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 [email protected].
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.