Lemonade Day 22: Following the Sound of the Steel Drum

We're making Community Lemonade in Long Beach.  Come and make lemonade with us!

!  I'm on a 100-day odyssey for community and creativity in Long Beach.  We've got such an amazing city, and I'm a huge fan.  I'm seeking out the creatives and the facilitators of creativity, the art and the locations that inspire art.

I call it .

Today was Day 22 of Making Lemonade. 

There's a steel drum performance at Heartwell Park on Wednesday.  Before I go, I thought I'd look for some pan in Long Beach.

I received a notice of an upcoming concert at Heartwell Park, when Steel Drum Band, PanJive, performs on July 25th from 6 – 8 pm.  The concert is hosted by the office of Gerrie Schipske, Fifth District Councilwoman.

I stumbled upon Dave Beery's ukelele and steel drum shop yesterday, and was guided to a couple of resources for pan in Long Beach.  I called Derek Brewster.  Derek is a Trini (person from Trinidad).  When one Trini greets another, the first question is "What part of de island you from?"  The response may be a simple "down south." or "up north".  I'm from "down south" - the southern part of the island, near San Fernando.  Derek is from "up north" - the northern part of the island, around Port-of-Spain, the capital.

We chatted a little about family history, about how long it'd been since we migrated here, about how long it had been since we'd been back.

Now, in my mind, I could see myself meeting up with Derek at a park with his pan and with mine, and having Derek teach me a little song.  Not yet.  Derek explained to me that he performs in a steel drum band and that although he doesn't live in Long Beach, he sometimes helps Reverend Xavier (who hails from Trinidad) by teaching at the Long Beach Steel Drum School.  It's on Atlantic, just north of Hill St.

The website reads:

"We are enthusiastically sharing the culture of Trinidad and Tobago with the assistance of steel drum experts, Derek Brewster and Einstein Brown. They are the instructors who eagerly share their knowledge and expertise with their students."

There's so much Trinidad in the air today, it makes me want to look at some old vacation photos.  To put you in the mood for Wednesday's concert, I've added a link to a PanJive sound clip.  Open it in another window (right click then select Open in new tab), listen to the music, and click on the photo to make it bigger.  Look at the photos in the album with the music in the background.

Want more lemonade? 

And Tomorrow

A meeting with J. Christopher Launi, the photographer who documented the Works Progress Administration (WPA) murals and mosaics for the Historical Society of Long Beach 2011 exhibit.

I will also try to make it to Reverend Xavier's Long Beach Steel Drum School meeting!

Need to contact me?  info@handmadepenguin.com

Trish Tsoiasue writes as herself about creative and maker topics for the Belmont Shore Patch and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.