329. Go to Juneteenth Day

 Growing up in Southeast Wisconsin, I'd hear about the Juneteenth Day celebration in Milwaukee every year. Without knowing much about it, I put it on the bucket list. Then I moved the Fox Valley and eventually saw that Appleton had a Juneteenth Day celebration and slowly learned about the history behind the celebration. 

Juneteenth Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. It is a day of freedom and independence for African-Americans. It is normally celebrated with parades, food, music, drumming, and dancing. Each celebration is different and means different things to different people.

Being the introvert that I am, being among a bunch of people I didn't know was not my idea of a good time yet I wanted to go to one. Then the pandemic hit and I found myself subscribed to the Cuyahoga County Library newsletter. Cuyahoga County is the greater Cleveland area. A branch of the Cuyahoga County Library System was having a virtual Juneteenth Day Celebration. This was perfect. I signed up. Okay so it was an easy way out but us introverts love technology.

I thought it would be a celebration in the library. Oh no. It was a Facebook Live video of the actual Juneteenth Day celebration in Warrensville Heights. The video and sound quality weren't always the best because we were indoors but it was still very interesting.

There were poetry and story readings.

There was dancing.

There was drumming.

Everything that a normal Juneteenth Day celebration would have without having to leave my couch. I just wish the sound was better quality as I would have loved to hear more of what was being said. I was impressed by the drumming. I really liked the virtual aspect because it allowed for those that aren't ready to go out in the community or were unable to get to the library to attend and celebrate. 

Hopefully one day, I will actually attend the one in Appleton. This year it moved from City Park to Jones Park. In the meantime I will enjoy the virtual events when I can.

Quarantine Adventures: Virtual Pio Homecoming BINGO

 2020 messed up a lot of things including Proms, family vacations, sporting events, and Homecomings. Carroll College, sorry University, has been offered virtual alumni events since almost the beginning of the Pandemic. They have offered a few cooking demonstrations, cheese tasting, wine tasting, and musical events. Since the traditional Homecoming was not going to happen, especially since sports were cancelled, Carroll University put together a plethora of virtual events throughout the month of October. One of these events was BINGO. Since I have been playing virtual BINGO every month with Brenda Novak, I was game for Virtual Pio Bingo.

I signed up and they sent me a BINGO card and the link to a zoom meeting to play bingo. We were playing 5 different games each with a different design -- regular BINGO, P for Pioneer, C for Carroll, U for University and Blackout. Each game would have multiple winners

It was nice sending us the diagrams for each Bingo board since we tried to do a "N" for Novak when we started play Brenda Novak Bingo and no one could figure out how to do an "N".

All that Brenda Novak BINGO paid off. I won regular bingo and won Pio socks. My orange Carroll wardrobe is slowing growing. I have a t-shirt and socks now.  

Then I won U Bingo and acquired a Pioneer Alumni Garden Flag. 

That is all I won. I was just happy to win one game. Mom said I am lucky this year and should have entered my name in the church drawing. I'm not that lucky. 

It was fun. Zach was a great Bingo Caller. Halfway through he was annoyed with the bingo ball machine, he gave up and just put them in a garbage can. I am glad Carroll was able to create these fun alumni events to keep the alumni involved and connected during these interesting times. It is especially accommodating that we were able to transform Homecoming into something that fit the times. Hopefully they continue this virtual Bingo for years to come even when things get back to normal especially since these events are great for us introverts.

7038. Go to a ribbon cutting ceremony

 When we were at the Carroll Alumni Spring Training Event, I learned that the Ed Building (Barstow Hall) at Carroll has undergone renovation, in part due to storm damage. I spent many hours of my Carroll Education in Barstow. It was an old factory or warehouse type building... definitely not a college looking building. It was down the hill, across two parking lots, and across the train tracks from all the buildings on campus. And yes you had to make sure you didn't get stuck by a train on your way to class.

The other week, I got an email saying that Carroll was having a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony to rededicate the new Education Hall. Because it was scheduled for noon, I figured I could tune in on my lunch. Of course, that means I had to be back from my walk by noon.

Since it was being broadcasted on Facebook Live, it made tuning in pretty easy. 

President Cindy Gnadinger said a few words. Then the Dr. Kramer, Intern Dean of the School of Education and Human Services said a few words. Finally of an education student said a few words about her time at Carroll but it had nothing to do with being an education major.

After everyone had a turn at speaking, Dr. Gnadinger with the help of some local community members as well Dr. Kramer and the education student, cut the ribbon to the new Education Hall. 

Everyone then was allowed to tour the new renovated building. The virtual world got a video tour. The ed building I remember was dark and dingy. This is light and bright. It feels welcoming and is set up for virtual class space and group learning.

I really enjoyed the virtual ribbon cutting. Maybe one day I will be able to take part of an in-person ribbon cutting and maybe even cut the ribbon myself. 

Virtually Hanging With the Cast of the Babysitter's Club

 I grew up reading The Babysitter's Club by Ann M. Martin. I still have all my books tucked away in a box in the garage. When I saw that they were coming out with Babysitters Club series on Netflix, I was excited. Not that I have Netflix anymore....

Scrolling through Facebook, I saw that Barnes and Nobles was hosting a virtual chat session with the cast of the Babysitter's Club and Gale Galligan, illustrator of the Babysitter's Club Graphic Novels. It was during the middle of the day on a Saturday afternoon. I had nothing else going on. I made sure I was online for this. 

Gale Galligan hosted an Zoom event and Facebook Live to chat with the 5 characters of the Babysitters Club TV show on Netflix. This was the fist time I saw the actresses that were playing the beloved Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacy, and Dawn. 

Some of the characters were similar to what I pictured them to be. Sophie Grac was just how I pictured Kristy to be. The same with Claudia.. Momona Tamada was perfect. Shay Rudolph was kind of how I pictured Stacy. Malia Baker did fit Mary Anne just not as I pictured her. 

Then there was Dawn. I knew they made her character from the blond California girl to a Latina. When I read this, I was like other readers "How dare you mess with the books?". Dawn is blond. However, within the first couple of minutes of watching I totally loved Xochitl Gomez, who plays Dawn. Switching from a blond California girl to a Latina made sense and Xochitl is a goof fit. I'm glad they have that diverse cast. Probably back in the late 80s, early 90s when these books first came out, a blond Dawn made sense (stereotypes, I know) but now a Latina Dawn fits just as well.  

Gale and the cast talked about the show, how they started reading the books, their characters. They talked about their favorite episodes to shoot. Everyone said the camp episode or the wedding one.

Watching this Facebook Live event was probably the highlight of my day. It brought me back to my childhood where I couldn't wait to order the next book in the Scholastic book order or book fair. Now I need to think about getting Netflix again so I can watch the episodes.