Tuesday, April 16, 2019

A Grand(e) Concert!


Hello everyone!

I'm a bit late this month, but here's the prompt for this past fortnight's challenge at the SF Collectors forum: 

Challenge #7: Radio and Television

Sylvanians of all ages love to gather around the television and/or radio to catch up with their favorite programs and music! Watching or listening together is a fun way to spend time with friends and family. Many Sylvanians like to watch factual programs to learn more about interesting topics. It’s also an exciting way for performers to share their talents and creativity.

For this challenge, show us how television or radio plays a role in the culture of your village! Let your imagination go wild: create a stage setting, write a radio play, or have your Sylvanians perform in dramatic roles!

If you prefer not to include this sort of technology in the lives of your figures, feel free to focus on another type of show(such as a play, concert, or dance performance).

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story or do whatever inspires you to create a project around the Radio and Television theme!  

    
And here's my entry!

--



It’s quite lively today at mayor McFarlane’s home in the village of Arcfield. It seems like the whole town is here! Mrs McFarlane has prepared a lot of food, and it’s quite the party. But why are there so many Sylvanians around the TV set?
That’s because this is quite the momentous occasion! This year’s Spring Festival has been covered in TV! This is a first for the village, and as mayor Nicholas’ home is the only one that has a TV set for the moment (though I hear Charles Hunter-Smyth is thinking of buying one…), everyone’s here to watch the program!
Soon enough, the voices of two reporters can be heard on the screen, and everyone’s squeals as the village’s name is mentioned by one of them.
“And now” says a young male squirrel with a bright smile “we’re bringing you our coverage of the main event of this year’s Spring Festival in the little village of Arcfield, located at the north of our biggest continent and close to the sea”.
“Oh!” exclaims the other reporter, a male tuxedo cat, also smiling. “I know their mayor, Nicholas McFarlane. And what may be the occasion?”




“Well, my friend, you will be surprised to hear that as the final event for their festival, they managed to get renowned pianist Lionel Grande to give a concert! This was apparently a surprise even for most of the village’s inhabitants, who cheered and clapped quite loudly when the mayor and his wife came out to announce it that evening!”
“Oh, that is quite impressive, indeed! Seems like mayor Nick has a few contacts in the city, hmm? And he and his wife are quite well dressed, too!”.




“It sure seems like it! And yes, I hear that even though mayor McFarlane is quite down to earth, his wife managed to convince him to dress up for the occasion. Apparently, their clothes were made by a local seamstress, no less!"
“They sure have nothing to envy to the clothes we can buy here in the city!”




“You're absolutely right. Back to our report, it seems like before the actual concert, Mr Grande agreed to have his photograph taken with the villagers”.
“Well, colour me surprised once again! I hear that Lionel Grande is quite shy and tends to avoid speaking to people. He usually appears, plays and disappears as soon as he can!”.
“Well, mayor Nicholas must have convinced him somehow! As you can see, he had a young boy from the village and his own daughter to help with the pictures”.
"That's what I love about these small villages. Everyone's always so helpful and friendly!".




“When night came, the actual concert took place. Lionel’s music was wonderful of course, but no surprise there! All the townsfolk quite enjoyed it”.
“Indeed! I wish I had been there!”.




“And after the actual concert, the final surprise for this wonderful event: a young girl from the village, Fiorella Andes, sang a song to Mr Grande’s music”.
“Oh my, but what an angelic voice!”.
“You’re absolutely right. I reckon this girl has a future in the music world if she chooses to follow that path!”
“And I agree with you! And with that, we have come to the end of our coverage. Have a great night, everyone!”.
“Good night to all of our viewers. Hope you enjoyed this night’s show!”.
--

As you can imagine, Ariadna, Fiorella’s mother, was bursting with pride! And Fiorella herself was feeling quite important (as if she needed that boost to her ego, hehe!). Everyone in Arcfield feels very honoured that Mr Lionel Grande paid them a visit and played the piano for them. :)
Hope you enjoyed this little story!

6 comments:

  1. Hi Ayrell!
    I really enjoyed this little story!I like how you have connected it to the previous one. The idea of broadcasting the Srping Festival on television was brilliant and very creative to suit challenge#7.
    I´m happy to see Lionel Grande perfoming in Arcfield. What an special event for the village! The picture of Lionel at the piano and Fiorella singing is lovely. The spotlight effect is fantastic!
    This story was also perfect to show how Ariadna Andes is an excellent seamstress and dress maker. Mayor MacFarlane and his wife Elizabeth look very elegant in their satin outfits, Annabelle and Coco look great too and Fiorella looks very pretty in the yellow dress her mother made for her. The reporters are right when they say those clothes have nothing to envy the ones in the city.
    It´s great to see Coco and Annabelle helping with the pictures together. Coco must be delighted.
    By the way, I see the Andes are already living in Bluebell Cottage. It seems their home is located next to a lovely green field (I love the background you used for this picture).
    I also like the camera and microphone. Are they Sylvanian? They´re real cute and realistic.
    Lionel was very kind to agree to be photographed with the villagers. Haha, I spotted Freya poking her head when The Spinellis were having their photograph taken with Mr.Grande. I have the feeling she shouldn´t be there,hehe, but she has to be everywhere! She looks very cute, though. She´s wearing a lovely outfit.

    Thanks for sharing this little story.It´s been a real pleasure to read it.Your pictures are great too!

    Hugs!


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    1. Hi Cutata!
      Thank you for your wonderful comment and sorry for taking so long to publish it, I was away for a few days.
      I'm glad you liked the pictures. The concert sure was a great event! Most everyone attended it, and Fiorella shone like a star! I would have liked to show Ariadna sewing the outfits at her home, but it isn't furnished or wallpapered yet, hehe! Glad you liked the picture in which Bluebell Cottage appears. :)
      Coco was very happy indeed! He got to use Mr McFarlane's camera, which he has been learning how to operate, AND to spend time with Annabelle!
      The camera is Playmobil, and the microphone came with my Cu-Poche doll Miki Hoshii (or Skye, as I call her!).
      Glad you spotted Freya, hehe! You're right, she wasn't supposed to be there! :D

      Thank you once again, so glad you enjoyed the story!



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  2. Hi Ayrell! I loved this story! The photos you took are lovely, especially the spotlight ones. They look great!
    Funny how so much of the village turned up at the mayor’s home to watch TV. Good on Arcfield for making on to telly!
    Mrs Andes certainly is a wonderful seamstress, and lucky Fiorella, getting to sing with Lionel Grande! I loved the atmosphere of this story, thanks for sharing. Have a great week!

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    1. Hi Kelsie!

      Thank you for your comment! I'm very happy you liked the pictures and enjoyed the story. The spotlight was my boyfriend holding a lantern from above as I took the pictures, hehe! :D
      Yes, it was a very important event! Mayor McFarlane went to great pains to organise it.
      Thank you once again, have a wonderful week as well! :)

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  3. Hi Ayrell. I'd already commented on the forum but thought I'd reiterate here how much I liked your story.

    The tree stump really comes into its own as a stage, and as others have commented, the lighting is notably good. I like the recurring theme of Coco and Annabelle, and had missed Freya's photo-bomb until she was pointed out (!) I loved the McFarlane's posh clothes too. Lovely stuff.

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    1. Hi Jackson!

      Thank you for your comment, I'm very glad you liked this little story! Glad everyone seemed to like the lighting, I'm not very good at this sort of thing.
      I do try to incorporate little details from past stories into my newer ones, to try and make the village feel more real and the overall story more cohesive. :) Freya's just being herself there, haha!
      The Town series outfits were a gift from my boyfriend back in Christmas and I knew I had to incorporate them into a story somehow!
      Thanks again!

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Thank you for your comment! :)