One of my favorite songs performed by the Confetti Park Players is “Polly Wolly Wee,” a.k.a. “The Frog Song.” You can hear the song on our first album, and now, you can watch an adorable stop-motion animated music video created by the kids! This was made at the wonderful Mini Art Center in Algiers Point.
I first heard this cute folk song on a Lead Belly recording. Lead Belly is an important musical influence in my life. I grew up in Shreveport where there is a statue of Huddie Ledbetter standing in front of the public library downtown on Texas Street. I’m part of a group of Louisiana musicians who gather around his grave every October to sing his songs. This October 2017 will be the 25th year we hold our informal gathering!!! (I joined up around 2000.)
Lead Belly started singing to children later in his career, so of course I have plumbed his recordings since I myself have become a children’s musician. I have listened to a lot of Lead Belly, but I think I love the Smithsonian Folkways compilation Lead Belly Sings for Children most. His version of “Polly Wolly Wee” has such a pleasant vibe to it. When Lead Belly sings it, he does not have call and response on it, but that’s what the song creates…. I just can’t help but respond to him and I’ve had a good time re-creating it with the Confetti Park Players!!!
The cover story for this issue is on Dav Pilkey, author of the beloved Adventures of Captain Underpants series, one of the most popular series of books written for elementary-school aged children. There is also a profile on children’s author and illustrator Liz Pichon, creator of the popular Tom Gates series, and on Linda Dennis, founder of the Team Backpack Journalists program.
The article on Katy was written by Melissa Fales.
“As the host and producer of the New Orleans-based Confetti Park children’s radio show and director of the Confetti Park Players children’s chorus, Katy Hobgood Ray pays homage to the music and culture of her beloved home state of Louisiana. Both projects allow Ray to share her vast musical knowledge and songwriting talent with children and adults alike.”
Thank you so much for the wonderful support, to writer Melissa and to Editor-in-Chief, Cristy Bertini!
Story Monsters Ink is a free, subscription-based magazine that gives parents and educators the latest news about award-winning and debut books, profiles on both renowned and newly published authors, upcoming book events, author presentations and more.
The Confetti Park Players had their New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival debut on Saturday, April 23, 2016. And it was wonderful. But there were a few curve balls….
The Confetti Park Players is a children’s chorus based in Algiers Point. We like to do fun, interesting collaborations with New Orleans musicians. We have been doing live performances since October 2014—our first public performance was at Charles Gillam’s Folk Art Fest in Algiers. Since then, we have performed at churches, nursing homes, parties, Euclid Records and Louisiana Music Factory, and French Quarter Festival! We’ve recorded at real recording studios (Marigny Recording Studio and Word of Mouth) and filmed music videos with pirates. Our debut CD came out in November 2015 (and won a Parents’ Choice Award!). Playing Jazz Fest is our latest exciting milestone.
Preparing for stage performance in a blue box
The kids are amazing, and have been working so hard learning all the songs, choreographing dances, and brainstorming fun props. For months, we have been prepping for stage performance by practicing inside a box created by blue painters tape. The adult musicians started practicing with us throughout the month of April. We were ready—and as a special treat, I had (months ago) reserved a party bus to carry us from the West Bank to the Jazz Fest gates for the big day. Everything was ready to go….
Friday—the day before the festival—I get a call from our dear bass player. He’s just been diagnosed with pneumonia! Oh no! We love our bass player, who’s a talented resident of Algiers. But time to scramble. Swooping in to save the day was Greg Schatz—a real pro and a friend to the Confetti Park Players. Greg plays all over our CD and even wrote one of our biggest crowd-pleasers, “Watch Out for the Pirates.” So the night before the fest, Greg and I learned all the songs together. Whew! Crisis averted.
On Saturday, all the kids, parent chaperones, and West Bank musicians were to meet at 9 a.m. at a local church, where the party bus would pick us up. At 8:30 a.m, I get a phone call from the bus driver. His bus is broken down on Claiborne Avenue.
Nothing to do but call all the parents (of 20 kids!) and tell them to find their own way to Jazz Fest. No point in wringing hands. I will admit that my heart was beating very hard and fast for long periods of time that morning, as I made all the necessary phone calls. But I really have some cool, laid-back and adaptive parents. They quickly coordinated among themselves to form carpools and hail cabs to the fest. We all met outside the gates and walked in as a mob. Thank you to those gatekeepers for being so flexible with us, as we were supposed to be on a bus, not on foot!
Confetti Park Players are a staff pick at the Jazz Fest CD tent
All that stress made the performance itself a breeze. The sound guys at the kids’ tent were great. The staff were kind and helpful and supportive. Everyone at Jazz Fest was truly excellent to work with. We had a terrific band in David Rosser (guitar), Dylan Field Turner (drums), Greg Schatz (bass), Mike Kaufmann (piano), Jim Thornton (trumpet), and Dr. Sick (musical saw, fiddle, toy piano and more toys). The most stressful thing about the show was making sure that every single kid in the audience got a pirate tattoo and a feufollet light…Our parents helped pass out the goodies.
Bonus surprise: the staff at the Right Place Rhythmporium made us a Staff Pick that day!
The fest would have been unforgettable no matter what. Now, we have a fun story to tell about it, too. We sure hope we get asked back to Jazz Fest next year—it was a blast!
Next up, the Confetti Park Players are playing at Bayou Boogaloo on May 22 and the Creole Tomato Festival on June 11. More events at https://confettipark.com/events/
We love a baseball tee, and we love the Confetti Park Players!
Show your support for your favorite little singer and your favorite neighborhood kids chorus, and order an official Confetti Park Players baseball tee. The cost is $20. Order
All proceeds from the sale of this shirt will fund a kid’s shirt (all singers get one free) and the remainder of proceeds will fund Confetti Park Players activities such as studio recording sessions, video shoots, field trips, and regular choir activities (crafts, instruments, etc.).
We love a baseball tee, and we love the Confetti Park Players!
