Harping...

My big girl plays the harp.

About a year ago, she got a real harp...which made her a very happy harpist :) This past fall, she was asked to join a group, the Bay Area Youth Harp Ensemble, which plays in local concerts and exhibitions...like at the Dickens Christmas Fair.

Here she is last night, playing part of one of their new pieces for the spring series...

She adores playing the harp. She insisted this was the instrument she wanted to play starting when she was three years old. When she was four and a half, she started taking lessons. I'm thinking it somehow speaks to her. It is such a beautiful thing when you see your child connect with something on such a deep level...regardless of their ability.

I am so glad she didn't choose the trumpet. Or the bagpipes. Clinkers on the harp are still somewhat pleasing to the ear. Not so with those other two. Of course, Q-man is claiming the trumpet resonates with him...why am I not surprised?




And if you missed my Kaiser 5K race recap, it's here.

The Great Dickens Christmas Fair

God Save the Queen!

Yes, that is Queen Victoria... and Prince Albert beside her.

The annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair has been around for a long time. I remember going as a little kid and loving it. It's a fun, expensive, entertaining, expensive, bizarre, and expensive gift fair. You can buy handcrafted magic wands, real gold puzzle rings with diamonds in them, full-length red velvet capes, silk pantalettes and a real corset, pewter mugs and figures, a top hat or beribboned bonnet, even firearms...that are just for show... and a whole lot of other stuff. 

The best of British cuisine is also available:  fish and chips, bangers, meat pies (no kidney pie, I don't think...thankfully :P), and a few places where you can enjoy a spot of tea and the accompanying goodies. 

Characters from the Dickens novels and personages from the early- to mid-Victorian era wander around and interact with the visitors. It can be super fun...and also pretty weird. One year, a scullery maid/beggar-girl type followed Baby X around for a little while with a tiny stuffed kitten that looked real (maybe it actually was?). She kept saying (in her awesome cockney accent) that it was such a good little kitten...not much trouble at all, never mewed or even ate ... and very well trained. She even showed us some of its 'tricks.' Like that it could 'stay' on command. 

It's a total trip to see the Ghost of Jacob Marley dragging his chains around and Scrooge in his nightshirt and cap being led around by the Ghost of Christmas Present. Additionally, the Royal Procession (pictured above) is fun to see... Victoria and Albert are not only surrounded by guards but closely followed by their children (they had a lot of kids). These things make up only part of the entertainment. There are also numerous stages and parlors where one can enjoy music, humor, drama or adventure.

This brings us to why I dragged my whole family to this very pricey gift fair...

Baby X has performed at the Dickens Christmas Fair for the past 4 years. This year, she is officially a member of the Bay Area Youth Harp Ensemble :) 

in the front with the purple harp

very focused

She also sang with these two older girls...

...and alone.

We've brought Big G with us the last two years. He is a total sucker for Victorian curiosities. His favorite things about the Fair are the meat pies and La Legion Fantastique, "where children of all ages are enthralled with marvelous inventions and exhibits of strange relics from the incredible exploits of the characters from Jules Verne's novels." 

Q-Man cried last year when we went without him. I told him you have to be 6 to get to go. It was a lie :( But this year he is 6... He liked it alright but not as much as his big brother. And he liked it for different reasons...

None of these weapons are operational. Really.

And Miss C amused herself as she usually does...

by running...

yeah, crappy quality... but she's cute...and nonstop.

And no, she's not 6. Q-Man made a point of bringing that to our attention. You know, the fact that she's not 6 and she got to go. And you know, how totally unfair that is. And what else? Oh yeah, he's really mad at me that he didn't get to go last year.

Never you mind how much fun he had this year. 

Musical Interlude by a child...of mine

Just wanted to share a little something by my cute harpist ...

Not exactly a seasonally-appropriate tune and not exactly a perfect rendition...
but she is really digging her new harp!

A Different Kind of Petting Zoo

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to actually play a tuba?  Or a cello?  Or a harp?

In our community, there is a school for children in grades 4 through 8 that specializes in music education.  The kids learn "regular" stuff and also play their instruments for hours every day.  Every year the school sponsors a Community Music Day, which includes an instrument "petting zoo."

At the instrument petting zoo, you can try out the trumpet, trombone, french horn, TUBA, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, harp, flute, piccolo, clarinet, piano, harpsichord, and a wide palette of percussion instruments as well.

Baby X plays the harp, and her teacher invited her to be one of the "teachers" in the Harp Room.

My husband was out of town and the logistics were going to be a little tricky, but it was decided that she would participate.  I am so glad it was a rainy day because otherwise I might not have dragged all the kids on my own to the event and we would have missed out on this unique opportunity.

I had always wanted to try a tuba, and I got my chance!  Lots of lung power needed to make that sucker sing!  I had tons of fun trying a few things out, and the kids had a blast, too!

I wish I had gotten more pictures that I did, but the raininess of the day led to a mobbed-ness of the event, and being on my own with four kids in a jam-packed, small school filled with delicate instruments necessitated my full attention be on the kids being in the right place with their hands (and the rest of their bodies) not bugging anyone or anything.  Not to mention that my help was needed to hold some of the larger instruments (tuba, for example) while the kids tried them out.  But I did get a few.  And here they are...

Q-man doesn't usually wear a tie.  Though maybe he should.  He was very well-behaved while wearing it.