Between two and three thousand people came to Wilber Park today to enjoy free ice cream, courtesy of The Daily Star and presented by Oneonta World of Learning (OWL). The PVC pipe play set was more popular than I had ever imagined it would be! I'd like to give a run-down of the entertainment, but the only act I got to hear was Maria Johnson's phenomenal storytelling--believe it or not, she didn't use a microphone, yet we were singing along all the way over by the playground.
The big news: we are now officially chartered as a children's museum by the New York State Board of Regents!!! How wonderful to be able to make the announcement during the ice cream social! If all goes well, we'll have non-profit status by the end of October.
Thank you to the many wonderful volunteers who moved tables, made phone calls, manned booths, got blisters scooping ice cream (!), painted signs, drove golf carts, and made this whole thing possible. I'd like to list our sponsors here, but I'm exhausted, it's a LONG list, and I can't seem to find the email right now. Check here tomorrow or look in The Daily Star!
A few surprises: if you couldn't find the zoomobile, it's because they had to cancel last minute. Other than than, things went surprisingly well! As always, we've learned a lot for next year. Yes, we will be doing this again!
Before I forget: mark your calendars for Saturday July 18th, when OWL presents Books Alive!, an interactive concert. The event is at 11am at Bugbee Children's Center, State St, Oneonta, in their beautiful auditorium. Lee Knight has written original songs to your child's favorite stories. Children of all ages are invited to perform each song as if it were a musical number in a show with costumes, puppets and props. $3 per ticket, email me at WorldOfLearning@live.com.
That is very exciting I unfortunately was out of town for this event, but glad to see happiness and fun in Oneonta.
ReplyDeleteBill Whiteowl
www.unifyingoneonta.com