After living on the road since May 8th, it felt great to head home yesterday and see my family in Canada.

It was a crazy packing job as we transferred everything from my U.S. rental car into my dad’s car. I don’t know if I could have squeezed a golf ball in there. We definitely bought many souvenirs and came back with more than we started with.

I am going to enjoy some restful days at my parent’s house and start preparing for my last two shows of the tour which are at food allergy camps in Minnesota and Arizona.

And thankfully – no more driving! Total miles of the road trip: 3,463 (5,750 km)

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Camp Emerson is proud to be a sponsor of Kyle Dine’s Road to No Reaction Tour! Like Kyle we are all about empowering kids and helping them to see that they have friends and support everywhere they go.

Camp Emerson is family owned and has been around for 46 years. Children age 7-15 design their own schedules from over 50 activities including: heated pool, 2 lakes, art, theater, sports, wilderness and our Step Beyond activities – science, rocketry, cooking, CO2 race cars, crime scene investigation and more! We have 2, 4 and 6 week sessions and are located in western Massachusetts. 100 passionate staff supervise our kind, bright and talented kids. This is a place where children feel respected and are comfortable to be themselves.

Now, we know that trusting your child with food allergies to the care of someone else can cause a fair amount of anxiety. Our goal is to make going to sleepaway camp possible AND worry free for you and your child. We’ve seen it happen every summer. The key to a successful experience is our attention to detail. That’s our philosophy for everything we do here at Camp Emerson.

Sue Lein, Director and Owner, understands because she is allergic to eggs. Sue will want to speak with you personally about your child’s allergies and dietary needs. Together you’ll make an individual plan. You’ll meet our Registered Dietician, Chefs and Health Staff. Camp Emerson is Nut and Shellfish free. GF, vegetarian and complex food allergy menus are all available. See our Food Allergy Specialist webpage for the many steps we take to help your child eat safely.

Mention Kyle and you’ll receive 20% off your 2013 tuition! For more information, call Sue at 800-782-3395 or email directors@campemerson.com.

Tomorrow marks the very last school show of my “Road to No Reaction” Tour. It has been a long haul to say the least. I have been on the road since April 23rd and am looking forward to some time with my folks before heading off for a few camp performances in MN and AZ.

After 50 shows I feel so comfortable delivering my performances and have so much fun trying out new elements, connecting with new audiences and spreading allergy awareness in as many places as possible. I look back at how I felt mid-April, one week before the tour started and smile. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous and found it hard to believe I would be back performing in schools after a six month layoff. I am lucky that it all comes back to me like riding a bike.

I am happy to report that after 1.5 months of shows:

- Children genuinely want to learn more about allergies and how they can help keep their friends safe.

- Children already have a great base of allergy knowledge. I give credit to schools everywhere for making this a bigger issue for their students.

- Teachers are so appreciative of the shows as their students learn more about a very important topic in a fun way. I can only imagine the number of questions they received after my assemblies as there was never enough time to answer all of the students’ questions. I thank them for continuing the lesson well after the show.

- Principals are implementing positive steps and policies that ensure allergy safety in their schools in an achievable way.

- Lastly, the best feedback I could ever receive happened many times on the tour with the question: “Can we book you again next year?”

See you in September!
Kyle

Last Sunday my good friend Igor flew all the way from Slovenia just to join me on my U.S. “Road to No Reaction” Tour. I was so happy to have him join me as traveling alone at times can be difficult and downright lonely!

Our first road trip adventure was four years ago when Igor flew over and joined me for a tour of New York, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. After our amazing time together, we quickly labelled Nashville as one of our favorite cities in the world!

As well as being a great friend, he also has been helping with setting up each one of my shows – lugging equipment which goes a long way in helping me save energy for my performances. He is a master navigator and great radio DJ too! The long drives on this trip haven’t always been easy, but time flies with our long conversations and also when howling together to comedy radio!

Every day after my performances, we always try to go somewhere and put on our tourists hats. Highlights have been going on a tour of Fenway Park, seeing Plymouth Rock, seeing a Broadway play in NYC and staying a night in Cape Cod. We’ve truly loved learning more about The U.S. together and are constantly overwhelmed by how nice and kind Americans have been to us. The incredible Uzzell, Klein and Fromer families opened up their homes for us and many more have given us many road trip snacks and goodies along the way. We are so appreciate of all of them.

We will have many photographs from our trip and memories and stories to last a life time.

I’m lucky to have such a great friend who would book a crazy expensive plane ticket, take time away from his life, family and work and help me out on tour and with my mission of raising allergy awareness.

Not to mention he doesn’t get sick of my shows after seeing them day after day!

Thanks Igor!

Packed and ready to hit the road!

My Top 10 Road Trip Essentials

1. GPS – I can’t believe I used to print out maps! Navigating through big cities was a nightmare. Now my Garmin Nuvi steers me where I need to go and helps me be on time so I’m never ever late for a performance.

2. This American Life Podcasts – If you have never listened to this show – please do! They are a great listen and help pass the time on long road trips. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

3. Hand Sanitizer – I know that soap and water is the best way to get food proteins off your hands, but after a show filled with many high fives with children, I am quick to grab my hand sanitizer afterwards to help me stay healthy!

4. Insurance – As I’m a canuck, I make sure to get a good travel insurance policy when travelling in the U.S. It’s risky travelling alone with allergies, but I make sure to cover my bases and have a wallet card with my policy with me at all times. Never had to use it, hope I never will!

5. Allergy Safe Food – I always have a few bags filled with peanut free granola bars, fruit, beef jerky, and some sugary snacks in the case I have trouble finding allergy safe food elsewhere.

6. Coffee – My drink holder always has a cup of coffee in it! I love a good morning cup of Joe to start every day to get a boost of energy before I hit the stage.

7. Berks! – My Birkenstock sandals are the “treat for my feet” after running around a school gymnasium in my high top sneakers.

8. The Envelope – I thank my mom for this one. I need to keep all of my receipts during my trips and keep them organized in an envelope to ensure I don’t lose any in my seat cushions or by flying out the open window!

9. iPad Mini – This was my big treat this year I love it! It’s been essential for me to make bookings and communicate with upcoming shows while on the road. I use McDonalds as my office due to their free wi-fi. Thanks Ronald! It also allows me to make Skype calls to my wife and family. They just love seeing me pop up on their screens in the most random places!

10. The Itinerary – This tour I have over 50 performances! I make a very detailed trip itinerary before I leave and follow it to the letter. It contains every time, address, and road distance that I need to keep in mind when getting from one place to the next. I get so busy on the road that it’s nice to have a piece of paper that tells me what to do and where to go!

Lastly, I have my EpiPen and Allerject with me which go without saying! They go with me absolutely everywhere I go whether I’m on the road or not.

What are your road trip essentials when travelling with food allergies?

Hard to believe, but I have already been on tour for 3 weeks! It has been crazy busy which is why I’m only now getting around to a blog post about my travels.

The first week and a half I spent in Canada which was great because I got lots of family time. I performed at a few schools in Toronto and also managed to fit in a few days at the Anaphylaxis Canada office too to prepare for a teen workshop I organized on May 4th.

While I was in Toronto I managed to get all of my tour materials finished. My tour shirts, banner and school resource binders which all turned out great! Pics coming soon.

Then on May 8th I hit the road and ventured south into the U.S. I was lucky to have my mom join me for the first 5 days which was great! We had a blast together at the inner harbour in Baltimore and stayed with family in the area.

I had two super fun public performance on the weekend. One was at the Children’s Museum of Richmond as well as my 4th concert for the Metro D.C. Support Group. Great seeing old friends and meeting many new ones!

I’m now on my own and roaming far and wide. Last night I performed for the The Food Allergy and Asthma Support Group of North Jersey. I managed to get on the road at 9:00pm and drive over 200 miles west for a morning show in Pennsylvania. I am definitely becoming familiar with all of the satellite radio stations!

More updates soon!

Kyle

For full concert details, please visit www.kyledine.com/public-concerts.html

Hope to see you there!
Kyle

Before every show begins, I love the quiet time before hundreds of students pile into the gym. It’s a chance for me to do a sound check, test out new songs or banter and relax.

However the best part is just jamming. The acoustics of an empty gymnasium can be amazing. This is the time I play my favorite songs, write new ones and just be creative. After this I am charged up and ready to entertain!

Dear fans, friends, and supporters,

After performing at schools across North America for 6 years, I have decided to bring in sponsors to the mix.  I am still a fully independent musician and educator and will never include any advertising of any kind in a school setting. The messaging that I provide to students about food allergies has always been, and will always be pure without any type of hidden agenda. On a side note – one guy once accused me of being the Bob Dylan of the allergy world and that I was trying to influence legislation in British Parliament through music! Ummm Nope!

I know the first thing that many people think about when they hear the word “sponsor” is money. Please let me assure you that this is not the case with me. I have given companies and organizations the chance to sponsor my “Road to No Reaction” tour for three main reasons:

1. To grow the reach of allergy awareness - Although I will be raising awareness for their product/service, they will also help raise awareness about my music and performances – which ultimately will lead to more opportunities to educate others.
2. To let the allergy community know about products/services I support - I am not promoting random things like aluminum foil I would also never promote a product/service that I don’t believe would help the allergy community. Please view my sponsors as companies/organizations that have my stamp of approval!
3. To invest in what I do - I try to keep my speaking fees as low as possible to prevent the cost of my shows from being a barrier to schools. The additional money I receive from sponsorship will go directly back into my show in the form of new equipment/props and assist with the development of an educational resource binder that I will leave behind at every school to help keep the message going long after my visit.

So does this mean I’m going to perform with logos tattooed all over my body!?

Absolutely not! 

But here’s what you can expect over the coming weeks as I embark on my largest tour to date:

• A blog post and a Facebook post about each company/organization
• Kyle Dine “original” jingles written for the top level sponsors
• Logos seen in various places including my website and Facebook timeline banner

I am very excited to share more info about all of my tour sponsors with you soon! I have spoken to all of them and know first hand they are all as passionate about raising food allergy awareness as I am. I am grateful that they are “all aboard” the tour and that they support my passion to educate children about allergies.

I would like to personally thank Jodie Hommer from Team Anaphylaxis, and Lisa Horne from the Arizona Food Allergy Alliance for their help in showing this newbie the ropes of sponsorship.

I appreciate your understanding and hope to see you on tour!

Kyle

PS – Please check out my sponsorship package to see all of the cool ways sponsors will be integrated into my tour.