two halloween concerts

Halloween activities started early this year. A Suzuki Halloween concert scheduled this Saturday meant that I need to get Ming Ming's costumes ready a few days earlier. As to her costume choice, Ming Ming had been hesitating between that of a black cat, Mulan, and an American Indian. The commune kids had been planning to dress up as an American Indian tribe for Halloween since this summer, the parents, after some contemplation, finally decided that it would be politically incorrect. At the end I decided that I wanted to make a Mulan costume. Two evening at the sewing machine and here it is: Mulan's soldier uniform (看起來有點像個財主) with a belt, a hat marked with Mulan's family name "Hua" in Chinese, and a pair of shin guards. (well, I totally forgot about the weapon, but she has a violin here).
As all the materials are from the discount textile store ($2 per lb) and it is just a costume, I don't care if I sewed it wrong. It was actually quite enjoyable when I could be so carefree. Maybe I will continue to sew her costumes in the years to come. 

Ming Ming and her friend 

scary Oscar

in the beginning there were a lot of excitement. so many kids in costume made up quite a spectacular scene...

Oscar's turn

The halloween concert was a nice idea but did not quite work out. There were a lot of excitement before the concert and all the energy kind of died when the concert started. There were way too many performers (all the students!!), way too long (2 hrs!), and the beginners' piano recitals just did not work in this context (unlike the string instruments, piano recitals are all individual performances). 

a hall full of enthusiastic families and friends... and then ...
Antoine was bored to death, most of our friends fled... 

finally it was Ming Ming's turn. It was wise that they kept violin recitals at the end of the program, otherwise half of the hall would be empty by then.

in between Ming Ming's performance, I, with other parents, also played the most basic suzuki piece. I am glad that I don't have a record of it. As I stopped way before the others thinking that it was the end already while the other kept going on. 

dressed up again for an evening halloween concert "Dance of the Dead" by the university of Chicago symphony orchestra.
Lots of homemade costumes this year: Liz made Nourit's owl costume, and Anne made Lily's green fairy costume

mandel hall

you can't see it but some of the performers were very elaborately dressed.
The concert began with a"dance of the dead"... co-produced with the hyde park school of dance (Ming Ming's ballet school). Just as Anne and I were wondering if this lady in red leather jacket was a teacher at the dance school (she came in dancing as a half-dead Mick Jagger), she climbed up the stage and turned out to be the conductor!!

an enjoyable show! all the kids enjoyed it.