Sergio Wals

Now, it was St. Peter’s turn! On May 15, I visited Fairmount School in Missouri. First, Jeff and I were invited to join small groups of young authors reading their own literary creations. What a treat! Then we performed simultaneously in two different gyms in assembly format for every grade! Thanks indeed for the invitation and for the wireless headset mic!

Here’s Jeff performing in the other gym…

And if you were still wondering where the wild things are… well, I ran into one of them in the library of Fairmount!!! I was happy when the wild thing agreed to have its picture taken with me but after I saw it for the first time I couldn’t help but wonder if the wild thing was thinking I may be a distant cousin of them ’cause it kept looking at my crazy hair over and over again, lol

On May 1, Jeff and I visited Westview Elementary in Champaign, IL. We had a chance to share poems and songs in some of the classrooms and we had a very nice time.

I have to say, though, I felt really nostalgic that morning as this was my last local performance while still a resident of the Champaign-Urbana area. Soon I will be moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, and I will miss ya’ll! Thanks to my new friends at Westview for the many many smiles and for singing along with me on this very special occasion!

On April 30, I had a chance to visit Eastland Middle School in Shannon, IL. Jeff and I performed throughout the day for our new friends in assembly format and then had a chance to join some of their parents during an evening event. We were certainly delighted with all the kindness and enthusiasm surrounding us and also with the exquisite food they had prepared for our supper!

Thanks to my friends Dony and Kathryn, who have generously helped me so much with my website, Jeff and I had a chance to tape part of our performance that day. The video will be available here soon!

In the meantime our video is available, you can enjoy a story (and excellent photographs) by Joe Tamborello, journalist from The Journal Standard from Freeport, IL, who covered the evening event.

http://www.journalstandard.com/archive/x342378582/Multimedia-A-night-of-childrens-music-and-poetry-in-Shannon

Also, he made available a pretty cool video on YouTube. Hope ya’ll enjoy!!! Here’s the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gRR8BWKgag

Well, and of course, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make new friends in their library…

The morning after the performance for the Eastern Iowa Reading Council, on April 24, Jeff and I had a chance to spend a full morning with our friends of Lambert School in Manchester, IA. Talk about a blast! Ya guys rocked the gym and Jeff and I even had a chance to put together a new song right on the spot in less than ten minutes to commemorate Mrs. Adams birthday!!! Congratulations again Mrs. Adams and thanks to all of our new friends in Lambert School!!! We really had a great time.

Below, one of our new friends, performs some martial arts as a warm up for Jeff’s poem “How I Became A Black Belt.”

Next, I got some really nice help from the teachers to rock the gym with “Rock n’ Roll Hop.” Ya gals were terrific!!!

Trite or not, ain’t a picture worth a thousand words? Thanks for your enthusiastic and warm welcome!

On April 23, Jeff and I had a chance to spend a wonderful evening in Manchester, IA with more than seventy teachers from the eastern region of this beautiful state. They spoiled us with a delicious dinner and then we tried to return the favor with poetry, music and laughter. Of course, we took the time to stop by the Field of Dreams right before our meeting given we were just a few miles away! Here are some pics for ya’ll!

On April 21, Jeff and I visited our friends of Thompson Elementary in Walton, Indiana. The Tigers shared with us a great day, which started with a huge assembly in their gym. After the assembly we both visited every classroom sharing a bit more of poetry and music. I really enjoyed getting all those questions and autograph requests, guys. You rock! I really appreciate the incredibly nice welcome and the fond memories. Ya’ll turned a cold Midwestern Spring morning into a very warm and awesome time to remember.

Looking forward to seeing ya’ll soon!!!

I heard from a friend of mine who lives in Carbondale, IL, that Cousin Andy’s Coffeehouse is a musical city tradition… well, what can I say? Could I have been any more privileged than performing there on Friday November 14 as the opening act for legendary singer and songwriter Butch Morgan? I think not! Thanks to both Cousin Andy and Butch for such an opportunity!

And right after my performance, I of course enjoyed Butch’s show!!!

On Saturday, August 7, I continued the efforts to promote my first children’s music CD, “Michael Closed the Bathroom Door.” This past Thursday, I had the chance to share my music live at Books and Bytes in downtown Quincy, FL. Also there, for the joint performance was Jeff Mondak, and I was lucky enough to have Bobby Maestas, an extremely taleneted musician from Tallahassee to join us as well for this event. In the following picture, Bobby and I are chilling (ha! at 98 degrees) at the entrance of the bookstore, moments before our performance.

Here, in the picture below, Bobby and I are listening to Jeff sharing one of his cleverly funny poems at the lounge of the bookstore.

If you wanna learn more about this cute bookstore in Quincy, Florida go to: http://www.booksandbytes.biz/bits&bytes

On Friday, August 2, I performed in a private party held at Real Hacienda in Champaign, IL. Robert and Jamie hosted around 60 guests for a superb wedding rehearsal dinner. I had the privilege to be chosen as the entertainer. I played music both in English and Spanish and even shared some of my children’s music with a few little ones that were around. Here are some pictures of the event.

Here, I am sharing the guitar with Robert and Jamie. Best wishes and blessings to ya’ll as you enter a new stage in your lives and as this wonderful journey begins! Congratulations again, guys! Thanks for inviting me to be part of such important day.