Earlier today, twelve children and five adults got together to make comics, go swimming, and make pizzas at Pizza On Dubuque's first children's creative workshop. And it was the best day ever.
I was able to experience the event firsthand as I was the one leading the comics-making portion of the workshop. Christy Brown-Kwaiser, who is also known for invigorating the music scene at Pizza On Dubuque (as written about here), was the main organizer of the event, tapping her resource of parents to encourage their kids to engage in a day of creativity, exercise, and friendship.
The day began at 10am, with parents dropping the kids off at the upstairs of P.O.D. where I laid out a mountain of comics for them to read, getting their minds prepped for writing and drawing their own stories. Their ages ranged from six to eleven yet camaraderie filled the room as they were able to connect over their love for sequential art and the thrill of making their own pizzas.
After an hour of reading and getting to know each other, Josh Silver, the co-owner of P.O.D. came upstairs and gave us all instructions about how we were to make our own pizzas! (I believe all of us there will forever freeze at the holler of "HOT PIZZA!" as we were trained to do.) We rolled our own dough, sauced it up and threw on the cheese, and were given free range of their multitude of toppings, to see the pie come out of the oven and into our bellies.
When we had our fill, it was on to business: comic-making business. I instructed the kids on how to construct an 8-page mini-comic booklet (which you can too with this template), and prompted them on ideas of characters and stories. Over the course of the rest of the workshop, the kids were able to complete their comics and shared with their friends and family.
In between eating and drawing, we walked down to the Robert A. Lee Rec Center and swam for an hour, getting their ya-yas out. One girl squealed with joy as she used me as human seahorse.
Overall, there was never a moment of boredom; six hours didn't seem enough for us. Yet luckily, Christy Brown-Kwaiser says there'll be more workshops to come and is asking anyone for ideas for future events. Contact her at comicspizzaparty@gmail.com with suggestions for other creative projects, from crafts to music to theater, and know that the pizza-making will always be a part of it!
This summer, your kids [and us] will have a blast!
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