I was lucky enough to see the opening night performance of The 101 Dalmatians Musical and I really enjoyed it. The clever casting and staging brings the story to life in a fresh new way. I think preschool aged kids up to teenagers will have fun at the show. Read more of my review here.
"All day, every day, for the entire month," you are invited to enjoy the Art Institiute, including the new Mondern Wing. Special programming is offered through out Feburary. Gallery tours and talks, Valentine's day art projects for kids, and lectures are just a few of the offerings. On Saturday, February 20, 2010 from 10am-3pm enjoy the Family Festival: Behind the Lions Day, which features 20-minute guided gallery walks, story time for 3-5 year olds, dance performances by HS2, and art projects for both children and teens.
Received this email from Mr. Singer explaining why his performances at Farm at the Zoo will be ending:
"As many of you know, my Storytime performances at the Lincoln Park Zoo will need more funding if they are to continue.Our last scheduled Storytime is January 27th. I've had the time of my life making music with all of you and I hope we can continue singing together.I wholeheartedly thank you for all of your love and support!"
As a new mom I went to Mr. Singer's shows every Wednesday. It was a great way to get out of the house, meet other parents, and expose my young son to music. Mr. Singer really connects with the kids, even learning thier names, in the intimate environment of the Farmhouse. The performances were fun and educational. A great resource for families in the city. This funding issue came up once before, parents voices were heard, and the shows continued. If you'd like to try to save these wonderful family performances please contact:
Erika Kohler
Senior Director of Guest Servies
Email: ekohler@lpzoo.org
312. 742.2224
Lincoln Park Zoo/Story Time
2001 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614
The much anticipated renovation of the Skokie Exploratorium has been pushed back until February 2010 at the earliest. This is a great opportunity for parents with little ones, ages 1-6, to get there a few more times this winter. We'll keep you up to date with the info regarding the actual closing date.
If your family is crazy about the White Sox, you may want to pick up some tickets to their annual fan fest. Sox Fest 2010 will be held at the Palmer House Hilton on January 23 and 24, 2010. There will be tons of Sox players and coaches, past and present, to meet with all the fans. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, January 7th at 10am. Visit whitesox.com/soxfest for details.
Emerald City Theater has once again produced a perfectly enjoyable show for young children and their parents. A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas is a contemporary twist on a classic that is filled with fun from start to finish. The show will be playing at the Apollo Theater through January 2, 2010. Tickets cost $12 for children and $15 for adults.
This production is a collaboration between Ralph Covert (of Ralph's World fame) and Emerald City Theater Company. They first staged A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas in 2005 and had so much success that they have repeated it year after year. It is so well loved that it was recently made into an adorable children's book. If you're interested, pick up the book before seeing the show. My son had recently read it in school and loved telling me what was going to happen next. It added a lot to the experience for us.
The show has the classic theme of being good vs. being bad. The main character is a boy named Fritz who prides himself in being bad. Fritz unwittingly releases the evil Mouse King from his video game and subsequently has to chase the Mouse King into "Christmaswood" to save Christmas. With the help of Nutcracker he finds it's a lot better to be the hero then a naughty boy. His solo, I'm a Natural, is cute and you can really hear the Ralph's World sound. Another great song is the Mouse King's, Let's Ruin Christmas. His character gets all the best laughs in the show. As usual, they have added in a bunch of pop culture to keep mom and dad smiling. Look out for great Beyonce and Kanye references. I also need to give a lot of credit to the staging, costumes and puppetry. Each of these elements highlights the creativity of this very special children's theater group.
A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas is a fun, reasonably priced activity for you and your preschoolers this holiday break. The show is exactly 1-hour long and is fast-paced (until the end when it gets a bit sappy). The combination of Ralph Covert's catchy tunes and Emerald City's actors' ability to make the audience giggle is pretty irresistible!
Just in time to keep the kids busy while mom and dad are preparing for the holidays! None of us wants our kids watching too much TV, but there are two new TV specials to catch this holiday season that are fairly guilt-free. One is just for fun, while the other is educational.
Curious George will be starring in his first holiday-themed movie, A Very Monkey Christmas. The comedy will follow Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat as they count down the days until Christmas. The only problem is that neither one of them knows what gift to buy the other for Christmas. A Very Monkey Christmas will begin airing on PBS Wednesday, November 25th, with additional airings scheduled for November 29, December 6, 18, 19, 20 and Christmas Day, December 25.
The Discovery Channel has a new 4-part series, Clash of the Dinosaurs. This show will use leading edge technology to see deep inside the body of a dinosaur to reveal the secrets of these ultimate prehistoric survival machines. This series will air two-parts back -to-back on Sunday, December 6 at 7PM, and concludes Sunday, December 13 at 7PM.
In celebration of their 10th Anniversary the Nature Museum will be offering free admission from October 23 to November 1. Each day brings special events including Adopt-A-Butterfly, Critter Detectives, and a Halloween Costume Contest. On Friday October 30th they are offering the very popular Supper With Snakes event. ($20pp). From 5:30-9:30pm your family can get up-close and personal with a variety of reptiles and the museum's reptile specialists. Pizza, soda and dessert will be provided. If you are interested in this event make sure you register by Wednesday October 28th.
The Chicago Children's International Film Festival will be happening October 22 - November 1, 2009. We all know that viewing movies is a big part of the event, but if you have kids that are interested in MAKING movies there are some unbelievable workshops available for them. The Take One! Workshops cover a range of topics. They are:
Dream Screen Animation
Sat. and Sun. October 24 & 25 (must attend both classes), noon - 4pm, for ages 11-14 You've Got Talent! An Auditioning Workshop
Sat. October 24, noon - 2pm, for ages 8-12 Cartoon Character Creation
Sun. October 25, noon - 2pm, for ages 10-14 Stop Motion Magic with the Creators of Coraline
Sat. October 31, noon to 5pm, for ages 10-14 Acting the Part! with Alimi Ballard
Sat. October 31, 11:30am-1pm, for ages 9-14 Sound Off! One, Two
Sun. November 1, noon-2pm, for ages 9-14
To celebrate the opening of the new permanent exhibit - YOU! The Experience, the Museum of Science and Industry is offering FREE general admission on weekdays October 8 - October 30, 2009. Be one of the first visitors to experience this very cool interactive exhibit - and it is included in the free admission. On the 8th thru the 12th there will be additional entertainment provided by the Midnight Circus, Hubbard Street Dance and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
