kindiefest – industry portion!

While I have a difficult time thinking of myself as an “industry” person, the girls and I headed up to Brooklyn last weekend for the whole of kindiefest. What an amazing experience we had! I loved catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones too. The girls, Chloe in particular, were happy to be smack dab in the midst of so many of their kindie rock heroes…made even better by the fact that so many of them were staying in the same hotel!

We pitched in to help where we could and to welcome folks arriving at the Friday night session. Dan Zanes blew bubbles for Chloe and the few other kiddos who were around, stopping only when it was time for him to take the stage to give his (amazing) keynote. Everyone came away with things to think about and ways to make their musical reach even more profound.

Saturday’s sessions were so informative that Camille preferred to listen and learn instead of playing on her DS….if you haven’t yet, order a DVD here. You won’t be disappointed. Chloe did play on her DS after giving Ralph a huge hug. But she also was the recipient of secretly passed notes from Texas’s state musician Sara Hickman! Chloe invited herself out to lunch with some of her favorite people and kept them entertained. She is still carrying ScribbleJayne’s calculator in her pocket a week later.

We watched the making of the TIME Magazine video “Justin Roberts, Kindie Rocker”, declining to participate….we love Justin and I didn’t want to come across as the babbling fool that I often am …. Robbie Schaefer said exactly what I would want to say, but in a much more eloquent way.

We loved the showcase…so much talent and so much fun for everyone! I was in pain, so I didn’t take as many photos or videos as usual, but there’s lots of great stuff out there on the web already…start with Zooglobble‘s postings, but I’ll put more links up as I start aggregating again in a few days.

Thanks to the organizers and to everyone who participated. Let the group hug carry you through the next year and inspire you to “own your stuff”!