We Lost of a Friend

  Buddy passed away this December due to complications from his Cushing’s Disease. He       was not just a good dog and a therapy animal, he was a good soul.

   He spent most of his life locked in a box in a subpar puppy mill. Our best guess was that he spent 8 to 10 years there. He broke out by forcing his way through a cage causing himself terrible injuries. He showed up at the Brigade’s House thirty pounds underweight, and barely able to walk. I called animal control, and they told me he was so injured that they would have to put him down.

    We took him to our vet, and he mostly recovered from his injuries. His presence did alert the police to the terrible conditions of the puppy mill. His former owner claimed Buddy was not his dog, to avoid additional charges, nor did he want to pay the vet bills. Thus, we got to keep him.

    We tried naming him Neal, but the only thing he would respond to was Buddy. He didn’t bark, he didn’t bite. If ever there was a dog that should be mad at Humans, it was him. For reasons I do not understand, he loved everyone he met. He was the best example of unconditional love I have ever personally known.

    He really enjoyed attending the MACA Conventions. I am personally greatful for him being allowed to attend. He was so happy to come to the hotel because he knew a bunch would love him there. After we let him go, my wife and I sat and went through our last pictures of him. They were all of him being happy at the convention.    

    I have worked with elephants, parrots, horses, and cats from tigers to house cats. Buddy was the best. Buddy loved being around people more than any of the others. I only wish he had more time to do the work that he loved.
 

The New Old Order

 

The Brigade Council has come up with the first draft of the criteria for where a new Brigade should go.

1. Children's Hospital or Ward to perform in.

2. Ethnically Diverse Community.

3. Not in a city with a MACA Troupe.

4. Easy to travel to via mass transit.

 

We have come to the conclusion that there are many cities that we might start a Brigade in. With the slow demise of clowning in the United States someone should start training new clowns. 

The list so far is....

 Akron, Ohio

Albany, New York

Boston, Massachusetts

Buffalo, New York

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Detroit, Michigan

Dover, Delaware

Flint, Michigan

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

London, Ontario

Newark, New Jersey

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Richmond, Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia

Toledo, Ohio

Toronto, Ontario

Virginia Beech, Virginia

We will put out feelers and see where the Third Brigade will be founded.

A New Order

 

The Steel City Clown Brigade was once part of a larger group that no longer exists. That organization maintained the curriculum we use to train new clown, bought insurance, made equipment and those sorts of things. 

Without them we have been doing that sort of thing ourselves. With possibility of forming a couple new Brigades over the next couple years we have decided to try and restart some bit of that glory. 

It was Bayley Brown from SCCB that came up with the new name for what will one day be our parent organization. We are still working on the logo. The current logo was created by Rosetta McBride. It recalls the roots of where our order was started. 

2024 Mid Atlantice Clown Association Convention

 

The Mid Atlantic Clown Association will have it's 2024 convention November 6th-10th at the Red Lion Inn in Harrisburg PA.

We had a really great time in 2023 so I would like to encourage everyone to attend next year.

On a important not to the Brigade we have decided to make it our years convention. We had been looking at COAI and WCA neither would meet  our needs. 

We will be teaching a couple classes next year that we are putting together as I type this. We will also have a table in the vendor's room. So clear some time and join us. We would would love to have you.

A Terrible Mistake

 Things went a little strange during lock down. I did a single episode of a cooking show. Here it is. 

If anyone wants to see another episode let me know.

Z

New Cirriculum Materials

We have been spending a fair time during the pandemic working on some of the behind the scenes work in the Brigade. This has been a nagging and continual process that never seams to be complete. For some reason we have not had the opportunity to get things together. 

For many things like Magic and Juggling it is simple. You get a good book on the subject and write a curriculum.

There is no good book on basic clowning. So we have written a few lessons and we fill in the blanks every time we teach a class. 

I looks as if we may have a complete curriculum for our basic clowning proficiency. Here is Buddy with the part 1 of the Pickled Herring Proficiancy.

Well I am excited about this. I know no one else is. So for that reason here is a picture of Buddy with it.

Calendar Update, Classes and Paperwork

 Just wanted to check in and state we are starting a new round of basic clowning classes. These are very important to new people to the group. They will be Tuesday at 6:00 PM in the Clown office or online. If you are attending online please let me know so I can send you the materials that go with each class. The more physical classes like locomotion and clown pantomime will be during the Sunday juggling practice at CMU. 

The website calendar has been updated to reflect the new classes and the juggling meetings at Pitt. By the way Pitt, finally, has a juggling club again. The old folks, like myself will remeber fondly going to Pitt and throwing things around at the Cathedral of Learning. Currently these events will be taking place in the Assembly Room at the Pitt Student Union. It is a wee bit more comfortable than the Cathedral.

Also it is the start of a new year. This means paperwork for all the Brigade Members, Yay. So please get your paperwork at what ever meeting you are attending.