Welcome to the
Acknowledgements
Our Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival team never ceases to amaze! It is the skills and love labor of our team of creatives that makes this multi-dimensional, multimedia festival what it is. All of the visual content associated with the books are “hand crafted” specifically for the festival. All of the imaginative arts and crafts are designed by members of our team. The voices in read-alongs and the words on the website – all can be attributed to our dynamic and brilliant festival team. We have nothing but love and gratitude for the group of people who brought this festival to life.
Yoon Byun
Yoon S. Byun is a creative problem solver, a strategist, and a planner who thrives on the fly. Through his background in photojournalism, Yoon’s work stays on point with storytelling that is intimate and relatable. He is the co-founder of Strewn Wonder, a storytelling company working with nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. It is a creative collaboration with his wife, Chelsea Conaboy, officially launching in late 2021. He is the lead video producer for the 2021 Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival.
Yoon has also applied his passion for mentoring by teaching documentary photography and film at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at MECA, and is a coach at Boot Camp for New Dads through Maine Boys to Men, a nonprofit that works to change the definition of masculinity and end violence against women and girls.
Ridah Ridah
Atiim Chenzira & Jason Williams (aka JasWho?) have over 40 years of music composition, production, and sound design between them, and are an amazing team to hire for your next sound environment project. Together they make up Ridah Ridah Entertainment (R2E), a sound design and music composition company. R2E has leveraged their legacy skill sets of indoor/outdoor sound design and music composition to create sound environments for films, built environments (art installations and more), video & music projects, as well as read aloud books.
Atiim Chenzira is a musician, songwriter, spoken word poet, community activist and family therapist. Cultivated in the rich musical soil the Eastbay, his music is an eclectic mix of New Age Hip Hop, Old School Soul and Jazz Poetry.
Jay Williams, aka JasWho?, is a veteran live musician who has toured the US, Japan and England with various bands, including as a keyboardist, guitar and bass player with improv experimental dance music ensemble Playground and Elektra records project Family Funk.
Thank you Dream Team!
Meet the incredible Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival Planning and Production Committee. For over a year this group of talented, dedicated individuals have been working tirelessly on all components required to bring this Festival to light.
