Quick Hits: Sharon & Bram's Farewell Songs, SaulPaul's Park Rec 2 Step Video Contest

Twenty years is a long time to do anything, let alone children's music. But Canada's Sharon Hampson, Bram Morrison and Lois Lillenstein gained much fame and performed around the world. Josh Lovelace made sure to include a shout out to them as inspirations for his children's recordings.

After Lois retired from performing in 2000, Sharon and Bram kept going as a duo – and are now heading into their Retirement Tour after another 20 years on the road. To celebrate this milestone, they have released four new tunes, all written by Sharon's late husband, Joe. Now this is getting pretty downbeat but the songs themselves are mostly upbeat – "The Hug Song," "Different," a paean to diversity, and "The Colour Song," featuring Colin Mochrie of "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" fame.

The one real stunning message song is "Talk About Peace," which has as frank a discussion about politics as you're likely to hear directed at kids:

Well, they've got enough equipment to destroy the world and everything that's in it.
They way I've got it figured, it'll take a little while, about 25 or 30 minutes.
Seems funny to me that when you talk about peace, well, you might be suspected of crime.
And that the people trying hardest to save the world have lived here the shortest time.

Sharon & Bram are finishing up their final tour dates this week, but plan to continue to record new singles and be involved in more children's media projects.

Sharon & Bram's new songs are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and Google Play.

He hasn't been around quite as long as Sharon & Bram, but SaulPaul has a contest for the month of July revolving around his song "Park Rec Two Step."In partnership with the National Recreation and Parks Association, SaulPaul is promoting the "Park Rec Two Step Challenge" to encourage kids to get out and about into the national parks this summer. Watch the video (below) for more information. Submit videos of your kids, their friends, and your summer campers or family visiting local parks or recreation centers and doing the Park Rec Two Step for a chance to win weekly prizes of $100 Amazon gift cards (well, there are prizes left on July 22 and July 29).

Send your videos here by July 29. Use the hashtags #ParkRecTwoStepChallenge and #GameOnJuly on social media (make sure the posts are marked public. Did I mention that the Grand Prize winner gets a $250 Amazon gift card and will appear in the official Park Rec Two Step video with SaulPaul? I guess I should have!

Here's the video where SaulPaul explains the Park Rec Two Step contest: