Annual Report | Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua 2018 | Page 11

SCHOOL MATINÉES
“
My name is Gina Monroe and I am a 5th Grade teacher at Bayfield
Elementary School. My class and I were fortunate to attend the
incredibly entertaining and meaningful performance by Supaman at Big Top
Chautauqua in September of this year.
“Like our school, my classroom consists of a majority of Native American
youth who come from the neighboring Red Cliff Tribal Reservation. This
performance was an incredible opportunity for these young people to see
someone who looks very much like them, from somewhere very much like
them, talk about struggles that resonate with them, and show them how his
choices and his passions brought him to where he is right now…accomplishing
his dreams.
“The performance was one that put their culture on display as something
vivid, beautiful, and relevant within today's music scene. Supaman
incorporated the children and teachers into his performance and it is still
something that the children talk about with smiling faces as they recall this
memory. Not a day goes by that my students don't ask me to play one of
Supaman's videos. As they listen to the lyrics, I hear them tell one another
how pieces of the song connect to their own lives and experiences. I know that
this experience at Big Top Chautauqua was one that the children will always
remember in their lives because they felt a part of something bigger than
themselves and they were proud.
“My many thanks to Big Top and its organizers and sponsors to have
afforded this experience to our students.”
bigtop.org
or
1,000+
students
from 11 area schools
attended two free shows with
Native American hip hop artist
SUPAMAN
[phone]
11