The Best Bang For The Buck!

Brother, Can You Spare A Buck? was a huge success and one of the best buys for your entertainment dollar. Yes, Everything Was A Dollar and from the food to the Talent Show to the Live Auction, every minute of the event was fun.

The Talent Show cast demonstrated that Crows do everything better! We had singing, dancing, musicians, comedy and juggling. The winner of the Show - Simon Waddell. What a show man! Kudos to all who made this a great show. Tim Wilcox was impersonating a one man band as he accompanied and ran the lights for the show. Todd Waddell provided our sound system for the evening. When people ask how do you do that? I have a one word answer - Volunteers. It is amazing what we can do when we work together.

On to the Grinch...but keep a watchful eye. This event will be back by popular demand!

Be Careful What You Wish For

It began as an idea behind the walls of the costume room. The topic was how to make things easier for the costume crew and the cast when sorting, transporting and putting costumes in order for a show.

The solution seemed simple enough. Garment bags that could hold the costume and accessories. We didn't find anything suitable, let alone affordable while letting our fingers do the walking online. So we did the next best thing and invented the wheel...or the garment bag as it were. 

Mandi Bussell, our cupcake costume designer, offered to help design a pattern. We spent the afternoon putting together ideas of what we wanted, what was practical and what we could actually pull off. She plotted out a pattern on newsprint and left it with me to put the pieces together and make a working model. 

Meanwhile our trusty Board member, Stephen Brainard, talked to his mom about making a "few" garment bags. She was visiting Eugene from Colorado and eagerly raised her hand to work on the project. Unable to make a working model in the time she was here visiting, I handed her the untested pattern. 

A week later, Stephen brings in a finished product. Although she only sews in white thread (we love white thread but hate white socks!) she did a bang up job. A few weeks later, we now have almost half of the amount we were hoping for. The woman is a sewing machine addict! She must be chained to her machine to do this many so fast.

Laurie Brainard, you are an amazing woman and dedicated volunteer. There is no way to tell you how much this means to our kids. Laurie says she volunteered because Upstart Crow Studios is a good organization and it helps her grandkids even though she lives in a different state. 

It is nice to know that volunteers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and apparently from Colorado! 

Crows Have Heroes, Too

It was with great pride that I sat in a room filled with heroes on Thursday, April 23rd. In all, the United Way Volunteer luncheon had 25 tables making this a room of 250 people who volunteer in their community an extraordinary amount of hours. They came from all walks of life, some professionals, others were teenagers and young children, many were seniors. The oldest volunteer of the bunch was 93 years old! 

Their pictures went up on the screen as the emcee spoke briefly about the service these volunteers had done over the past year. The number of hours that some had volunteered was staggering. From 3 - 20 hours a week, for most and some were even higher. These are individuals who dedicated time from their busy lives to work for the greater good in their community. It really was an impressive event.

What made it even more special, was that our own Timothy Wilcox was nominated for the Arts and Culture Volunteer of the year. I don't know that many people know the amount of hours this young man gives to Upstart Crow. He works tirelessly to bring a level of music accompaniment that most youth performing arts programs do not have. He receives no pay for his countless hours of rehearsal with the orchestra, accompanying the cast at rehearsals and working with them on the their vocals as chorus and soloists. He is pretty handy with the tool box, not to mention the tech service to get the wireless up and running in the building and networking the printer in the office. And he has been seen in the hallways, vacuuming! Is there nothing this Super Hero can't do?

We have a wonderful organization, here at Upstart Crow Studios. But what makes it truly remarkable is the level of volunteerism that keeps us running. Thank you to all those who believe in the vision of keeping the arts alive and accessible to our community and especially to the children we serve. And a big round of applause for Timothy!