Those of you who may have seen Pocahontas walking into the Tyrone YMCA yesterday morning shouldn\u2019t be alarmed. She was just one of the many 3 and 4-year-old pre-schoolers who participated in yesterday\u2019s annual Indian Pow-Wow at the YMCA.
\nWith names like \u201cSinging Bird,\u201d \u201cRed Arrow,\u201d and \u201cRunning Bear,\u201d the children had an opportunity to dress as indians first, then transform to turkeys and finally pilgrims as they showcased the meaning of Thanksgiving in a singing-oriented performance in the Barney Mogle Gymnasium.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just a wonderful time for the kids to let loose a little bit before the Thanksgiving holiday and have some fun,\u201d said co-director Linda Klesius. \u201cAlthough it takes a whole month to get ready, it\u2019s really worth it in the end helping these kids learn what Thanksgiving is all about.\u201d
\nAccording to Klesius, the performance has been a steady event for more than 15 years. More than three dozen parents, caregivers, friends and family attended yesterday\u2019s event.
\nThe performance opened with co-director Ann Cushion, also known as Big Chief Light Foot, leading the 25 \u201clittle indians\u201d into the gymnasium \u2013 all rising their knees high while singing to a native American donce groove.
\nThe children then huddled into a circle and broke out with a song and performance rendition of \u201cThe Ten Little Indians.\u201d
\nDressed in headresses and painted, brown paper bag costumes, the children acted out scenes of rowing a canoe, pounding drums and sweeping the handmade teepee.
\nFollowing a trek through the woods; a simulated bear hunt (which ended with the children running for their lives); and a war dance, the children removed their indian gear and magically transformed into turkeys.
\nAfter singing \u201cTom Turkey,\u201d the children changed once again, this time into Pilgrim costumes and sang \u201cTen Little Pilgrims,\u201d which also included a performance.
\nThe play ended with each child telling the audience what they were thankful for and the song \u201cThanksgiving Time is Here.\u201d
\nLight refreshments were served following the performance in the Jungle Room.
\nChildren who participated included: Hannah Klesius, Devin Lykens, Nicholas Bonsell, Sean McGovern, Sade Ortez, Kaleb Woomer, Harley Walters, Ryan Clouser, Zane Hertzler, Kyle Shultz, Shannon Julian, Aaron Brown, Carrie Yarnell, Madison Grazier, Kristen McWilliams, Elijah Oswalt, Ethan Naylor, Maddie Newsted, Makayla Ritchey, Makenzie Stouffer, Sage Dixon, Sean Dawson, Thalia Stout, Tori Crabtree and Taylor Dixon.
\nIn addition to Klesius, who portrayed Big Chief Morning Rain, and Cushion, other YMCA staff members who assisted included Donna Glunt, or Big Chief Crazy Horse, and Jill Welsh, who portrayed Big Chief New-Kid-On-The-Block.
\n\u201cThe kids really enjoy themselves throughout the whole month with putting this thing together,\u201d said Klesius. \u201cThey really enjoy making costumes \u2013 which they get to keep for themselves \u2013 and making up their names. It\u2019s a good time that even we as instructors look forward to.\u201d
\nBy G. KERRY WEBSTER
\nDaily Herald Staff Writer
\nThose of you who may have seen Pocahontas walking into the Tyrone YMCA yesterday morning shouldn\u2019t be alarmed. She was just one of the many 3 and 4-year-old pre-schoolers who participated in yesterday\u2019s annual Indian Pow-Wow at the YMCA.
\nWith names like \u201cSinging Bird,\u201d \u201cRed Arrow,\u201d and \u201cRunning Bear,\u201d the children had an opportunity to dress as indians first, then transform to turkeys and finally pilgrims as they showcased the meaning of Thanksgiving in a singing-oriented performance in the Barney Mogle Gymnasium.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just a wonderful time for the kids to let loose a little bit before the Thanksgiving holiday and have some fun,\u201d said co-director Linda Klesius. \u201cAlthough it takes a whole month to get ready, it\u2019s really worth it in the end helping these kids learn what Thanksgiving is all about.\u201d
\nAccording to Klesius, the performance has been a steady event for more than 15 years. More than three dozen parents, caregivers, friends and family attended yesterday\u2019s event.
\nThe performance opened with co-director Ann Cushion, also known as Big Chief Light Foot, leading the 25 \u201clittle indians\u201d into the gymnasium \u2013 all rising their knees high while singing to a native American donce groove.
\nThe children then huddled into a circle and broke out with a song and performance rendition of \u201cThe Ten Little Indians.\u201d
\nDressed in headresses and painted, brown paper bag costumes, the children acted out scenes of rowing a canoe, pounding drums and sweeping the handmade teepee.
\nFollowing a trek through the woods; a simulated bear hunt (which ended with the children running for their lives); and a war dance, the children removed their indian gear and magically transformed into turkeys.
\nAfter singing \u201cTom Turkey,\u201d the children changed once again, this time into Pilgrim costumes and sang \u201cTen Little Pilgrims,\u201d which also included a performance.
\nThe play ended with each child telling the audience what they were thankful for and the song \u201cThanksgiving Time is Here.\u201d
\nLight refreshments were served following the performance in the Jungle Room.
\nChildren who participated included: Hannah Klesius, Devin Lykens, Nicholas Bonsell, Sean McGovern, Sade Ortez, Kaleb Woomer, Harley Walters, Ryan Clouser, Zane Hertzler, Kyle Shultz, Shannon Julian, Aaron Brown, Carrie Yarnell, Madison Grazier, Kristen McWilliams, Elijah Oswalt, Ethan Naylor, Maddie Newsted, Makayla Ritchey, Makenzie Stouffer, Sage Dixon, Sean Dawson, Thalia Stout, Tori Crabtree and Taylor Dixon.
\nIn addition to Klesius, who portrayed Big Chief Morning Rain, and Cushion, other YMCA staff members who assisted included Donna Glunt, or Big Chief Crazy Horse, and Jill Welsh, who portrayed Big Chief New-Kid-On-The-Block.
\n\u201cThe kids really enjoy themselves throughout the whole month with putting this thing together,\u201d said Klesius. \u201cThey really enjoy making costumes \u2013 which they get to keep for themselves \u2013 and making up their names. It\u2019s a good time that even we as instructors look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Those of you who may have seen Pocahontas walking into the Tyrone YMCA yesterday morning shouldn\u2019t be alarmed. She was just one of the many 3 and 4-year-old pre-schoolers who participated in yesterday\u2019s annual Indian Pow-Wow at the YMCA. With names like \u201cSinging Bird,\u201d \u201cRed Arrow,\u201d and \u201cRunning Bear,\u201d the children had an opportunity to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}