Greetings to all!
Here we are in early October. For people up north, autumn has already arrived, leaves
are changing colors and are starting to fall. There’s a certain hockey smell in the
air as the NHL season is starting and the training camps are underway in the various minor
leagues.
What does a mascot do in September and October? First, we deserve a vacation! We have
to regain our energy. September is a slow month, so to stay in shape during vacation, I
usually start working out from the 3rd week of September until the beginning of
the season. I walk, run and work out. I also play golf and relax a lot.
Aside from resting, I contact hockey teams to plan and schedule my season. I also start
looking at what new ideas I could bring to my show for the new season. I try to have new
concepts, new skits, new music and costumes. This year, among other things, I’ll work
on developing 2 or 3 new songs for Jumping Jack.
I also have to repair my costumes and buy new material for them. How do we take care of
the costumes? People all know how hot it gets in the costume, which weighs between 12 and
15 pounds. It is quite easy to clean because the costume is made up of various pieces. All
the pieces, aside from the head, go in the washing machine. The head, inner-costume and
plastic circle have to go in a bathtub for 20 minutes. The costume then dries for a day in
front of a big fan. To maintain a fresh smell, the costume must be cleaned after each
game. When I am on the road, I bring 3 costumes with me. Right now, I have a total of 4
Jumping Jack costumes. Before each game, I have to put a special product on the costume to
make sure that it will smell good for the duration of the game. Usually, it smells like
orange and the odor is very strong for the first few minutes.
This season, for the first time, I will have Jumping Jack-related merchandise with the
famous Beanies Babies. I am starting a new collection for the fans that will have 5 or 6
models over the next 3 years.
Finally, for the first time, I will have fireworks during Jumping Jack’s
performances. That should surprise many people! This is something not to be missed!
As usual, you can send me email
with your questions and comments!
See you later!
Pierre Deschesnes
