The Cultural Side of Casper

"Home, home on the range.
Where the deer and the antelope play."

In such a relaxed and rural area, I was initially worried about finding events that would keep me busy or entertained. Hiking in the mountain trails and watching the deer and the antelope play (they are in my front yard and all over town) are very nice and enjoyable, but I love going to shows, concerts, and lectures of all kinds. Luckily, it seems that there were others who came here before me with the same concern. Different museums, cultural groups, and rather rich individuals have already equipped Casper with these luxuries. Since arriving, my family and I have made it a point to go out and see the city life, wherever it may be.

A Part of the Sky Called Orion

Mom and I get ready for the show to start at the planetarium.
Here, it doesn't matter if you have front row seats or not,
because the show is overhead!

Having been infatuated with stars from an early age, I was ecstatic to hear that the Casper Planetarium was hosting several movies and "tours" for only $2.50 per person! Sit back and learn about space, how great does that sound? GREAT! We stayed for just the first presentation about Orion's Belt as seen from the viewpoints of other cultures. Before the show, there was even a star walk with the Dr. Sheldon Cooper of the Casper Planetariums, Kevin! He tried to start his speech about several of the winter constellations  but got interrupted and a little flustered, so he had to start again. The chairs were a bit too comfortable, though, and we couldn't stay for the second movie "Amazing Astronomers of Antiquity." Leaving, the family made sure to stay clear of the dangerous bunnies and headed off to D.Q. for some dipped ice cream cones.

Japan Arts Day

Exciting the kids in the front row with dancing and music.

The first half of the show was made up of a taiko duo named Toni and Lance. They were a very energetic wife and husband with great stage presences (both had been performing musically for for a long time). Some of their songs were originals, and one even featured Lance on his jazz clarinet! They danced about in the front row, explained a great deal about the drums and taiko tradition, and even had some audience members come up and try their hand at it. However, their traditional songs, including yatai bayashi made me a little "homesick". I was taping along on my lap as they played and thought about my group back at ICU. Jorren and Alice never did get to perform at the concert, but we all know how much they worked on it.

Mrs. Yamamoto makes her paper crane fly as she plays
as flute song for it.

The second half of the evening was performed by Kuniko Yamamoto. The storyteller used some pre-folded oragami pieces to explain her stories and add to her performance. She also had a bamboo mat that unfolded into a long string of sticks that I had seen once before when visiting her home area of Osaka, Japan (Jan. 2011). Constantly stating that her English was flawed, she had the audience laughing for almost every story, save for the tale of the dragon who lived in the lake. After the performance  I was able to talk to her in Japanese and even get an autograph! Since she lived in the south, I asked her about the area I was going to and she recommended the scenery and food there. She did admit it was very much like Casper. But if Wyoming has fun events like this, I hope Shima can do the same!

These folks came to the temples and shrines right after New Years.
They let us borrow their sticks and were very friendly.

Latin Percussion Concert

Some friends of my mother's offered to take me to a percussion concert on Afro-Cuban music. I like a good rumba, so why not? The lady who invited me was well known at the college, so besides a good show, I was also introduced to several members of the Casper community who had already met my parents and had only heard about me. The speaker, Michael Spiro, was very educated and was able to melt into the groups extremely easily. He wasn't showy, though and would stop playing to help the students who had fallen off rhythm or who were not playing out loud enough. He helped to show us how the music in Cuba developed along with the country and the population, he then played popular Latin music from the 1950s and 1060s with the latin band. People were dancing in their seats and having a real ball listening to everyone on stage perform. From what I could see, he had arrived in town that morning and worked with the students and the band for only a little while before showtime. His student was the percussion instructor at the college, which is why he came. The professor made a brief appearance on the news to help bring awareness about the event.

Skiing

I have been able to get up to the mountain once since I arrived, and that was to go skiing with Little Laura and her father one Saturday morning. Laura has downhill skiing lessons at that time and I've been skiing, well, once, so we decided to all go on the easy slopes together. Her dad was able to give me a few pointers that gave me more control of my skis, but the hill was soooo different than the one I went to in Cleveland. Cleveland was like a giant mound of snow with lifts. Mt. Casper (yeah, it is right on the mountain) is more like those ski and snowboard video games that my cousins used to play: curves, trees on either side, jumps, and lots and lots of obstacles (children!!). But, persistently  I made it down the slope and didn't hit a single person! I did lose my skis a few times, but then I started taking everyone's advice and skied nice and slow, focusing on form and control. I didn't have a chance to take pictures while skiing - I was a tad preoccupied at the time - but these are the sights on our way up to the top of the mountain. A wonderfully fun day, beautiful scenery, and good workout. Still, I think the guys at the rental place were surprised I came back alive.

Night at the Museum(s)

This was actually an event that my parents attended as their St. Valentine's Day Date. For a set fee, you were given dinner and tours of different museums here in Casper. This gave my mother a great chance to hit lots of the local culture spots, and gave my dad a chance to take in some good food with his art and science. They seemed to have a really nice time, and are even planning on attending the date night this summer as well to finish off the rest of the museums.

Artist Guild

Recently, the Artist Guild here in Casper had an open gallery. My mother and I were planning on attending, but completely forgot about the even until the day it came. We were downtown anyway and swung on by the West Wind Gallery. Inside, we found a collection of paintings and photographs by local artists along the walls of the little house-turned-meeting-place. Many of the themes were natural - obvious given the local setting is rural and set around so many natural parks and reserves. Most of the art was also for sale, and we were encouraged several times to stop in for any lessons. We enjoyed looking around at all of the different styles and mediums used by the artists. The event was not as busy as I would have hoped it would be, but we came in at the very start, so i'm sure they had more visitors once we left.

Girl Scout Cookie Start Day

 Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout! And always addicted to Girl Scout Cookies!! What a great (worldwide) experience and tradition! CJ, Mom, and I made our way to the Montana and Wyoming Girl Scout Center on the start of the cookie sale season to speak with the members of the scouting team and get some free samples. Different regions of America use different cookie bakeries, so some of the flavors out here are not what we Ohioans are used to. And some of these cookie types have changed since I was a scout back in Kansas. The Thin Mints still stand strong, though, and that is all I care about. Mom really liked the Thank You Berry Much cookie, while CJ is quite the traditionalist with his Trifoil.