These 4 video clips are something you’ll not want to miss!! ASL entertainment, clear blue skies, unexpected naked bicyclers(!), Carl Schroeder’s Hawaiian stories, costumes and loincloth(!) and friendly Northern CA welcomes from the deaf community — It’s San Francisco Bay Area at it’s finest!

Read on for descriptions of each part, then scroll down for each of the videos.

On Saturday June 9, 2007 at the Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, California, my husband, son and I attended an ASL Festival Sponsored by Project Insight. Project Insight leads ASL Programs, Programs for the Deaf and Programs for people who are blind/visually impaired. Their Mission is to provide a wide variety of quality recreation, outdoor adventure, and cultural activities for people with disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. What follows is a 4-part ASL vlog roll of this event. (Sorry. No translation. Too much happening…) Each video clip is under 10 mins. (Part 1 is rated PG-13 for a brief shot of some back-side nudity. Parental discretion advised.) Grab a cold drink or a snack, sit back, and watch the fun! Maybe you’ll see someone you know!

Part 1: This clip includes warm Bay Area greetings from Todd Higgins (D/HH Specialist at SFSU) and Shannon Engleheart (Intern at UCSF Cntr. on Deafness), a peek at The Trix Bruce Show, and a VERY UNEXPECTED GROUP OF NAKED BICYLISTS (a bicycle activist group protesting city limitations about riding bikes on the streets, or something like that) passing through the ASL Fest at the Justin Herman Plaza (Typical of San Francisco. Only the back-sides are filmed - PG 13 on this video clip, but in person, it was an R-rated show for my poor 10 yr. old son and the other children at this event! Eeeek! Parents like me were rushing to cover their kid’s eyes. It was a teaching moment for sure!). Also included in this clip are welcomes from Sorenson VRS staff, Mark Call and Mark Phillips, Sprint staff, Ken Arcia, CSD Fremont staff, Marilyn Cassidy, and heartfelt hellos from deaf friends, Andrea Berry and Jennifer.

Part 2: This clip begins with a peek at a wonderful meditation DVD made for deaf people called Inner Sight, by interpreter, Pam Cavazos. It looks fantastic and I’m going to get one! (I plan to do a review of this DVD in another b/vlog.) You can visit Pam’s sight for more info at: www.deafmediation.com. Next, you will see bits and pieces from CODAs Sherry Hicks & Michael Velez in their performance called “Half-n-Half!” Finally, Bonnie Jo Morrison (Counselor at UCCD), Mary Edwin (Interpreter at BACA) and Mykel Gubin (Computer Technologies Program - CTP) and his hearing friend give warm hellos and cheery welcomes to SF.

Part 3: In this video, LaRonda Zupp meets fellow vlogger, Carl Schroeder. This clip is ALL CARL, and it’s very entertaining! Carl entertains the crowd with his Hawaiian costumes (he even changes his clothes in front of us all - whoo!), his stories of Hawaiian legends such as the Demi God Maui and the story of the slowing of the sun, and of course, a dragon story called “The World’s Largest Picture.”

Part 4: This clip includes a solo performance by Michael Velez, a hello from Harley Davidson biker, Steve Longo (who mentions Barb Digi and Julie Rems-Smario) and LaRonda and her family’s final farewell to the ASL Fest. with a spectacular view of San Francisco.

A special THANK YOU to my husband, Brent, for filming, to my son, Paul, for his patience, and to all of those who participated and gave me permission to film them on this beautiful day in the heart of SF! Your warmth and friendliness (along with the great weather and scenic views!) is what makes our neck of the woods such an enjoyable place to live.

And thanks to you all for watching. The quality is less than I hoped for. I’m investigating different options for higher resolution for future projects. Hope you enjoyed the show!

Photo above by: Michael Patrick

Posted by LaRonda on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 4:30 pm.