket-A Tasket – The Swing Setters
    Song of a Creole Slave – Terrance Simien
    Les Tils Yeaux Noirs – Nancy Tabb Marcantel
    Music Memory – Rockin Dopsie Jr
    Joyeaux – Lee Benoit
    The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog – Don Abney and his Catahoulas
    Snoball Chant – Confetti Park Players
    Snoball – Katy Ray

    The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

    Subscribe on iTunes

  • Interview: Jayna Morgan & the Swing Setters swing kids music

    Interview: Jayna Morgan & the Swing Setters swing kids music

    The New Orleans-based jazz band the Swing Setters play kids music!
    The New Orleans-based jazz band the Swing Setters play kids music!

    In this episode of Confetti Park, Katy Ray interviews jazz vocalist Jayna Morgan about her newest New Orleans band, the Swing Setters, a fun, energetic group that plays kids music jazz-style!

    (Is this a great name for a jazz band that plays kids music, or what?!)

    The Swing Setters truly fill a void in the New Orleans live music scene with their polished treatment of classic American songs, folk songs, and Disney favorites that kids love.

    Says Morgan, “There’s not many jazz bands in New Orleans that play children’s music…we were trying to think of names of other people in New Orleans that have a great personality [that aren’t grumpy!], very affable with children, who wouldn’t mind being silly once in a while!”

    The band is comprised of professional jazz musicians including Morgan on the vocals, Alex Owen on trumpet, Greg Agid on clarinet and saxophone, David Phy on trombone, Ted Long on guitar, Joe Kennedy on piano, Alan Broome on bass, and Gerald French on drums. 

    insert-front_swingsettersThe band recently released their first CD, called Swingin’ at the Playground, available for purchase online at http://11thcommandmentrecords.com/store/ This podcast includes several previews of songs from that record, including “Look for the Silver Lining,” “The Glow Worm,” “This Old Man,” and “A-Tisket A-Tasket.”

     

  • Have you seen the Okra Man?

    Have you seen the Okra Man?

    Photo of Mr. Okra by Miranda H., via Flickr Creative Commons
    Photo of Mr. Okra via Flickr Creative Commons

    Have you seen the Okra Man around New Orleans?

    Mr. Okra is a fruit and vegetable vendor who travels the city of New Orleans vending from his truck. His unmistakable call over his P.A. system—“I have cantaloupes! I have tomatoes!”—can be heard from blocks away, and people await him on their front porches so they can buy their fresh produce for the week. Learn all about Mr. Okra in this article by Ian McNulty for New Orleans Magazine.

    The Confetti Park Players are so delighted to feature Mr. Okra on a song on their CD, We’re Going to Confetti Park. More info at confettipark.com/music

    This is a traditional adapted by Katy Hobgood Ray and Arthur Robinson (Mr. Okra). The song was produced by Katy and Matt Aguiluz and recorded at Marigny Recording Studio in New Orleans.

    Featuring: Scott Albert Johnson, harmonica; Arthur Robinson, vocals; David Rosser, guitar. Kids chorus: Lily Bell, Luna Bell, Elisa McDonald, Charleston McLean, Millie Moffett, Hrilina Ramrakhiani, Sadie Strong, and Virginia Strong.

    The Confetti Park Players is an all-ages children’s choir in New Orleans, Louisiana. Our home base is in Algiers, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Led by songwriter Katy Hobgood Ray, the Confetti Park Players meet weekly to sing, make rhythms, learn traditional New Orleans songs, and practice the craft of songwriting. The songs we sing are a mixture of fun and whimsical originals by contemporary Louisiana songwriters, classic folk songs, nursery rhymes, jump rope jingles, fairy tales, and natural lore.

    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.
    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.

     

  • Music Medley: Crawfish Time

    Music Medley: Crawfish Time

    Photo of crawfish by Sally Asher
    Photo of crawfish by Sally Asher

    Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana. This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

  • Interview: How Jeremy Lyons started singing to kids

    In this episode of Confetti Park, Katy Ray interviews Jeremy Lyons about how he started playing for kids and what kinds of songs he plays. Jeremy also discusses how much he enjoys the curiosity and interest of little human beings in music.

    geeseandJeremyJeremy Lyons began his musical career playing in a washboard band on the streets of the French Quarter in the early 1990s. He played in several bands, most notably Jeremy Lyons and the Deltabilly Boys, a group that blended the sounds of rockabilly and New Orleans R&B with Piedmont-style fingerpicking and surf guitar.

    In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Jeremy and his family (who had evacuated to Baton Rouge to be with his grandparents) lost most of their possessions when their house flooded. He has since permanently relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.

    That’s where Jeremy started playing kids music, using his style he dubs ‘DeltaSilly.’ He now has two CDs for children, Music for Kids and Silly Goose Music.

    As a music buff, Jeremy likes to draw from folk songs and the early popular music of America, and he shares fun music history with his little listeners. Jeremy offers a special in-studio performance for Confetti Park—he plays the Woody Guthrie song “Mail Myself to You.”

     

  • Storytime: Lousy Liver by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust

    Storytime: Lousy Liver by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust

    Lousy Liver coverCharlie is hungry. He simply can’t wait. What will his dear mother put on his plate? Charlie picks up his fork and stops in midair. Oh, no! On his plate! What is THAT sitting there?”

    Lousy Liver is an award-winning, deliciously whimsical tale that follows the imagination of a young boy as he devises one wild plan after another to help him avoid the “lousy liver” being served for dinner. Soon, Charlie discovers that something different isn’t always something bad. Buy on Amazon.com


    This cute story is narrated by the author, Melinda Taliancich Falgoust, of New Orleans. In addition to being a published author of several books for kids and adults, Melinda is a mom, a Navy veteran, a teacher of drama to young children, and an actor who performs on stage and screen. Learn more about her work on her website.

  • Music Medley: Songs of Donuts & Brains

    Glazed-DonutWelcome to Confetti Park,  a magical playground of music and stories for kids everywhere. What’s unique about these songs, and these stories, is that they all come from Louisiana. This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    • If I Only Had a Brain – Paul Sanchez
    • Buckwheat Zydeco – Skip to My Lou
    • Sue – Michael Doucet
    • A Long Time to Come, performed by PH Fred and Friends
    • Floating in a Donut Hole – Philip Melancon
    • Buttermilk Drop – Confetti Park Players
    • Baby You Wait on Your Mama – Alan Dyson
    • Music Memory: Jason Rhein
    • Renaissance Cadienne – J’ai du bon Tabac
    • Storytime: Why the Possum has a Large Grin – Johnette Downing

    Confetti Park current broadcast schedule:

  • Music Medley “Baby Astronaut”

    Baby AstronautConfetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

    This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians.

    Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    • Jack & Jill – Wardell Quezergue
    • Cool Man – Los Po-boy-citos
    • Jenny Had a Rocket – PH Fred
    • Dancing on the Moon – Confetti  Park Players
    • Radio Controlled Airplanes – Jimmy Cousins
    • Airplane – Confetti  Park Players
    • Red Bird – Leadbelly
    • Five Little Butterflies – Johnette Downing