Graham Walker seemed destined to be a children鈥檚 entertainer.
鈥淲hen I was studying English literature and education in university, I discovered that Dr. Seuss was my favourite author,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I always wanted to grow up to be Mr. Dressup. Plus, I was the oldest of six kids in my family, so I always had to entertain the younger kids.鈥�
Soon, Walker began self-publishing children鈥檚 books at craft fairs, writing 鈥渨himsical鈥� poems and learning to play the guitar. It wasn鈥檛 long before those poems turned into songs, and then Walker was selling self-produced albums at the craft shows along with his books. Things kind of took off from there,
he said.
鈥淚 started playing at festivals and schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was great.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 long before he became a regular performer at festivals across the country, earning awards and accolades for his humorous and entertaining style.
The Sunshine Coast-based performer brings that award-winning whimsy to Quest University on Saturday (Oct. 4) for a free concert from 4 to 5 p.m.
鈥淚鈥檒l be bringing a bag of friends,鈥� said Walker. 鈥淚 have a lot of puppets I use in the show. I鈥檒l also be wearing my silliest socks. And the kids are invited to bring and wear their own silly socks. That鈥檚 why I like to call my concerts 鈥楽illy Sock Hops.鈥欌��
When not playing with puppets or singing for kids, Walker performs as a drummer in a jazz band. But he said both forms of music are equally challenging.
鈥淵ou still need to be just as skillful and entertaining a musician for both children鈥檚 music and jazz,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love doing both.鈥�
The free concert on Oct. 4 is part of the university鈥檚 Continue Your Quest program, with Quest offering different events and courses that range from one-day weekend happenings to one-night-a-week classes running for three to six weeks.聽
The show is aimed at pre-school and early elementary children, and will be held in Quest鈥檚 Multi-Purpose Room.
For more information on Walker, go to grahamwalker.ca. For more on Quest鈥檚 Continue Your Quest program visit www.questu.info/continuing-education.html.
