Director's Update

Summer 2011

Posted June 29th, 2011 by Richard Snowberg

I am pleased that we have been able to update our Clown Camp website with the fine professional services of our daughter-in-law, Michelle Dodd. We now have extended historical information on the program on the website as well as over 400 photographs of the staff members that served our registrants over the past 30 years. In addition I’ve had her post many of my previous columns that I wrote for either camp notebooks or for the World Clown Association’s Clowning Around magazine. You may also enjoy many stories written by camp participants through the years.

I now have an update on Dorothy Miller. She is now living at the Sunrise Assisted Living facility at 12828 S. La Grange Road, Palos Park, IL 60464. Her telephone number is 708/ 361-3577.

I did complete a trip to Borneo this past May. I have been selected as the World Clown Association’s 2013 convention chairperson, and my visit was to review the site and seek direction as to how we can move forward with our WCA annual convention in this exciting part of the world. What really has excited the WCA and myself is that the local government has gifted us with a grant to promote and support the convention. The grant amount is $50,000. Sam Tee is working with me, and was also with me during my visit. (Borneo is composed of Malaysia, as well as two other countries.)

As you know the International Clown Hall of Fame now resides in Delavan, Wisconsin. Director Greg DeSanto is doing a fine job of orchestrating a revival of this very important museum that recognizes the best of clowning. I have developed a database of digital clown photographs that I’ve turned over to the ICHOF. In addition I’ve gifted them with a laptop computer, two printers and two carloads of historical information from my camp archives.

After returning from Borneo, Jan and I spent a day in Delavan to take part in the local premier of the movie Water for Elephants. Greg had worked with the film’s producers regarding historically accurate portrayals of clowns in the 1930’s and the Circus World Museum provided both information as well as 15 circus wagons for the film. Several local persons, including the director of CWM appeared in the film as extras. The city of Delavan mounted a movie premier which included a visit to CWM to see the wagons that appeared in the movie. A light meal was served there and then it was on to the theatre. Here a red carpet ran from the street into the John Ringling Theatre. The evening’s program included a grand organ concert, a film showing the making of the film and then the film. The theatre was packed with around 800 persons. Following the conclusion of the film Greg and Karen DeSanto answered questions and shared stories of life while living in a circus train. A charity auction of a signed photo of the movie’s star performer was sold benefiting the ICHOF. We had a really great time at this event.

We are spending our summer at our home here in Golden, Colorado. As many of you know I formerly performed with our two sons at many summer Wisconsin festivals, fairs and company picnics. Now I’m preparing for a 4th of July performance here in Golden. In this show I’ll be utilizing our 11 year old grandson, Blaise. He is actually performing one of the routines I performed with his father, Eric, and one routine that son David performed with me. I’m enjoying rehearsing with Blaise and both of us are looking forward to this event.