{Scroll down for giveaway details.}
To balance the sea of estrogen that flooded The Hotel Preston in February, a few guys braved the waters of
There was John Andrews (@katadhin on Twitter), Walmart's Emerging Media Strategist. I'm not sure what all that encompasses, but I DO know it involves traveling with groups of mom bloggers. John's brilliant move to build a team of women–Walmart's 11 Moms–has elevated the brand of Walmart and advanced the voice and careers of the smarty, savvy women associated with the group. He understands the influence of women and actively supports their development, as evidenced by the two sponsorships to SXSW he awarded at Blissdom. I still can't believe I won this amazing trip simply by tweeting!!
Then there's Sony recording artist, Chris Mann. Oh, my, this fella is well rounded–easy on the eyes, infectious, engaging personality, and a voice you could listen to all day. He's a fun-enthusiast who's loving life, and his career is exploding in part because of his use of social media. Smart boy, he is–Chris is an active Tweeter (Twitterer?), youtuber, blogger, Facebooker…you get the picture.
What exceeded expectation the most–the biggest surprise of the weekend–was the amazing performance by Nathan Pacheco and Ender Thomas, the male counterparts of Yanni Voices. Blissdom participants knew we'd be screening the PBS concert Disney Pearl produced for Voices, but their live performance was kept hush-hush. Because I was in on the secret and I wasn't a Yanni fan, I almost skipped it. OH, what a LOSS it would've been had I missed it! Yes, Nathan and Ender have beautiful voices, but they also have beautiful souls. Both men shared their passion for music and their love of people, and their appreciation for women is evident. My favorite quote of the weekend? By Nathan–
You mothers have more power than you know."
I applaud Yanni's development and promotion of these talented performers. Most impressive is how he's making opera accessible to many; he's chosen accessible people, which makes the music easy to touch, if that makes sense. I became a fan of pop opera–popera??–when I discovered the Cinderella tale of Paul Potts; and if you've never given it a try? You're missing out! After listening to the CD over and over and OVER, there's not one song I don't like! Nathan and Ender, together with Leslie Mills and Chloe deliver unforgettable, haunting performances. Do yourself a favor: visit Yanni's site, click the music links, and you can taste a morsel of this music deliciousness (plus meet all the "voices").
Thanks to One2One Network for offering a copy of Yanni Voices
Are those girls in blue sisters, or what?!
My favorite Easter tradition is hearing the gospel – about why the cross had to happen. I need to hear it more.
having a husband that has been a worship pastor for many years..sunday’s were always hard to have traditions…ESPECIALLY on Easter, since he was always so very busy.
one thing we started as a tradition…was to have an egg hunt late in the afternoon for our 4 kids. each child has their own special “color” egg and we hide them all over the house (too cold to do this outside in michigan).
the kids LOVE it…and even today…it was their absolute highlight 🙂
One of my fondest memories was always hunting down the easter basket. My mother always put them together from scratch – Picking and choosing the most perfect, unique gifts. I remember cherishing each treasure I found; letting the time linger. I didn’t want to get down to the easter grass because I knew the time would soon be over 🙂
I can’t wait for my daughter to be old enough for an Easter egg hunt. I remember doing that as a kid, and it was always so much fun!
Well, I for one would LOVE to hear this CD. One to One offered me TICKETS to SEE THEM and I cannot go!!!!! I am so bummed.
tweeted!
How fun –showing all the men of Blissdom. You are genius as always!
Ready for India? I need to check those days. You and the entire team are in my thoughts and prayers!