December 2010 Newsletter

Greetings from Flow Circus

Summer 2011 Tour Schedule

National Novel Writing Month Winner

Parents as Reading Partners - PTA program in NY

New Flow Circus Store Item

Winter/Spring Tours

Greetings from Flow Circus: Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Even though the holiday decorations have been in stores for a month already, now it's finally time to get excited for holiday festivities. Paul will be busy in December entertaining at parades, tree lightings, and corporate holiday parties. One of his holiday performances will be in Arizona so we have decided to take a few days to vacation and explore the Southwest. December will wrap up with a Winter Break library tour in Virginia and Pennsylvania and then performances at First Night in Hazleton, PA. A very exciting month ahead, indeed!

As always we appreciate your support and wish you a happy holiday season.

Playfully yours,

Paul & Dawn



Summer 2011 Tour Schedule: It's finally starting to feel cold in North Carolina - a perfect time to start planning for summer! Whether you are looking for performances/workshops for your library, camp, or parks and rec programs, Flow Circus would love to work with you. Below is our tentative schedule for Summer 2011.We have programs already booked for most of these weeks, but do still have plenty of availability and some flexibility.

Week of June 6th: Alabama

Week of June 13th: North Carolina

Week of June 20th: Summer Camp at Cary Academy (NC)

Week of June 27th: New Jersey & New York

Week of July 4th: North Carolina

Week of July 11th: North & South Carolina

Week of July 18th: New Jersey & Pennsylvania

Week of July 25th: Summer Camp at Cary Academy (NC)

Week of August 1st: TBD (Available for a tour)

Week of August 8th: New York & New Jersey

Week of August 15th: Long Island & Connecticut

For more information or to check availability email Dawn or call (919) 604-3462.

National Novel Writers Month Winner: The month of November is National Novel Writing Month also known as Nanowrimo. It started in 1999 with 21 people each trying to write a novel in a month. Over the years, it has grown and this year over 170,000 people registered to take part in the adventure. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days!

Despite distractions such as a 10 day tour and the Thanksgiving holiday, Dawn decided to take the Nanowrimo challenge this year. She spent almost every morning writing anywhere from 1,000-3,000 words before starting her day. The local library sponsored Nanowrimo events such as Saturday write-ins, a mid-month pep talk, and a finale party for teens/adults that participated. If you don't already do so, we encourage you to host events like this at your library next year. It was energizing and a fun opportunity to meet other writers in the community.

By November 27th, Dawn won with a final word count of 51,108 (anyone that hits the 50,000 is considered a winner!) There will be a long revision process before anything comes of it. For those of you that are curious, this story for middle school readers tells the adventures of an 8th grade boy. He gets in trouble at school frequently and as a result has to do community service hours at a library. The library and the people he meets there expose him to a whole new world of experiences. For those of you that have seen Paul's school or library shows, does it sound familiar?!

Regardless of anything else, the Nanowrimo experience has been a fun process and she may just have to do it again next year! For more information about Nanowrimo visit: www.nanowrimo.org

Parents as Reading Partners - PTA program in NY: Last month, Flow Circus visited Myles Elementary School in New Hartford, NY to kick off the school's PARP program. The New York State PTA has established this program to encourage parents to read with their children for at least fifteen minutes a day stressing that reading can be fun as well as informative. At Myles Elementary, Paul performed Read Yourself Silly and easily adapted the show to encourage the students to reach the school's goal of reading 3000 books in just two weeks.

The PARP program is an excellent opportunity for schools and public libraries to partner to promote reading in the community. For more information about the program, visit the New York PTA website.  If you would like Flow Circus to participate in your community's PARP program, email Dawn or call (919) 604-3462.

New Flow Circus Store Item: For those of you interested in balloon twisting, but not really sure where to start, we have added a new item to the Flow Circus Store. The Twist & Earn Beginner Twister Package includes an instructional DVD, balloon pump, balloon twisting apron, and 100 balloons to get you started. The DVD features Paul instructing you on the basics of balloon twisting and a variety of balloon animals, flowers, and hats. Great gift idea for your child/grandchild or use it as a fun tool for enlivening your programs.

Special offer: For any order placed between now and the end of the year, we will include a free Jitter Ring with your purchase. For more information visit the Flow Circus Store or email Paul.

Upcoming Tours: We have decided to keep this as a regular feature of our newsletters so you can keep up to date on when we will be in your area.

December 28-30: Northern Virginia & Pennsylvania

December 31: First Night - Hazleton, PA

January 27-28: Lancaster, PA

February 18-25: Northeast Tour (NY, NJ, PA)

March 9-11: South Carolina Tour

We are continually adding new tours to this schedule so feel free to contact us about setting up a tour in your area. To book a Flow Circus performance/workshop or schedule a tour in your region, contact Dawn at dawn@flowcircus.com or (919) 604-3462.