Confetti Park Children's Workshop

Tag: indiegogo

  • Candy Land Ball books are being printed

    Candy Land Ball books are being printed

    Katy reads the proof of her new children's book, Candy Land Ball
    Katy reads the proof of her new children’s book, Candy Land Ball

    Friends!!!! We did it! Thank you so much! This morning I reached 100% of my goal to create my newest children’s book, Candy Land Ball. I am so grateful to all of you for your support.

    A few weeks ago, I received the proof for the book. They look great! The first shipment of Candy Land Ball books should be arriving any day, and I am having a wonderful time building gifts for the various perks my contributors selected. Everything is on track to be shipped out by the first week of December.

    I am so delighted that this book has come to life. It’s originally a song I wrote about the wonderful, magical kid’s ball sponsored by Confetti Kids, a neighborhood nonprofit organization that supports children’s parks and programming. The actual Confetti Park that inspired all of my daydreamy orchestrations for this website, radio show and podcast is the first park created by Confetti Kids!

    I’ve been volunteering for this organization for four years. So many of the children I teach in choir, and who play with my son, Louis, are children of Confetti Kids. I love this group, the parents I volunteer with, and the community we are building.

    I’m excited to have this book as a permanent dedication to this sweet moment in time, and I’m donating 10% of all transactions from the Indiegogo campaign to Confetti Kids, to go toward more park development for our community.

    Again, thank you for everything.
    Katy  

  • Update on Indiegogo: Candy Land Ball over 67%

    Update on Indiegogo: Candy Land Ball over 67%

    Thank you sweet friends, a scene from Candy Land BallHi everyone! I am so delighted to report that I have just hit the $2K mark, and am 67% toward my goal for my Indiegogo campaign for my new children’s book, the Candy Land Ball! I am so grateful to the supporters who are making this book a reality. I sincerely hope you are delighted with book, the music, and any other perks you treat yourself to via this campaign!

    Sharing this campaign is the next step to making it a success, and I hope you consider sharing the news about the book with your friends and family, young readers and budding musicians. I hope people agree the packages I put together will make wonderful holiday gifts.

    The link to share is https://igg.me/at/candylandball/x/11554329

     

  • Update on Indiegogo: A tribute to Charles K. Harris, the “King Of The Tear Jerker”

    Update on Indiegogo: A tribute to Charles K. Harris, the “King Of The Tear Jerker”

    I am pre-selling my new children’s book and song, Candy Land Ball, on Indiegogo. Please consider supporting my campaign at https://igg.me/at/candylandball/x/11554329. Lots of wonderful packages available! Here is an update from the campaign. 

     

    Sheet music for After the Ball
    Sheet music for “After the Ball” by Charles K. Harris

    My song “Candy Land Ball” is definitely not a tear jerker, but it was inspired by one….  I wanted to write a song about the sweetest and most magical children’s ball ever (it’s an annual event hosted by Confetti Kids, Inc. in my New Orleans neighborhood). Of COURSE, it had to be a waltz!

    I have always loved ballroom dancing scenes in old movies, and waltzes are a staple of every ball. There are so many gorgeous waltzes, but one that always stands out to me for its fabulous backstory is Charles K. Harris’ “After the Ball.” This is probably the first mega-hit in American music sales….. and it was before recording!

    The show debuted at a traveling theater road show in 1892. Charles K. Harris, who couldn’t seem to break into the world of publishing in a traditional manner, decided to pay a singer to perform it on stage. The story goes that after the song was sung, the audience sat in shocked, weeping silence. Then, they leapt to their feet as one and gave a thunderous five-minute long ovation. The singer had to encore the chorus six more times! (Read America’s Musical Life: A History, by Richard Crawford.)

    The sheet music for the song “After the Ball”  sold in excess of five million copies in the 1890s!

    Here is Charles K. Harris himself, performing the sad song about an old man who is informing his young niece about why he never married… for his heart was broken when he saw his sweetheart kissing another at a ball. He spurned her. Many years later, after she had died, he learned that the man she had kissed was her own brother, and the kiss had been an innocent token of affection.

    Such drama!

    My song, “Candy Land Ball,” is not so sad, but I love the idea of the twist at the end, and so I merged the idea of a ballroom scene, a waltz, and a surprise ending for the very innocent “Candy Land Ball.” This is my tribute to Charles K. Harris.

    – Katy

  • Update on Indiegogo: Candy Land Ball over 30%

    Update on Indiegogo: Candy Land Ball over 30%

    I am pre-selling my new children’s book and song, Candy Land Ball, on Indiegogo. Please consider supporting my campaign at https://igg.me/at/candylandball/x/11554329. Lots of wonderful packages available! Here is an update from the campaign. 

    A Candy Land thank youYou guys! THANK YOU! One week in, and I am already over $1000 and over 30% of the way toward my goal! I am so very appreciative of your support. The book will soon be in your hands, and I hope that it makes people happy and feel warm and fuzzy… it’s just perfect for the holiday season.

    I have lots of fun back story to share with you about this song and book.

    I want to say who is playing on the song version—every single copy of the book will come with a download code for the song. I am indebted to the following amazing musicians who are featured on this recording:

    Tom McDermott, piano; Michelle Nelson, background vocals; Rick G. Nelson, strings; Matthew Perrine, tuba. Kids chorus: Elisa McDonald, Charleston McLean, and Hrilina Ramrakhiani.

    And, I must give a shoutout to my wonderful mom Janet Hobgood and friend Ted Lindsay, who brainstormed with me on piano while writing this music and crafting the fun lyrics, and to my beautiful cousin Emily Zeisler for transcribing the piano music which is included in this book.

    The Candy Land Ball is a family affair!!!

    – Katy