We landed in a Minnesota...art center?

On a recent family road trip, we had the good fortune of catching one of our favourite characters live on stage.  Well, he wasn’t actually live on stage, but his creator was, along with a fantastic band. 

It was none other than Gustafer Yellowgold!  Don’t know who he is? You can read all about him here but let’s just say that the music of Morgan Taylor is pretty entrenched in this household.  I can catch my five year old at any given moment (even sitting on the toilet - I hope Gustafer's not offended) singing favourites from the growing Gustafer repertoire.   

In fact, any time we are anywhere near a lake, or talking about a lake, or thinking about a lake, we all start singing "the lake, the lake, the lake..." (this will make no sense to you unless you've heard Butterpond Lake... check it out.)

One of the best things about this quirky sun-dweller (who came to earth in a sunpod and landed in a Minnesota lake…) is that he’s just that: quirky. The storyboard style of animation is a welcome change from the fast-paced/intense high-energy animation of the day. The stories are told through catchy melodies (earworm city for Daddy and I!) and lyrics are on the screen as the story is told (which makes for easy singalong).  This all makes for a sweet, soft-rock package that hip families can love and throw a gentle fist-pump to. 

We weren’t even certain we were going to get to see Gustafer live since we live in Canada (although we’re thinking up ways to help him infiltrate the savvy Canuck-parent landscape) so it was perfect that our chance to see the show was going to take place in none other than Minnesota, the very State that Gustafer landed and has his adventures. As an added bonus, Morgan had a band with him for this particular show.  Score! 

The kids knew every song before it even began. They took pleasure in whispering them to me as Morgan told the story. "The next song is your favourite, Mom!  It's gonna be Panther Stamp Pants!" (Yes, that is my fave, I admit.)

Ahhh, the beauty of attending a kids show where I actually also truly enjoy the performance.  Thanks, Morgan and Rachel, for a sweet show!  Now we’ve just got to get Gustafer up north to spread a little furry sunshine. 

Off to lick some cheese…