Kids and adults attending Mister Rogers Family Days will have the chance to “toon” in to the artistry of Oakmont cartoonist Joe Wos at this year’s edition of the Latrobe festival.
Known for his short-format “Cartoon Academy” TV series of drawing demonstrations produced at Pittsburgh PBS affiliate WQED, Wos will combine his artistic and storytelling talents in a live program for all ages.
His “Once Upon a Toon” performance, presented in partnership with WQED, will be a new feature at the festival on its final day, June 7 — set for noon at the Latrobe campus of Westmoreland County Community College.
A week’s worth of Latrobe-area activities are planned, beginning June 2, to celebrate local native Fred Rogers and his famed children’s TV show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“It’s storytelling with live cartoon illustration,” Wos said of his planned June 7 performance. “I’ll be drawing a picture book, creating it before your eyes.
“There will be some humor for the grown-ups and some for the kids. It’s all family-friendly.”
In addition to appearances on air and online, Wos has spread his cartooning creativity across the country with stops at venues including comics conventions.
“My shows are interactive,” Wos said. During the Latrobe show, kids will be invited to guess what cartoon image he’s drawing. Those who attend can request a free drawing of their favorite animal, he said.
Wos is the creator of the internationally syndicated feature MazeToons and a related book series. He’s a regional Emmy winner for his work on “Cartoon Academy” and in 2019 won a Reuben Award, presented by the National Cartoonists Society.
He’s also the artist for StarKist’s iconic Charlie the Tuna character.
Wos said he’s been doing “Once Upon a Toon” presentations for more than 30 years, including early appearances at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.
Fred Rogers caught one of Wos’ shows there and later joined him backstage. But it wasn’t the first time Wos encountered Rogers — who he ranks as one of his personal heroes, along with Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz.
That happened a decade earlier. Then a teen punk rock fan, Wos met Rogers at Idlewild Park during a picnic he attended by virtue of his friendship with the son of Art Vogel, a cameraman for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“I had spiked hair,” Wos recalled. “Fred took one look at me and said, ‘You’re an artist, aren’t you?’ ”
After the Children’s Museum show, Wos reminded Rogers of his assessment of his younger self during their earlier meeting.
Rogers’ response: “I was right, wasn’t I?”
Wos said there is still a bit of punk sensibility in many of the cartoon characters he draws.
“It tends to be about characters who want to do something wild and outrageous,” he said. “Everybody has some outrageous dream.
“It might be a duck who wants to be a rooster, or a swan who wants to be an opera singer.”
Wos will feature drawings of bugs during the upcoming season of “Cartoon Academy.”
One constant in his career: “It’s about having fun drawing.”
