MayJune_2009

FRANCE • HAITI • RUSSIA
COAI Spreads Joy Everywhere!!!
Clowning in the French
Pyrenees
Submitted by Bill Gillespie
WOW! What a great time.
My wife and I never thought
we would ever get to clown
and entertain overseas, let
alone in such a serene place
as Saint Savin, France. We
are known as “Toe-Knee the
Italian Clown” and “Cotton
Candy” and entertain full time
in Jacksonville, FL. Though
we are very busy in December,
after the holiday season we
find there is not as much work
so we often take a holiday.
This year my daughter,
Valentina, was going to
school in Rennes, France from
January through April so we
thought, “Why don’t we all go
and visit friends in Bordeaux
and spend New Year’s with
them!”
Deciding it would be a great
time to do some entertaining,
I “skyped” my Bordeaux
friends asking them to find a
hospital, day care, a school, or
somewhere we could entertain
children and/or adults. Since
my wife and I do not speak
French, (and our friends do!)
we depend on their son Jerome
to be our interpreter.
As I began to prepare, I
started to think about what
magic tricks I could do that
would not need patter. With a
language barrier I needed to
think about making things very
visual.
My friend, Jean-Marie,
emailed me to say he was
working on a band to provide
music for our “Circus
Extravaganza.” He had made
up a poster with our picture on
it. He turned out to be quite
the agent. The children we
were scheduled to entertain
were sponsored by Rotary
International and Lions Club
International.
When we arrived in
Bordeaux I discovered Jean-
Marie gleaned his band music
from his computer. It was
great music and allowed us
the opportunity to pause when
necessary during the show. It
would have taken a real band
a lot of practice to get to know
our act.
Saint Savin is a small,
quaint village complete with a
town square. In the middle is a
fountain and a background of
scenery that is breath-taking.
We were guests at Le Viscos,
which is a owned by friends
of Jean-Marie’s, Jean-Pierre
Sant-Martin and his wife,
Francoise. Both speak English
so Francoise became our
interpreter.
On the second day we did
a run through of the show. I
was concerned as my wife,
Portia, was ill, but she lived
up to “the show must go on.”
Francoise, with her outgoing
personality, was a perfect fit as
the translator.
Though I was concerned
about whether anyone would
come, that was soon put to
rest. Children and adults
crowded into the building. We
started the show, did some
magic tricks, and handed out
stickers. We were treated like
celebrities.
After the show, face
painting, and balloons, we had
a little parade. Two of the older
boys held the French flag and
one held the American flag.
What a grand parade for such a
small village.
While we were out doing
the parade and having our
pictures taken, some folks
went back to the performance
hall and transformed it into a
party room. There were cakes
made by Jean-Pierre (who
happens to be one of the best
chefs in the world!), fresh
crêpes, fruit, juice, and French
champagne to celebrate the
continued on page 5
May/June 2009 Page 3