Meet Mark Herbert: The Story of Broccoli Brothers Circus

[littlemissmartypants]

Meet Mark Herbert: The Story of Broccoli Brothers Circus

ANNESOPHIA RICHARDS JANUARY 8, 2019
Broccoli Brothers Circus Wilmington NC

Do your kids love broccoli? If they’ve ever met Wilmington’s delightfully funky music teacher ‘Mr. Mark’ and his performance group the Broccoli Brothers Circus, it’s safe to say they just might! A legend of rock star status in the Port City’s preschool scene, Mark Herbert has been entertaining local families for over 15 years with his unique, interactive shows brimming with positive messages and laughs.

Originally from Charlotte, Herbert moved to Wilmington to study art at UNCW. His father was a musician, but Herbert’s focus in school centered on his passion for painting.

“I only played a little bit of guitar before college. Once in school, my roommates played and I just sang and read poetry, but then one of them taught me more chords, and I started really playing,” recalled Herbert.

After college, Herbert created a folk band, the Cosmic Groove Lizards, with friends Dave Hervey, Perry Smith and Ed Somech. Although performing kept him busy nights and weekends, Herbert still needed a daytime gig. He took a position in social work that allowed him to help people, something he’d always enjoyed. However, the endless amount of paperwork that came with the job soon began to take its toll.

“I was really frustrated one day and just praying that I could do something different. Then out of the blue I got a call from a friend who said I should come and apply at Milestones Learning Center to teach music. I had never played kids music, and I didn’t know any kids songs, but I thought it was worth a shot,” said Herbert.

“I went in and they asked me to put on a tree costume because it was Earth Day, and it happened to fit me. So I just started improvising, rapping the ‘Cat in the Hat’ and being silly, and somehow managed to get the job over other people with lots of experience!”

From there, Herbert made it his mission to learn as many classic children’s songs as possible, and he started playing at other preschools around town, as well as booking birthday parties and other family-friendly events.

When the boredom of playing the same basic kids songs day after day hit, Herbert decided to do some rewriting, adding reggae tunes and silly lyrics to make his performances more funky and fun.

“One day I came up with a song about eating your vegetables, and one of my band mates, Dave Hervey, made a ‘Broccoli Man’ puppet for me. So the concept was born there, and several years later, we officially formed the Broccoli Brothers Circus.”

Much more at the link.

https://capefearfamilymagazine.com/2019/01/08/meet-mark-herbert-the-story-of-broccoli-brothers-circus/
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The nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $2.12 billion in direct economic activity in North Carolina, supporting almost 72,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $201.5 million in revenue for local governments and the State of North Carolina.

https://www.ncarts.org/afta