August 6, 2014 at 1:02 p.m.
Dall entertains crowd of little ones at Buck Lake Bash
Dall entertains crowd of little ones at Buck Lake Bash
By Kayla Thomason-
A few years ago associate librarian Denise Chojnacki came up with the idea to have an activity at the beach.
"On my days off I would come out here and there would be a lot of Story Time (a weekly library program) families out here and I thought it would kind of be fun to just bring a program out here since they are already here," she said.
The children and their parents enjoyed the warm sun and music Tuesday.
"[The children] love Mr. Dall," Chojnacki said. "He barely got down here and already kids were running 'Mr. Dall!' so he is one of our favorites at the library, we love having him any time."
Dall has played at the Buck Lake Bash for at least five years now.
He makes up most of the songs he plays and each year he adds a couple of new songs to keep the rotation fresh.
Some of his songs are based on events that he experienced in school, such as the one about the class clown, which made children laugh.
"I've loved writing songs since I was a real little kid, making up tunes and stuff," Dall said.
Children were invited to stand with Dall and participate in the songs, which were interactive.
He pretended to need help remembering the words to "If You're Happy and You Know It." The children jumped, stomped their feet and eventually clapped.
Dall also changed the pace around in some songs, causing the children to stomp their feet faster or slower.
His guitar, Mr. Guitar, got carried away and sped up one of the songs. A little helper came up and held the strings, silencing the fast-paced guitar.
Dall said performing for the children is one of his favorite things and he enjoys seeing his kindergarten students all grown up, bringing their children to his shows.
He taught kindergarten and four-year-old kindergarten for 25 years and would write songs pertaining to the subject they were learning. He has found that people, including adults, retain information better when they have a song to go with it.
"It's just fun to get out here in [the children's] world instead of having them come to us," Chojnacki said.
While in college at Stevens Point, Dall had to be part of a health fair and that is when his guitars took on their own personalities.
"I just had this idea that if I made my guitar a little more appealing then the kids would relate to it more than just playing songs and it worked. [The guitars] have evolved into what they are today," Dall said.
Mr. Guitar is the first one he created. Over the years he has acquired a few cracks and scratches, which caught the attention of one of Dall's four-year-old fans.
"He got his big eyes opened wide and he looks at me with this big smile on his face and he says 'hey Mr. Dall, Mr. Guitar has lines on his face just like you're starting to get," Dall laughed.
He was curious as to how many shows he has performed and he discovered that last year at Buck Lake was his 500th show.
"It was at Buck Lake, which I used to come to as a little kid, so it made it special," Dall said. "I really am fortunate to be able to live here and perform on a regular basis."
The library and Dall go way back. He has performed a Dr. Seuss show at the library every March for about 18 years.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.