Sara Hickman's eNewsletter for March 7, 2008

Hellloooooo, Everybody!

Change is in the air! What an exciting time! And you
know why! Cuz people are getting involved! People are
speaking out! People are having dialogue! Using our
brains is an exciting thing!

By the way, my daughter, Lily, handed me a book to
read called "The Giver", by Lois Lowry. Very
interesting time for her to hand it to me.
Has anyone else ever read it? I'm also reading "I Am
America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert. Yes, I
am laughing out loud!

Well, I wrote about the last two weeks on my blog, and
then ZIPPITY ZAPPITY...it was all gone. I promise to
re-write it all soon.

In the meantime, here is a short synopsis of the fun
I've been up to:

FOLK ALLIANCE
I'm honored to be on the Board of the Folk Alliance,
and to also say the
Memphis convention was international, a great
sing-a-long for some Memphis third graders, the
Marriott serves excellent food, Frank from Europe
wears a very dandy jacket!, I heard all kinds of
crazy, wonderful music and stayed up to the very wee
hours hearing even more. Thanks to Go Girls Music. com
for having me on their stage again, and to Patrice
Pike for the very kind words. I am crazy about Betty
Soo's music, so make sure and check out her website.
You won't be sorry!
Also, lots of fun and rockin' good harmonies are Stone
Honey. 5 cute guys with lots of personality. You will
be hearing more about them, I have no doubt. Who needs
American Idol when you have the diversity and talent
of Susan Werner, Emily Elbert, Dennis McGregor, Amy
Meyers, Julie Christensen, Wendy Waldman's new trio
(killer harmonies), and so many others I just can't
remember it all.

MUSIC FOR LIFE TOUR
We just had our sixth event in Beaumont, TX. This is
probably the hardest work I've ever done on behalf of
speaking out for a social justice cause. It is hard to
get people to get involved in this dialogue about the
death penalty, but I am, truly, grateful to all the
speakers/musicians who have been a part of the events,
and all the hard work of the volunteers with Texas
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. So far,
Shelley King, Trish Murphy, Stacey Earle and Mark
Stuart, Barbara K, and many speakers have shared their
time and thoughts and brought so much to the table. I
hope that I will see you at one of the remaining six
events. Our next stop is El Paso (April 9), where
Mayor John Cook will be performing, as well. We invite
you to share your questions/thoughts/emotions on this
issue.

And whether you are against the death penalty, for it,
or not sure how you feel about the issue, I hope that
you will be willing to say a prayer/send positive
thoughts for this tour and know that we are working
hard to get people in Texas to talk about what the
death penalty means and how it affects all of us, from
victims to the perpetrators to those of us living in
the state.

NATIONAL TEXAS TOURISM COMMERCIAL
I don't sound like me, but a hyped up 14 year old, so
try to hear me singing the new Texas Tourism spot. I
say "Zippity Zappity" in the piece, and there is a
couple zip lining, shopping, eating and visiting
different Texas cities. Yee-ha!

STAINED GLASS CROSS
I'm super thrilled to have designed a new stained
glass piece for our church. It is going to be 8 feet
high! I will include a picture in a future newsletter
when it is completed.

BABY APPAREL SITE COMING SOON
I am working with a wonderful company to develop a
special line of onesies and one of a kind toddler
shirts. This is all very exciting, and I will let you
know more as this progresses! I already delivered one
set to a mother who is expecting twins, and this is a
dream come true, to share love/music/fun design with
sweetpeas everywhere!

UPCOMING DATES

MARCH 7, Friday (that's TONIGHT!)
FT. WORTH, TX
7:30 pm
First United Methodist Church of Ft. Worth
800 West 5th St.
Ft. Worth, TX 76102
http://www.fifthstreet.org

MARCH 8, Saturday
Private house concert
Austin, TX

MARCH 9, Sunday
MISSOURI CITY, TX
2:00 pm
Sienna Plantation
9600 Scanlan Trace
Missouri City, TX
http://www.siennaplantation.com

MARCH 14, Friday
AUSTIN, TX
SXSW I'm on a panel about the world of kids music!
Panel: Rockin' in the Wee World
Day: Friday, March 14th
Room: 16B
Austin Convention Center
From 12:30 PM
to 1:45 PM

LATER THAT SAME DAY, I am on the Burnside Showcase
performing, but I don't have any more info on that at
the moment...

MARCH 15, Saturday
Super Pal Universe will be performing at these two
FREE events:
1:00 pm, Auditorium Shores
4:00 pm, Freddy's Place, South First

We are cranking out the new www.superpaluniverse.com
website.
Come check out what the Super Pals are up to!

The first Super Pal Universe cd will be available next
week, as well, and we are planning a cd release party,
so more information will be coming about that....Super
Fun for everyone!

and also...
MILLION MUSICIAN MARCH FOR PEACE/AUSTIN, TX
MARCH 15 12-4pm
saturday, march 15th, will be the 3rd annual million
musicians march
for peace. this is timed to commemorate the invasion
of iraq, and also to show all the music folks in town
for sxsw that they can go home to their communities
and put their music to work for peace and have a good
time at the same time.

there are many ways to participate. make a sign, make
a float,
bring your own band, load a battery powered pa in a
shopping cart and march with your guitar, or join bill
oliver and his otter space band, who will be doing
that very thing. wear crazy clothes cuz it's a blast.
there will be music and speakers at the beginning of
the parade, at the rally at the state capitol from
noon to 1, and again at the end of the parade at the
city hall whenever we get there till about 4:00. great
musicians like carolyn wonderland, guy forsyth,
barbark k, jon emery...

NOW ENLISTING:
Marching Musicians of all kinds!
Drum Groups! Fife/Drum/Flag trio(s)!
Molly Ivins Pots and Pans Brigades!
Church choirs! More Flags!
Bagpipes, ukes, mandolins, accordions, guitars,
fiddles, kazoos!
Bring your band....or join another! You name it!
Support the troops. Support the innocent civilians.
Support the
majority for peace. Have fun and show the world you
still care.

If you want to march, endorse, or volunteer, please
register at
http://www.InstrumentsForPeace.org.
Marching band charts are on the website at:
www.InstrumentsforPeace.org/MMM-charts.pdf
Or just show up and play your heart out!

MARCH 18-21
Denton, TX
Going up to write and record with Carl Finch on our
super secret project. Shhhh.

MARCH 22, Saturday
HOUSTON, TX
Anderson Fair
2007 Grant Street
Houston, TX 77006
713-528-8576
http://www.andersonfair.com

MARCH 28, Friday
ROUND ROCK, TX
speaking engagement for Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality

Until next time, keep believing and change can happen!

Love,
Sara