The Huron Expositor, 1994-08-17, Page 31Bean Festival, August 17, 1994 - Page 15A
29th Bean Festival Souvenir Edition
Local children's entertainers, Rick Powell, left and Dennis Siren, right, perform as Mr. Monkinbelly
and The Amazing Biff, respectively.
Children love the Bean Festival too
Mr. Monkinbelly and Biff
bring smiles to young faces
Children learn while being
entertained by the area's
newest childrens' entertain-
ers, Mr. Monkinbelly and the
Amazing Biff.
Also known as Rick Powell
and Dennis Siren, both of
Grand Bend, the duo have
been invited to perform at
the Bean Festival August 27.
The Mr. Monkinbelly and the
Amazing Biff Show was creat-
ed last year as an education-
al show filled with humor
and music. In January 1994,
the duo announced they
were hired to appear on a
Sarnia -area cable television
network. The TV show,
where they visit profession-
als and welcome featured
guests, was scheduled to air
from April to June.
Powell and Siren told The
Lakeshore Advance in a previ-
ous interview, the characters
were created in a dream.
Siren had "bugged" Powell
for a year to join him in chil-
drens' performances.
"But I couldn't come up
with the niche, the spark,"
said Powell.
Until one night, "I dreamt
of Mr. Monkinbelly. I
jumped out of bed at 2 a.m.
and wrote the (opening)
song, 1 was so .excited I
couldn't sleep," he said.
Powell approached Siren
the next dayand say, "I'm
Mr. Monkinbelly and
you're...'I'm Biff,"' he quoted
Siren saying.
"The whole thing is so nat-
ural;" said Siren, "We play off
each other's energy."
Since January, Monkinbelly
and Biff have performed at
various local functions. Most
recently, the duo performed
for children enrolled in the
Hensall Playground pro-
gram.