Confetti Park

Tag: french

  • Music Medley: Zeros & Eights

    Music Medley: Zeros & Eights

    Confetti Park: A music medley of children’s music from Louisiana… lots of variety!

    This medley of children’s songs showcases the diversity of Louisiana music. And today’s music medley features songs about frogs, leap frog, the alphabet in French, rocket ships, and more. What a variety from a huge talent pool!

    Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    Cartoon number eight with eyesSuper Frog – Asylum Street Spankers
    Joke of the Day – Zeros and Eights
    Can You Do It? – Imagination Movers
    Leap Frog – Jazzy Ash
    Rayden and Leah – French alphabet
    Hard To Explain – Mr. Michael’s Class from Young Audiences of Louisiana
    Jenny’s Rocket – Ph Fred


    Also included in this episode is a childhood Music Memory from Randy Guynes, and the Storytime feature, Her Royal Majesty, the Superhero Bride of Frankenstein,  by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust.

    About Confetti Park

    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

    The radio program version launched on April 4, 2015 in New Orleans on WHIV FM and is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

    Current broadcast schedule:

    A full list of Confetti Park stations (and a map) is available at https://confettipark.com/podcast/

    Community radio stations, interested in carrying Confetti Park? Contact Katy Ray.

  • Students at Arden Cahill Academy share their love of Louisiana culture

    Students at Arden Cahill Academy share their love of Louisiana culture

    Arden Cahill in the spotlight!

    In this episode of Confetti Park, we meet some of the teachers and students at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna, Louisiana, and hear some of the original poems and essays created by students in the seventh and eighth grades under teachers Nick and Rick Mithun.

    Nick Mithun teaches French, while Rick Mithun teaches history. They are the grandsons of Arden Cahill, the woman who founded the school in 1968 along with her husband, Harry. Currently there are four generations of Cahill family members involved at the school—the youngest just enrolled in the infant center.

    Education rooted in the arts

    Arden Cahill envisioned an early childhood education center rooted in the arts, and rooted in Louisiana French culture,  in a country-like atmosphere. The legacy of her dream is fulfilled today in a twelve-acre campus shaded with oak and cypress trees along Bayou Fatma in Gretna. At the back of campus, there is a country farmyard with animals that children interact with daily, and an equestrian arena with horseback riding lessons. Music, art, and theater classes are core parts of the curriculum, and all children learn French.

    Confetti Park’s Katy Hobgood Ray interviewed Nick and Rick Mithun and some of their students, and gathered their poems about life in Louisiana. Listen

    Thank you to all the teachers and students at Arden Cahill for sharing your great work on Confetti Park! To learn more about this wonderful school in Gretna, Louisiana, and its deep focus on French culture and the arts, visit ardencahillcademy.com

  • Storytime: Childhood in 1920s Cajun country

    Storytime: Childhood in 1920s Cajun country

    Storytime: Childhood in 1920s Cajun Country
    Vignettes from Annie Hardy Calais

    Annie Hardy Calais of Cecilia, La.
    Annie Hardy Calais of Cecilia, La.

    “My name is Annie Hardy Calais. I was born on July 26, 1927… The year of the great flood, the same day as St. Ann, that is the day of her feast.”

    So begins this lovely memoir of Annie Hardy Calais, who shares many true stories of her childhood growing up in Cajun Country in Louisiana.

    Annie, who lives in Cecilia today, was the youngest of 12 children of French descent. Deeply devoted Catholics, the family was large and loving, and the family remains close today. They extend throughout Acadiana.

    Annie shares memories of her beloved mother, her tante (Cajun term for aunt) who lived with them, and the adventures of her brothers and sisters growing up in rural Louisiana in the 1920s and 1930s. One memory brings a chuckle:

    “After our old house was flooded in 1927, the floorboards constricted. The planks were left with big cracks between each. When we looked down at this floor, we could see the chickens, the dogs, and the cats walk past. Mama gave each child a can of corn kernels, to drop the corn through the cracks and feed the chicks. The grandchildren loved it.”

    Annie has a remarkable memory, and clearly has always had a gift for recognizing the beauty in the mundane—even as a small child. Her childhood memories of life in rural Louisiana are endearing and enrich our own understanding of this unique place.

    Thank you, Annie, for sharing your wonderful stories on Confetti Park.