5/9/97 Contact: Anne Oberlin, Early Childhood Network, 614/593-2881
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University alumnus and Banana Slug String Band member Doug Greenfield will meet with students during the band's visit to the Athens campus May 14-15 to perform a free family concert and lead a workshop in early childhood education. The group's public concert will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday (May 14) at The Ridges Auditorium.
The four-member Banana Slug String Band, based in Santa Cruz, Calif., blends music, theater, puppetry and audience participation to create a fun learning environment. In songs ranging from ballads about rivers to folk tunes about dirt to rap songs about the ocean, the same theme surfaces: the importance of taking care of the earth. The band has made six recordings, including the 1995 release "Penguin Parade," and a full-length feature video, "Dancing With the Earth."
In addition to performing at concerts and festivals across the country, the band develops curricula and provides in-service training seminars for teachers, interpreters and environmental educators.
The Early Childhood Network based at Ohio University will sponsor an educational and musical workshop for early care and education professionals featuring the Banana Slug String Band from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday (May 14) at The Ridges Auditorium. Registration is $15. Contact Anne Oberlin at 593-2881 for more information or to register.
Greenfield also will speak to University College Assistant Dean and Geography Professor Ted Bernard's Tier III class on the American Conservation Movement between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Greenfield was the outstanding BGS (bachelor of general studies) graduate in the Ohio University class of 1979. He will meet from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday (May 15) in the 1804 Room of Baker Center with students pursuing bachelor of specialized studies degrees (formerly the BGS degree).
Sponsors of the free concert are the Early Childhood Network, the Southeastern Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children, Southeastern Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center and Tri-County Community Action Agency.