Confetti Park

Happy Mardi Gras, everybody! Wherever you’re watching the parades– whether it’s out in the parishes, Slidell, Metairie or along beautiful St. Charles Avenue–chances are you will need some shade and respite after a long day of truck floats. Find a tree, have a rest, look around, and enjoy the show. And keep your eyes peeled for the Mardi Gras trees! You know the ones… they glitter like rainbows, dedicated as bead catchers by the people passing by. In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear the whimsical tale of The Mardi Gras Tree by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust. “Laissez bon temps rouler! – let the good times roll! It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans and everyone’s excited – including the little acorn who just can’t WAIT to grow into a great live oak and watch high over the parades. But as the Great Oak says, it’s not always about being the biggest or the best. “Whatever tree you grow to be, just be the best that you can be.” ​An endearing tale of growth and self-worth set against the colorful backdrop of one of New Orleans’ biggest celebrations. You can order the book at https://www.waggingtalespress.com/picture-books Melinda, thanks for sharing your story and your wonderful talent with Confetti Park!

In this episode of Confetti Park, we connect with the creative mind of Steven Scaffidi, a veteran of the entertainment industry. For decades Steven has worked in film and television—writing, directing, and producing. Based out of New Orleans, Steven has deep connections to the industry in South Louisiana, but his work extends nationally as well. From commercials for restaurants, furniture companies, lawyers, etc., to full length feature films, TV shows and gritty documentaries, Steven has a vast amount of experience, connections, and know-how. Lately, he has turned this experience and wisdom to a new industry—that of children’s book publishing. And Steven has lots of fearless opinions about how to publish books in 2021.

Summertime means road trips! In this episode of Confetti Park, we take a road trip with Papa Dude and his best friend Charlie Crab. They take us on a trip across America, and we get visit some of the most interesting and fun places the continental United States has to offer. Who is Papa Dude? His real name is Steven Scaffidi, and he is a New Orleans creator who has a whole line of Papa Dude adventures, a character he based on his own father. Says Papa Dude: “Ya know…I just love good food, good times, and a good story too. Some folks say that I know a little bit about a lot of things. Ha! Well maybe so but I can’t wait to share all that I’ve learned over the years with you!” Through Papa Dude and Charlie Crabs eyes, we get to visit some amazing American attractions—both manmade, like the Hoover Dam and Mount Rushmore, and natural attractions, like Yosemite and Carlsbad Caverns. As we travel through bayous, beaches, deserts, mountains, and crisscross the great highways with Papa Dude and his sidekick, we think about just how vast and majestic is this country of America. What a great summer book!

In this episode of Confetti Park, Katy Hobgood Ray interviews Valerie James Abbott, a mother whose journey with her own daughter's hearing loss inspired a children's book called Padapillo. Parents should be aware that hearing loss in young children can go undetected for quite a while. Do you know the signs? "My daughter Bridget passed her newborn screening test at the hospital when she was born," Valerie tells Katy Hobgood Ray, host of Confetti Park. "It wasn't until she was about two-and-a-half years old—she'd been in preschool for six months—when the teacher said, 'Are you concerned with her speech?' And I said, 'Not really.' Yes, she was using strange words and language but we assumed that it was in the range of what's normal." In fact, it wasn't....

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear the children’s book Padapillo narrated by the author, Valerie James Abbott. Based on the true life events of the author and her family, Padapillo is the story of a family discovering the hearing loss of a child.

Happy Thanksgiving! Something we all should be thankful for is that, in this world, there are good people everywhere. Kindness and civility, thoughtfulness and helpfulness, these are qualities that exist in people in every town, city, and country. Like Mr. Rogers said, “Look for the helpers.” They are everywhere, and we can learn from them about who to surround ourselves with (to feel one kind of joy) and how to model our own behavior (to feel another kind of joy). True friends and true neighbors make the world a better place. In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear the tale of “Why He Carried the Turkey,” which documents the kindness of John Marshall, (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835. Marshall remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential justices to ever sit on the Supreme Court. This tale was penned by James Baldwin. It is a simple story, but it teaches a lessons. You may decide: is this a tale about humility, about kindness, about being a good neighbor? Maybe is all these things.

It's almost Halloween, the time of year when the doors between the living world and the spiritual world are open wide. Soon we will observe Allhallowtide, when we remember the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. It's the perfect time to cozy up to a fire and hear tales of the supernatural. You decide... truth or fiction? In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, Kathleen Welch shares with us the legend of the Loup Garoup as found in Acadiana French-Canadian, Acadian, and Franco-American folklore. Loup garoups are also knows as rougarou in Louisiana, most famously, as werewolves, are a form of night creature. "The belief is that sinners may be transformed into black bears or dogs, in which shape they wander each night until someone draws blood from them, thereby breaking the curse," says Welch. Listen in for a spooky thrill!

In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear about Le Lutin, a fairytale figure and a trickster spirit! Contributor Kathleen Welch shares some of the legends about this hobgoblin who has a knack for pranking. Le lutin could change his appearance whenever he wanted. So you never know when you are seeing a lutin. But legends say his natural form was a little man with a long beard. He was especially fond of children and horses. According to the Houma, Louisiana newspaper, "If you’ve ever lost your car keys or misplaced one of your socks, you just may have been pranked by a lutin." Some stories are darker. This tale of Le Lutin, from an 1870 text from France called The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Knightly, says: The other legend named Le Lutin tells how seven little boys, regardless of the warnings of their old grandmother, would go out at night on various affairs. As they went along a pretty little black horse came up to them, and they all were induced to mount on his back. When they met any of their playmates they invited them also to mount, and the back of the little horse, stretched so that at last he had on him not less than thirty little boys. He then made with all speed for the sea, and plunging into it with them they were all drowned. So, how to get rid of a lutin if one of these little hobgoblins is plaguing you? According to Knightly: "The best way, it is said, to banish a Lutin who haunts a house, is to scatter flax-seed in the room that he most frequents. His love of neatness and regularity will not allow him to let it lie there, and he soon gets tired of picking it up, and so be goes away." Thanks to Kathleen Welch for sharing this bit of French folklore. She gives credit to The Red Housewife Blogspot.

Hi everybody, it’s Rosemary the Garden Fairy, and I’m here to share fun gardening tips and interesting information about the natural world around us. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the early bird catches the worm’ ? For people who like watch birds, the early birder catches the bird! Between the time the first gray light of day appears and the sun peeps over the horizon, the mockingbirds make some of their most beautiful music. Those who have heard it say the birds are greeting the sun with an anthem of joy. Others say they are singing to mark their territorial boundaries: “Stay off my property!” There is a great deal of activity as birds fly from their roosts to feed in the cool dawn. One morning, you should try to wake up very early, with the sun. Go outside into the morning air with your family, and sit quietly. How many birds do you see? What are their colors, and what are they doing? How many different bird songs and calls do you hear? “Follow me to the garden! Let’s check out the magic of nature!” Learn more about bird songs and calls at A Beginner’s Guide to Common Bird Sounds and What They Mean. Listen to the sounds of the Northern Mockingbird at All About Birds. Rosemary the Garden Fairy’s adventures and teachings are inspired by Gypsy Damaris Boston and her books such The Rainbow Fairies and Dear Louisiana, Love Gypsy.

In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear some sweet excerpts from Lucky Enough: A Year of a Dad's Daily Notes of Encouragement and Life Lessons to His Daughter, in the voice of the author Dr. Chris Yandle.

In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear the loving and endearingly bittersweet Sometimes Even Elephants Forget: A Story about Alzheimer's Disease for Young Children, narrated by the author Kathleen Welch. You’ll love the main characters: two elephants, Grandma Bawa and grandson Mookie, and Kip, a kind and clever hedgehog, who have an adventure together in the jungle.

Storytime: Samuel Morse, That’s Who! By Tracy Nelson Maurer HomePodcastStorytime: Samuel Morse, That’s Who! by Tracy Nelson Maurer Storytime: Samuel Morse, That’s Who! by Tracy Nelson Maurer In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, you’ll hear the fascinating and fun story of the inventor Samuel Morse, who used electricity to power the telegraph and who invented Morse Code. Way back in the 1800s, he was teaching the world how to do instant messaging! Tracy Nelson Maurer is the author of this fun biography geared toward kids, and we are so happy that Tracy has narrated the story for our enjoyment. Back in the 1800s, information traveled slowly. Who would dream of instant messages? Samuel Morse, that’s who! Who traveled to France, where the famous telegraph towers relayed 10,000 possible codes for messages depending on the signal arm positions—only if the weather was clear? Who imagined a system that would use electric pulses to instantly carry coded messages between two machines, rain or shine? Long before the first telephone, who changed communication forever? Samuel Morse, that’s who! Tracy Nelson Maurer will be one of the featured authors at the upcoming New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University being held March 19-21. Learn more about this event at https://bookfest.tulane.edu/. She has written several fun biographies of important change makers, such as John Deere and Noah Webster, and lots of nonfiction books about a wide range of topics such as history, STEM, social skills—even cheerleading and automobiles! Learn more Thank you, Tracy for sharing the story of Samuel Morse with Confetti Park!

In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear a traditional folk tale interpreted and narrated by Janneke van der Molen of New Orleans. Janneke is originally from the Netherlands, but has called New Orleans home for two decades. She has a deep love of the culture of South Louisiana and her adopted city of New Orleans. Enjoy her interpretation of this strange Native American myth about why opossums have pouches. Opossums are marsupials— do you know what a marsupial is? It is a kind of animal that carries its babies in a pouch outside its belly, after the babies are born. They continue to grow and eat until they are big enough to travel on their own. Most opossums live in the South Pacific in countries like Australia and New Guinea. Can you name some other animals that are marsupials? The only marsupials living in the United States are different kinds of opossums. You will have to listen to this story to learn the reason the opossum has a pouch—that is, according to Native Americans! The Confetti Park podcast and radio program, hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories that families will love listening to together. We explore songs of Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta and beyond. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show! Confetti Park is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

Justin Wilson is a Louisiana Legend. He has since passed away, but in his life he was a beloved Cajun chef, storyteller, comedian and poet who delighted fans around the world with his whimsical stories, songs, genial nature, and delightful sense of humor as he shared his Cajun recipes and heritage, through television, radio, stage and other venues. I loved watching Justin on PBS, standing in a kitchen, telling stories and preparing Cajun dishes, when I was growing up. I’ll always smile to hear his famous catchphrases—”I Garontee!” and “How Y’all Are?!” Confetti Park recently partnered with his estate and Justin Wilson Southern Products LLC to help share his stories with a new generation of children. Soon, we might see Justin again on TV! And now you can get digital versions of his stories on Amazon and iTunes, and enjoy them on Confetti Park! This particular story, which was first released in 1975, is called “The Littlest Engine That Could.” You probably know the lassic American fairytale of a persevering little train—but this version has a twist—A Christmas Twist! This is the story of the “happy little train” that has to deliver presents to boys and girls over a steep mountain pass, so that the children have a happy Christmas. And the other twist in this story is the lovely Cajun delivery and humor of Justin Wilson. Learn more about Justin Wilson Southern Products LLC. Confetti Park The Confetti Park radio show is a weekly 30-minute program that streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available for free to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. We’re going to enjoy the music of the season all this month on every episode. There will be Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs of light, and children’s favorites all month long here in Confetti Park, as well as sweet stories to make you smile. Thanks for joining me, your host, Katy Hobgood Ray! The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University. Thanks for listening. Remember to look for the magic in every day!

More holiday music, stories and songs for you and your family to enjoy. I hope you enjoy the culture and holiday spirit I’m sharing from Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta, and beyond. It’s Christmas – Imagination Movers Joke of the Day – Pizza on Earth Burn Little Candles – Judy Caplan Ginsburgh Blue Christmas – Belton Richard Winter Wonderland – Vince Vance Sleigh Ride – Matt Perrine Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town – narrated by Louis Ray ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? – Louis Armstrong Jingle Bells – Harry Fontenot Deck the Halls – Robert Kingrob Harris The Confetti Park radio show is a weekly 30-minute program that streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available for free to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. We’re going to enjoy the music of the season all this month—Christmas carols, and Hanukkah songs of light, as well as sweet stories to make you smile. Thanks for joining me, your host, Katy Hobgood Ray! “The holiday season is lots of fun, we celebrate when the year is done, Come together now everyone—It’s Christmas! An Hanukkah, too! Well, happy Kwanzaa! Season’s Greetings to you!” —the Imagination Movers All about the music On this episode, “Pizza on Earth,”we start off with the high energy Imagination Movers, with some of their original Christmas music! “It’s Christmas!”—and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and Children’s Day. This is followed by “Burn Little Candles,” a song of Hanukkah by Judy Caplan Ginsburgh of Alexandria, La. Judy is a rabbi, in addition to a prolific children’s musician and educator. There is lots of Cajun Christmas music in this episode—enjoy Belton Richard, Harry Fontenot, and Robert Kingrob Harris, all with delightful performances of classics. And you’ll also hear the inimitable Vince Vance and his Valiants, and their unique version of “Winter Wonderland,” sousaphonist Matt Perrine with a rousing “Sleigh Ride,” and the great Louis Armstrong with “‘Zat You, Santa Claus?” Also featured in this episode is Confetti Park Storytime with Justin Wilson, a beloved Cajun chef, comedian, and storyteller. This Louisiana legend, who passed away several years ago, is emerging for a new generation, as his music and stories have been digitized and re-released, and a new food products line of spices, pickles, and more is available in stores and online. Thank you to the estate of Justin Wilson for contributing to Confetti Park. The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University. Thanks for listening. Remember to look for the magic in every day!

Let the holiday music commence! It’s the most magical time of the year…and we are feeling the holiday magic in Confetti Park! I hope you enjoy the culture I’m sharing from Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta, and beyond. The Confetti Park radio show is a weekly 30-minute program that streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available for free to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. We’re going to enjoy the music of the season all this month on every episode. There will be Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs of light, and children’s favorites all month long here in Confetti Park, as well as sweet stories to make you smile. Thanks for joining me, your host, Katy Hobgood Ray! Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – Fats Domino Joke of the Day – Snow Bank Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) – Elvis Presley Christmas in Tennessee – Amy Grant and Kid Pan Alley Christmas in New Orleans – Louis Armstrong It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Michael Doucet Blue Christmas – Linnzi Zaorkski Mele Kalikimaka – Debbie Davis & Matt Perrine All about the music On this episode, Snow Bank, we start off with the delightful Fats Domino, singing about everyone’s favorite reindeer. The we hear from the one and only Elvis Presley, singing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” I bet kids of all ages, even young ones today know that voice… Now, while I still call New Orleans home, I recently took a wonderful job at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where Elvis lived and first recorded! So let’s hear another song from the Volunteer State… enjoy Amy Grant and Kid Pan Alley with “Christmas in Tennessee,” followed by the great jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong with “Christmas in New Orleans.” How fun to compare the lyrics! They both begin with verses about the distinctive trees of the regions. Christmas in Tennessee The leaves are changing colors, they’re falling off the trees I know it won’t be long now till it’s Christmas in Tennessee. I hope somewhere that Santa Claus is thinking about you and me. He’s gonna bring us lots of toys when it’s Christmas in Tennessee. Christmas in New Orleans Magnolia trees at night, Sparkling bright, Fields of cotton look wintery white When it’s Christmas time in New Orleans A barefoot choir in prayer fills the air, Mississippi folks are gathering there, ‘Cuz it’s Christmas time in New Orleans. Next we hear from the marvelous Cajun musician Michael Doucet with “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, followed by a jazzy version of “Blue Christmas” by Louisiana chanteuse Linnzi Zaorkski (who was raised in Alexandria and Shreveport and now calls Bush, Louisiana home). Last we hear a Hawaiian Christmas song, “Mele Kalikimaka,” performed by singer Debbie Davis & sousaphonist Matt Perrine, a married couple who are busy musicians in New Orleans (as are their musical kids). Also featured in this episode are two delighted holiday stories. One is a fun little tale from Justin Wilson, an old Cajun cook from Roseland, with “Santa Claus and the Mouse.” And we hear “The Kitty at the Manger” told by Mary Jean Chester of Des Allemands, Louisiana. The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University. Thanks for listening. Remember to look for the magic in every day!

Ahoy!!!! Welcome to Confetti Park, a magical place full of music and stories for children. Aye, You’ll hear lots of songs from the Mississippi delta and beyond as we hear an amazing variety of American music for scurvy buccaneers! This week we are celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day! It’s held on September 19... avast… that’s right around the corner! Here are some songs of the piratical nature for ye to enjoy: First we have that grand kids band, the Imagination Movers of New Orleans, with "Sensible Life of a Pirate." And then a sensible lesson in Pirate talk for ya, as featured on that brigand show, Jake & the Never Land Pirates. How about those Confetti Park Players, the cutest pirates in all the land, with Watch out for the Pirates! (Enjoy this music video featuring the Confetti Park Players and the NOLA Pyrate Society, shot on location in Pirate's Alley in the French quarters of New Orleans.) Sea Shanties Argh, Mateys I hope you enjoy the song about sailors, too, by Louisiana pied piper Johnette Downing, and the camp favorite "Down by the Bay" by Memphis children's performer Andrew Best. Then we go dancing, "Allons a Lafayette," by the Cajun band Feufollet, who started performing together as young buccaneers and are still traveling the high seas today. We also hear a song about that Big Blue Sea from Danny O'Flaherty, an Irishman who relocated to New Orleans (as many a good pirate will do), and then the beautiful "Sri Lanka Fisherman's Chant," performed by Katherine Dines, a fine fellow of the Children's Music Network. This episode's Storytime feature is a delightful piratical tale from Bill Harley, the "Ballad of Dirty Joe." I hope ye join me again — yer Mate Katy Hobgood Ray — for more wonderful children’s music from Confetti Park…. and remember to look for the magic in every day! More about Confetti Park The Confetti Park radio show streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. Check to see if your local community radio station carries it, and ask! Support for Confetti Park comes from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University. Visit Confetti Park at confettipark.com.

This is a road trip from North Louisiana to South Louisiana, represented in an essay called “Panorama” by Gypsy Damaris Boston, and narrated by her granddaughter, Katy Hobgood Ray. The essay is from her collection of published nature observations, Dear Louisiana, Love Gypsy. Gypsy's mantra has always been, "Stop, look and listen.... Nature is at work for you." Some excerpts from this essay: From the pine-covered red clay hills of north Louisiana, to the moss-draped live oaks of the black and coffee grounds-land of south Louisiana, I watched Nature’s pageant of beauty and look at our state with pride and delight. …. The rains that caused so much trouble made everything lush and green. The water hyacinths are beautiful! …. Young boys tell of filling sandbags to protect the levee. When the water would wash the sand out of the bags, bags of shells were used to slow the water and the sand bags were placed behind them. An additional problem developed when the continuing winds pushed the tides inland on the bayous and would not permit rainwater to drain anywhere. …. I look at a small pirogue hewn out of a cypress log. I am surprised to see it painted…It is shallow, slightly pointed at the end, and the smooth walls look no thicker than a bread board. There is a trick to paddling a pirogue. —— I eat seafood gumbo cooked as the French do and served with French bread. The loaf weighs only eight ounces but it is over 30 inches long. The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

You’ve heard of Pirate Jean Lafitte, a French pirate who gained infamy in the bays and swamps off the Gulf of Mexico. He lived from 1780-1823. He is often featured in tales of treasure hunters and is part of many legends from Louisiana and Texas. Here is one that takes place in Laport, off the coast of Galveston Bay… in the 1800s, many years after Lafitte;s death. We learn thatt he ghost of the smuggler continually wanders the earth searching for a worthy inheritor. Only when he finds a person who is worthy can he at last rest. The story is narrated for you by Ted Lindsay of Mooringsport, La. We begin with a weary travel who is approaching an abandoned house at dusk, and he enters it to take shelter from the cold wind. He can hear the waves tearing at the bluffs of Galveston Bay…. After stabling his tired horse, he enters the old house and builds a fire for comfort. He wakes to find a strange man standing over him, who beckons him to follow. The weary traveler, in a stupor, is so commanded by the presence and entreaty in the eyes of the stranger that he does…. The strange man says to him, “Here more gold lies buried than is good for any man. All you have to do is dig, and it is yours. You can use it; I cannot. However, it must only be applied purposes of highest beneficence. Not one penny may be evilly or selfishly spent. Do you understand?” I said “Yes.” Then the visitant was gone, and I was shivering with cold. What happens next? Listen to the full story as featured on Confetti Park!

In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear an original fable created by husband and wife team Iran and Henryelle Martin of Bossier City, La. "There once lived a family of mice in the city of New Orleans, on Upperline Street, in a house abandoned of people. There were three of them...Mother Yum-Yum, Father Boom-Boom, and House-Mouse, their daughter." Iran, as narrator, introduces us to this cute family of mice, and gives us the background on their story. Yum Yum as a child grew up in Micedale, Louisiana, a hop, skip and jump up the road from Baton Rouge the state's capitol. When a traveling circus came through her small town, the country mouse fell in love with Boom-Boom, a star of the show. Boom-Boom knew city life quite well, and was able to find his bride a wonderful house in the Garden District of New Orleans. Once they had their daughter he happily gave up the circus life, as getting shot out of a cannon is not a great way to ensure you'll be there for your family. He was also determined that House Mouse would know how to read and write, so that she would have many options growing up. And so.... Iran sets the stage for how it is that House Mouse's knowledge of books helped save the family when human beings moved in to their wonderful house on Upperline Street. Enjoy this cute modern fable by Iran and Henryelle Martin! And listen to more stories by the Martins.