Melted down

It's been a week since Meltdown and 2012 proved to be yet another solid year with fantastic authors taking the stage. When G and I first thought about putting something like this together, we loved the thought of using our resources to connect our community with talented and engaging authors. What we didn't expect was that Meltdown, now in it's 4th year, not only connects our neighbors with these authors, but people from afar as well—some folks drove in from Boston and even further to attend. We also take great pride in showing off our community to the authors. We always try to get a good mix of locals (there are zillions of local residents with ISBNs) and out-of-towners to read from their books. And this year authors came in from New York, Philadelphia and even Los Angeles!

We also love connecting the authors with super-talented-local-hero-rock-star-morning DJ Monte Belmonte. Every morning on the week ahead of the Meltdown, Monte has a different author on his show. (Check the picture captions to listen to the archives.)

Here's a quick recap of last weekend's festivities:

Jeff Mack read from his hilarious Frog and Fly. Listen to Jeff talk on the radios here.

Eric Wight talked about (and drew) the fantastic Frankie Pickle. Listen to Eric on the radios here. 

Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple got lots of little girls on stage and read from Not All Princesses Dress in Pink...in sparkly crowns. Listen to the mother-daughter team on the radios here.

Stand up comedian author Lisa Yee not only read, but acted out scenes from her books with an unsuspecting victim volunteer. Listen to Lisa Yee on the radios here.

John Bemelmans Marciano is continuing the Madeline legacy and he's so good, that when the tech failed, he narrated the confusion in perfect rhyme. "And then the screen went blue...and no one quite knew what to do." Listen to John on the radios here,

G and I love bringing everyone together. Unfortunately, my dearest wife is very shy and refuses to take the stage with me when I introduce each author. She did, however, join me on the radio. You can listen to that segment here.

And let's not forget about the awesome music-side of the main stage. That's all strung together by the incomparable Bill Childs. The Meltdown certainly wouldn't stand on the legs that it stands on without him. He's a neighbor and a friend and we have so much love for what he brings to our community. Which makes our hearts so incredibly heavy that he is moving far away. But knowing he'll be back to help with future Meltdowns makes us more than just a little ecstatic.

Here's a video clip of the Deedle Deedle Dees on stage, joined by Eloise the Great and Eric Wight on the sketchpad.

Speaking of Eloise the Great, you may know her from the below video. Have you seen the below video? Well, you should because it is awesome. And because it is helping a small town get a new library. To put it bluntly: it has no running water. It's time for it to join the 21st century and with your (and our) help, it will. I rallied some illustrator pals to participate in aSketch-a-thon to help raise some funds. Thanks to Jeff Mack, Eric Wight, Casey Girard and Scott Fischer for answering the call!

After the Meltdown is over, G and I host the authors at our home. It makes Gina so incredibly happy to cook for everyone. She puts together a little special something to tie in with each author's book. Guess who the below spread was for?

If you guessed Lisa Yee, then you are correct! Peepy didn't seem too amused by my behavior, though...

Are you ready for Meltdown 2013? Well, then we'll see you on March 30th! 
(It's always the last Saturday of March.)