a princess for a party~

You all may remember my friend Alyssa from previous posts or videos about my substitute gigs with Abbacadabra.

One day Alyssa arrived downtown for one of our Abba gigs wearing a princess costume because she forgot to bring a change of clothes after giving a princess party. So together we had to walk around downtown with her still in her costume. I had the best time ever laughing with her at the looks people were giving her, struggling  to keep a straight face as if it is perfectly normal to be wandering around Gastown with Cinderella. Anyhow I have always wished to do a video for Alyssa to support her because just in knowing her I was virtually certain she was the most perfect princess ever.

Last week (as it happens), my friend and All Access Pass co-host Kelly's daughter Kayla had a visit from a very special princess and I was there to catch the magic. I always knew Alyssa was going to be a great princess but I didn't realize how much she looks and acts like was born to be one until I saw her in action with the kids. I don't even need to give an endorsement, you can see what it does for them right here in this video, it's written all over Kayla's face!

For more info on how you can invite a princess to your little girls party, visit Alyssa's website here!


And may a real princess come sprinkle fairy dust on you too! xo

from Abba to Ariel and everything inbetween

A couple of weekends ago I subbed in for an Abbacadabra gig with Alyssa (and the Mooncoin crew)  at a big outdoor event. It was one of those scenarios where there were no facilities to get ready in (save for our truck which was operating more like an oven after sitting in the sun all day) so, we got ready (for the most part)  in the shade behind the truck which was parked behind the stage. Alyssa and I just had so much fun with the situation and of course we did what we felt sure everyone with an iPhone would do in the same circumstance, we took before and after shots so we could post them to facebook.

I love working with Alyssa, we have so much fun bouncing good energy back and forth. We've had many a bonding moment over welcoming ourselves and pushing to evolve. Embracing every bump, hill and curve along the way and feeling wholly grateful for even the hardest lessons (knowing they often bring the most impactful growth). 

On the topic of lessons, I learned on this day, that I should do a little more dance testing on costumes before I walk onstage in them. You see we had brand new costumes on an unfortunately,  halfways through the very first song I looked down and realized my pants were sneakily headed in the direction of my toes. Uh, ok, yikes, 75 minutes of show to go with virtually no chance to get offstage and secure them, all I could do was keep pulling them up!  So here I had on these pants that were sliding down with every 'can can' that we did while on an open gazebo style stage where the crowd were even sitting behind us. 360 baby. All or nothing for this gig. It was outstanding. 

I managed to quietly right myself throughout the night and mercifully a group of kids (angels from heaven) kept us busy by giving us flowers (dandelion weeds) and we had to stop and collect them from the little hands. BONUS,  I could quite rightly get out of actual dancing with this nifty little distraction and just stand there holding my pants up. A small but important victory if you ask me. Eventually there were so many kids sitting onstage with us that our dancing was clearly restricted and it somehow looked natural for me to be looking a little gorky as I moved.  hehehe  Ok, well wasn't really that noticeable I suppose, I'm sure I imagined it to be moreso, no one said they could tell afterward. In any case we had a pile of fun and were really enjoying the crowd, especially the kids. You pretty much must have a partner who is smiling and fun to be with onstage when you face a challenge like this and Alyssa never missed a beat or stopped sharing her brilliant light.

So before I tell you where we play next (where all costume issues will be completely fixed) I thought I would deak off onto another path for a moment and share with you what Alyssa does besides being a glam Abba babe. She's put her musical and performing skills to use to create  Princess shows for little Princesses who are having birthdays or special celebrations.  Now, weirdly, I don't know another person anywhere who is more perfectly suited to doing this job. Alyssa is a sweet, beautiful, petite, graceful, charming, lovely, warm, angel like energy  who's eyes sparkle and voice sounds just  like Ariel when she sings. She seeks the good in everyone and she easily and naturally composes herself with the soft grace of a real fairy tale princess. I know Alyssa as a mother, friend and  a good hearted soul and I know that deep down she feels a passion for using her influence on the young girls to help guide them towards self love and acceptance. It makes me proud that she calls me a friend.

On one of the first occassions that I ever worked with Alyssa, we were playing at the Vancouver Convention Centre and she walked into the venue for sound check dressed in her Cinderella costume. It turns out she was coming straight from another gig and she had forgotten to bring her change of clothes, hahaha.......I can tell you with some authority that walking with Cinderella in downtown Vancouver is a very interesting experience.  I do believe that Alyssa has a number of different characters she can portray so your little girl can choose her favorite show. ~   If you would like to have a  real Princess come to sing and  sprinkle fairy dust at your daughters party please leave me a comment or contact me directly  through my website and I can hook you up with Alyssa. Once she gets her website up I will post links. :)


In the meantime on Wednesday we are putting on a smaller version of the  Abbacadabra show, the 4 piece will be playing in front of Bentall Centre this Wed July 28th from 12-2pm for the summer lunchtime concert series.


To see the full production video from Mooncoin's production of Abbacadabra  please click this VIDEO link.

See you there!
Rach xo