Pam Laricchia is one of my personal heroes so it was truly an honor and a delight to have this conversation with her about our family’s adventures in unschooling and neurodiversity.
Exploring Unschooling with Pam Laricchia Episode #221
Category: family
Tara McGovern and Keith Reins with Champagne Academy of Irish Dance at Lowe Park in Marion on March 6
Keith and I are delighted by the invitation from the Marion Arts Council to share traditional Irish music and dance along with our friends Champagne Academy of Irish Dance at Lowe Park on March 6!
Feet of a Dancer benefiting United Action for Youth now available for download
All proceeds from downloads benefit United Action for Youth.
The song is also available on Spotify, Google Play and all the usual streaming services so please consider a direct donation to United Action for Youth if you choose to stream.
A collaboration spanning decades and continents unites Iowa’s beloved Irish trad band Coppers & Brass, Irish step dancer Tréa Champagne, TCRG, Champagne Academy of Irish Dance and McGovern Music Studio for a song to benefit United Action for Youth.
All proceeds benefit United Action for Youth in celebration of 50 years of serving youth and families in Eastern Iowa.
“Feet of a Dancer” is by Charlie McGettigan (Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland).
This arrangement also features the original hornpipe “Champagne Dancers” by Keith Reins and the reel “Castle Island” by Timothy M. Dillon.
Coppers & Brass
Frank Claudy, flute and whistle
Joseph Dutcher, bodhrán and vocals
Tara McGovern, fiddle and vocals
Keith Reins, guitar
Tréa Champagne, TCRG, Irish step dance and vocals
Additional vocals by dancers/musicians of Champagne Academy of Irish Dance, McGovern Music Studio and our marvelous youth singers Anna, Eviva, Honora, Lauren, Lilia, Lorali, Nina, Nolan, and Rose.
Recorded at United Action for Youth in Iowa City by Kylie Buddin and Nick Mendoza. Mixing and sound editing by Kylie Buddin.
Cover art by Elyse Chapman in cooperation with Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
We’re very grateful to Elyse and CCPA for allowing us to use this logo which originated with the first collaborative performance of this song at I LIFT MY LAMP: songs & stories of Irish immigration on November 16, 2019 at Coralville Center for the Performing Arts in Coralville, Iowa.
Hot Tamale Louie the Performance in Iowa City on Thurs Jan 23
As we prepare to perform Hot Tamale Louie back in our hometown of Iowa City for the first time in many months, I give you the words of the writer who inspired the entire piece, Kathryn Schulz in “Citizen Khan” The New Yorker. June 6 & 13, 2016:
“Over and over, we forget what being American means. The radical premise of our nation is that one people can be made from many, yet in each new generation we find reasons to limit who those “many” can be—to wall off access to America, literally or figuratively. That impulse usually finds its roots in claims about who we used to be, but nativist nostalgia is a fantasy. We have always been a pluralist nation, with a past far richer and stranger than we choose to recall.”
West High School auditorium on Thursday, January 23 beginning at 10 am. Free and open to the public.
The Soft and Low Carol Countdown
The Soft and Low and our favorite elf are pleased to present the 2019 Top Ten Carol Countdown! We will be singing these TONIGHT (Saturday, December 7 at 7 pm) with YOU as an opening act for the Coppers & Brass Christmas show at Sanctuary Pub.
We used a delicate algorithm balancing community input with artistic license to come up with this year’s offerings.
Please let us know what you’d like to see on the list for 2020!
Click through for lyrics and sing along!
10. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
5. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
1. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Come for the carols, stay for the superior food, drink, service and for our very best in Irish trad music with a Christmas twist.
December delights from Tara McGovern and friends
Hello friends!
I hope that all of you had a warm and nourishing Thanksgiving. December is full of seasonal fun! Here’s where you’ll find me celebrating all the treasures of this month:
Ron Clark’s Small Miracles – Fri, Dec 6th – 7-9 pm
Uptown Bill’s, 730 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City
A beautiful and rare offering by my friend and mentor Ron Clark:
“Get out of the cold and enjoy an evening of heart-warming holiday storytelling with Small Miracles, a moving, one-man show by Ron Clark. Small Miracles takes the audience on a nostalgic, heartfelt journey as Clark shares his recollections of growing up in a small Iowa town where the mayor/street cleaner doubled as Santa, a courageous dog, a terrifying audition for the fifth grade Christmas pageant, and his stint at a department store Santa. Clark’s vivid storytelling will captivate you and bring to mind your own fond memories. This show is perfect for the whole family.”
The Soft and Low Carol Countdown! – Sat, Dec 7th – 7-7:30 p.m
Sanctuary Pub, 405 S. Gilbert St, Iowa City
Doesn’t this just sound like something you need to experience?! Be sure to drop me a note with your carol request and then show up to see if yours makes the list!
and definitely stick around following the carol countdown for…
Coppers & Brass Christmas – Sat, Dec 7th – 7:30-9 p.m.
Sanctuary Pub, 405 S. Gilbert St, Iowa City
Celebrate the season with a traditional Irish twist. Coppers & Brass is proud to present our very last performance of 2019 with gratitude for the amazing year we’ve had as a band. We look forward to seeing you many more times in 2020 and beyond.
The Soft and Low – Fri, Dec 13th – 7-9 p.m.
Wild Culture Kombucha, 210 N. Linn St, Iowa City
Jeff played at this great new venue a couple of months ago, but this will be the first time for our duo! While we’ll play much of our standard fare, you can bet that a couple of those holiday songs will sneak into this set, as well. Come for the tunes, and stay for the delicious kombucha, beer & wine!
Champagne Academy of Irish Dance Irish Christmas Céilí – Sat, Dec 21 – 2-5:30 pm
South Slope Community Center, 980 Front St, North Liberty
A fabulous afternoon of Irish dance and music! Irish dance (beginners to champions from Champagne Academy of Irish Dance) & music performance with a social dance (Céilí, no experience needed!) and potluck to follow featuring Caller Tadhg Mac Aindriú and the Champagne Céilí Band of which I am a proud fiddler. Doors open at 1:30pm. $16 at the door, 4 and under free. Contact Trèa Champagne TCRG for more details.
Wherever you are and however you choose to spend this season that can be so cold and dark, please know that I am wishing you all that is calm and bright.
Tuned to truth,
Tara
I Lift My Lamp
Please join Coppers & Brass and the sister schools of Champagne Academy of Irish Dance and McGovern Music Studio for an Irish music and dance spectacular on Saturday, November 16th at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
I LIFT MY LAMP is the first of several events presented by Coralville Center for the Performing Arts inspired by “I lift my lamp beside the golden door” from the sonnet inscribed on the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty – “The New Colossus” by American poet Emma Lazarus.
The aim of the series is to highlight the immigration stories that enrich our nation and to celebrate our immigrant friends and neighbors.
