The kids, the park and the music
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, a new Kid Pan Alley initiative has brought children from eight gateway communities up to the magnificent Shenandoah National Park. They go on hikes with the park rangers and learn all about the ecosystem. And then, they write songs with Kid Pan Alley about the experience.
You’ll have an opportunity to hear some of these amazing songs in concert tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 23) at a free Kid Pan Alley concert, 7 p.m. at Rappahannock County Elementary School, featuring Kid Pan Alley’s Paul Reisler, Sahffi Lynne and sax virtuoso Marshall Keys, performing with the kids from RCES, Hearthstone and CCLC.
Just to give you a little idea some of the wonderful experiences the children have had, KPA’s executive director, Cheryl Toth, wrote this about an encounter the children from Hearthstone had in the park last week.
The Bear and the Deer: The title of this email sounds like an Aesop Fable, but in fact, it is a true story. The weather was a breezy 95 degrees with gnats and flies in abundance doing what all gnats and flies do. :) As we moved across the trails into the meadow (Big Meadow) the students found joy in the simple things, caterpillars, spiders, milkweed, goldenrod, and soft grasses. They branched off from each other with a handheld device used to capture and inspect small insects. They danced; laughed, calling out to each other to come and share their discoveries … then something very unusual happened ...
Off in the distance, one of the children spotted a bear … “A bear … a bear? … where? … there!” This was the too familiar sound at such a sighting. But something was different … this bear was sprinting across the meadow. Yes, running at full speed … a most unusual sight as most bears I have seen just lumber along, turning over trash cans and raiding henhouses. As we watched in amazement, a whitetail deer darted out from the grasses. Could it be? Was the bear after the deer?
Park Ranger Mike said that bears do not chase deer. ‘It is a waste of their energy.’ But sure enough, we witnessed an adult black bear chase a deer into the woods. I quickly opened my iPhone and tried to capture it in video. I did get a glimpse of the historic chase … but what is priceless are the conversations of the children and the ranger as we all witnessed this amazing event. We were all grateful that the bear did not catch the deer … we were not prepared to witness such a “National Geographic” moment. While this Olympic sprint was a first for us all, the butterflies and caterpillars, spiders and milkweed still captured the imagination of the children today.
Our work with the Shenandoah National Park has been incredibly rewarding, igniting the explorer inside all of us. So in true Aesop style: The moral of this story is … Life will gift you with wonderful experiences, when you are present to receive it! Today, I was present and I got a gift that I will cherish forever.
Inspired by the chase, the Hearthstone students wrote “Sometimes You’ve Got to Run for Your Life,” from the point of view of the deer.
Sometimes you’ve got to run for your life Cause only the fastest survive Run through the meadow, run through the wood Run like Little Red Riding Hood Gotta’ get away
It was a sunny day up in big Meadow Just grazing on grass and goldenrod Then I saw something moving fast something odd, something big and black Stalking me. Chasing me Chorus I ran for the wood and for my life But the bear stayed right on my tail Maybe I can wear that old bear out It was rough it was tough I was freaking out With that bear stalking me. Chasing me Chorus I was so glad the bear ran out of gas So I’d live to graze another day Another day, another day
You can hear the song and take a musical hike in the park at 7 p.m. Friday at RCES. Admission is free; the project is made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Shenandoah National Park Trust and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Rappahannock residency is also supported by RAAC’s Claudia Mitchell Fund. For more, visit KidPanAlley.org.