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‘Hey Kid’ entertains all ages at Skedaddles Play Center
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .To prepare for the Hey Kid tune "Pirate the Pirate," Benjamin Kauffman (left), Christopher Kauffman, Mazie Kauffman, and Emma Logorda strapped on their complimentary pirate eye patches. The Kauffmans visited Skedaddles on July 1 from Poland, and brought along Logorda, who is from Youngstown.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Canfield natives Sophia (left), Heather, and Stella Righetti visited Skedaddles Play Center to enjoy the entertainment of "Hey Kid!" on July 1.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The members of Hey Kid, Jack Savage (left), Leigh Jaffer, and Joe Falleti, began their concert with big energy.
By SARAH FOOR
Fun was on the menu July 1 as kids and kids at heart gathered at Skedaddles Play Center in Boardman for a performance by local children’s musical group “Hey Kid!” that included monsters, pirates and bubblegum.
“Hey Kid” band members Jack Savage, Joe Falleti and Leigh Jaffer began their band five years ago, after they began to write kid-friendly song parodies of 1980s favorites.
“Working together was really a blast, so we wanted to stretch ourselves to something a little more creative and make our own original music,” explained Jaffer, who is the lead singer of the group.
“We are all part of the process, so it’s definitely a team effort,” explained Savage, who plays bongos during shows. “Usually, I have ideas about lyrics and Leigh [Jaffer] can take those and add the perfect melody. On our album, which we just released in December, Joe [Falleti] plays every instrument – he’s definitely the musical virtuoso.”
The group mixes musical styles during their shows, infusing sounds of reggae, rock and country and exposing its young audience to different musical styles. Although their first album is all about fun and play, they’re planning on writing educational songs, with a silly flair of course, in the future.
Families visiting Skedaddles on July 1 were free to explore the facility’s indoor playground before and during the show. The members of “Hey Kid!” met with young fans and handed out black eye patches for the crowd to wear during their song “Pirate the Pirate.”
Savage, Falleti and Jaffer entertained the crowd with costume changes, wacky sound affects and voices and dancing.
Skedaddles owner Dini Ricchiuti watched the show along with her young guests and danced along.
“It seemed like a natural fit to invite ‘Hey Kid’ here – we have the same audience and the same purpose. We just want to see kids moving, dancing and having fun, and we’re definitely succeeding,” Ricchiuti shared.