Junkyard Sports Paperback - 2004 - 1st Edition

Bernie DeKoven is serious about having fun and about helping others have fun, too. He has been reinventing sports for more than 30 years, has designed curriculums with more than 1,000 children's games, and has developed the training program for the New Games Foundation. The concept of New Games has had a worldwide effect on physical education and recreation. Along the way he designed and led an event for 250,000 people for the Philadelphia Bicentennial celebration, where he introduced Really Big Pick-Up Sticks (16 feet long) and Big, Big Box Blocks.

DeKoven, who has an MA in theater from Villanova University, has invented almost every kind of game--educational, entertainment, digital, physical, social, mental--for companies such as Mattel Toys and the Children's Television Workshop. He is a lifetime member of the Association for the Study of Play. To contact DeKoven about workshops (which are guaranteed to be instructive, creative, and above all, fun), e-mail DeKoven at Bernie@Dekoven.com.

Bob Gregson is an artist who combines art and play. For over 30 years, Gregson has organized innovative events that encourage collective creativity for people of all ages. His large-scale public celebrations bring diverse communities together with such events as the Special Olympics World Games, First Night, and OpSail. Gregson received his master of fine arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked for museums and nonprofit art organizations. He is currently the creative director for the State of Connecticut Tourism Division. As an artist he uses architectural elements, photography, and community planning to design projects that invite an interactive dialogue. His first meeting with Bernie DeKoven in the 1970s opened new creative vistas resulting in a citywide "Play Day" attracting 10,000 playful participants in Hartford, Connecticut. He is the author and illustrator of several popular games books for teachers--linking arts, games, and education in unique relationships.