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p14 weekender february 7 1987 weekender jjconomistsun the tribune 2942200 6402100 is block parents gala animated by deb bodine champion the rafters of the markham theatre for the performing arts were ringing tuesday with the ex uberant bubbly singalong sound of sharon lois and bram wellknown throughout canada and the us for their animated performances of a diverse reper toire of music for children it was obvious that markham children and adults alike found them irre- sistable sharon hampson lois lilien- stein and bram morrison first joined voices in 1978 when they re leased their first album one elephant deux elephants as lois explained in an exclusive in terview we never meant it to be a long term thing we only got together to record that one first album that album of tradition al folk songs set to a contempor ary beat became the fastest sell ing childrens album in canada sharon lois and bram went on to record six more albums and host their own television series the elephant show which is entering its fourth season on cbc this year the trios performance on tuesday was charged with ener gy the rapport with the audience was instantaneous as three gen erations of markamites toot- tooted and chuggachuggaed their way through a selection of the groups most popular songs equally as popular and just as familiar to the audience was the mascot of the group the most adorable elephant since alt dis neys dumbo paula gallivan hidden withing the folds of grey skin capably instilled the animal with a playful personality through body language and dexterous footwork the afternoon and evening con certs were presented by the mar kham block parent association as the first of two major fund raisers for the year the mbpa is a completely volunteerstaffed nonprofit organization but expenses such as organizational materials new block parent flags for the schools and block parent signs are expen sive additional funds are required to cover administrative costs in volved in providing local school children with educational mate rials since most schools require payment for the use of their photo copying equipment the markham block parent association began in 1976 with a small group of residents in the vil lage of markham and in eleven years has grown to include 900 homes all block parents are screened by the york regional police department the program benefits the com munity in several ways its pre sence acts as a deterrent to poten tial offenders and it provides a network of safe refuges for chil dren and adults should the need arise block parent volunteers also monitor attendance in the public school system to ensure the safe arrival of the school children in 1986 the markham block pa rent association was awarded the provincial governor generals crime prevention award for outstanding efforts in aiding the community and for their overall visibility in the province the rafters were ringing last week when the music and singing of sharon lois and bram performed at markham theatre for per forming arts here sharon hampson left lois lilienstein and bram morrison sing for kids and parents at the show it was orga nized by markhams block parents association sjoerd witteveen whats a show without autographs performer bram morrison had his hands full after the show signing autographs for admiring fans amanda halladay 4 held by father mike was received her autograph from mr morrison all smiles as she sjoerd witteveen