July 2011 Newsletter

Greetings from Flow Circus
Small Business of the Year
New Look for Flow Circus Kids
Adding Play to Summer Camps
Best Buy Grant - Deadline August 1st
Paul's on TV!
Upcoming Tours

Greetings from Flow Circus: Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. June brought lots of exciting adventures as we kicked off Summer Reading Programs with performances and teen workshops at 25 libraries in 4 states! Visit our photo gallery to see pictures from these recent tours.

We also hosted the Kendama Kokoro auction. Thanks to all of you that supported our efforts and helped us raise almost $700 in 2 hours. Below is a photo of the live auction kendamas on display at the Mahler Gallery before the auction started. To see more pictures from the auction visit the Kendama Kokoro Facebook Page.



It is sometimes challenging to maintain the hectic pace of summer when everyone else seems to be slowing down and heading to the beach. As busy as we may get though, we just remind ourselves that we love what we do and feel lucky to have the opportunity to share it with so many people.

Playfully yours,
Paul & Dawn



Small Business of the Year: We were thrilled to recently be honored by the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Year. Flow Circus is not a typical Chamber business, but our continued growth and contributions to the community gained us recognition that we truly appreciate.





New Look for Flow Circus Kids: If you have visited FlowCircusKids.com recently, you may have noticed that the site has been getting a face lift. The original icons for the Skill Toys from Around the World that are located on the world map were originally drawn by Paul. Over the last two months, artist Chris Bordenca has been redrawing the toys for us. We are thrilled with the richness and depth of the new images and how they really depict the motion of the different skill toys. The redesign is still a work in progress. Check back in a few weeks to see what other images have been upgraded.

For those of you that visited the Kendama Kokoro site, you will know Chris Bordenca as the artist that created the dragon kendama, one of the auction favorites. More information about the artist can be found on his website: Bordenca.com.



Adding Play to Summer Camps: Flow Circus has been busy this past month helping to bring play to summer camps in a variety of ways:

Staff Trainings: We emphasized themes of leadership, team building, and learning styles at staff trainings in early June. At one session, we introduced both new and returning staff at Camp Rockfish to skill toys. Most of the staff had never played with these toys before so it provided a common ground for all staff to connect. It also created lots of laughter and a general playfulness to kick off their week-long training. At another staff training for the Cary Academy Summer Quest program, we used balloon twisting to address common elements needed for positive team work. Both trainings were high energy and gave staff skills that they could apply later in the summer with campers.

Skill Toy Kits: Several summer camps have introduced their campers to skill based play by adding skill toys to their daily camp life. Kits provide the materials needed to create a skill toy club or to provide campers with a fun activity during down times before meals or waiting to get picked up. Some camps have combined the kits with a kick-off Flow Circus workshop and others have used the instructional materials included with the kit to get campers started. For more information about Juggling and Skill Toy Kits, visit our Teen Kit webpage.

Specialty Camps: Flow Circus offered a new week-long specialty camp at the Cary Academy Summer Quest program in June focusing on Juggling and Skill Toys. The camp included a combination of focused instruction with a variety of skill toys, free play for campers to revisit their favorite props, and fun Do-It-Yourself skill toy projects. To see pictures from the camp, visit our photo gallery. We will be back at Summer Quest in July with our Beginner and Advanced Juggling, Magic, and Balloon Twisting camps. For more information about the camps, visit the Summer Quest website.

If you have any questions about these programs or would like to bring Flow Circus to your camp or afterschool program, call Dawn at (919) 604-3462 or email dawn@flowcircus.com.



Best Buy Grant - Deadline August 1st: Best Buy is seeking applications from non-profit community organizations that serve a diverse population of young teens in areas of learning, life skills, and leadership. Grant awards are typically $4000-6000 with a maximum of $10,000. Visit their Community Grants page for more information about applying.

If you are interested in developing a grant proposal that includes Skill Toy kits and/or Flow Circus workshops, contact Dawn for a program description that outlines the objectives and impact of creating a Skill Toy Club at your organization. The size of the grant would be perfect for implementing the program at multiple sites within a region or to incorporate skill toys with your other programming needs.

The deadline is August 1st - contact us soon if you are interested in collaborating.



Paul's on TV! During our recent visit to the B.B. Comer Memorial Library in Sylacauga, Alabama, Paul was featured on the local television program called Library Connections. Librarian Elaine Liveoak had done her research on Flow Circus and did a fantastic job of interviewing Paul.

To watch the program, visit our Video Gallery. It is broken into 2 parts due to the length of the program. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy learning a little more about Flow Circus.



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. These dates have been updated since the last newsletter.

Summer 2011:
July 5-9: Maryland & North Carolina
July 11-15: North & South Carolina
July 18-22: New Jersey, New York, & Pennsylvania
July 25-29 (evenings only): Raleigh, NC area
August 3-19: Pennsylvania, New York, & Connecticut

Fall Tour Schedule:
September 19-21: Tampa, FL
September 22-23: Coastal South Carolina
October 3-7: Northeast Tour
October 11-13: Northern Virginia/Maryland
October 26-November 2: Northeast Tour
November 3-4: Northern Virginia/Maryland

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.