A really long, really fun day

Yesterday, Saturday December 8th, 2007 was really long…and really fun.

The day started off in Fremont CA at a book signing at SeaWolf Trading Co, a great store that is all pirate stuff. Richard Becker was signing his Graphic Novel Blackbeard along with singer/songwriter Skip Henderson. Richard had some of his Oil Paintings with him as well as a stunning portfolio of watercolors and pen and ink drawings. I sadly could not stay as late as I would have liked, but snapped a few pictures.

Captain Kristofer Nicklaus, Pirate Lord of the Arctic Sea – my kind of Santa. Captain, how about some rum?

Here is Richard Becker (on right) with the arch-pirate Blackbeard himself. Watch out for the burning hemp rope under his hat.

Next I scurried off to BART and into San Francisco to teach a cartooning class at the Cartoon Art Museum. Here my assistant Toni watches over as the kids create mini-comics.

Then a bit later I got to see the 5th Annual Parol Lantern Festival & Parade 2007 at Yerba Buena Gardens, which was beautiful.

The Parol is the quintessential Filipino symbol of hope, blessings, luck, peace and light during the holiday season. The annual Parol Lantern Festival and Parade, was started by the Filipino American Development Foundation (FADF) in 2003…It has become a must-see event during the holiday season.

I hope it gets bigger and better every year since it is something to see. Maybe in the future the park will be filled with people from all walks of life sharing a magical moment under magical light up stars.

Then it was off to the gallery show Graphic Novel which features the work of my fellow Cartoonist Conspiracy San Francisco members. The show was at Tree Frog Treks on Hayes St and featured cages of reptiles along with the original art. The show features original comic book art by the talented Mike Hales, Kraig Rasmussen, and Daniel Salcido.