Storyteller Donna Washington (2/19/2012)

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Donna Washington (photo © 2008 DLW Storyteller)

It is always a bit risky to feature someone or something just from hearsay, but Donna Washington looks very promising. I have never seen her live, but I want to. She will be telling stories this Sunday, 2/19 at 3pm at the Cary Arts Center as part of the Marvelous Music series. On her website, choose “Samples” from the menu to get an idea. Or just watch the video below. I love storytelling as an art form, and this woman sure is good at it. The announcement does not say what age group she is performing for, so if you’re planning on going, call and find out. (I would assume kids should be at least 4-5 years old, if not more.) If you do go, let me know how it was. Donna Washington is telling stories all over the country, but she is based in Durham and I hope to catch her another time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roGcGfUAe6k]

Bug Songs! (2/18/2012)

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What's the buzz?

Take a few bugs, take a symphony orchestra, mix well, and out comes Bug Songs. The NC Symphony, under their NC Symphony for Kids program (ages 4-12) will be performing songs about insects on March-10. We’ll feature that event here as well, but go ahead and mark your calendars just in case. (I want to go just to see what else they come up with beside Rimsky-Korsakov and Saint-Saens.) To get a preview and some hands-on exposure to the instruments, head down to Marbles this Saturday, 2/18 between 11am and 2pm. Kids can see and touch instruments, a ‘real clarinet player’ will be there and more. Music Makers, a joint effort between Marbles and the Symphony sounds very exciting – with bugs or without!

The picture above is Flight of the Bumblebee by Flavio@Flickr, used under the CC-BY license

Southern Farm Show: vroom, bark, moo (2/2/2012)

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Checking out the product display at Southern Farm Show in Raleigh

Daddy, can we put on of these in the backyard?

(This was two weeks ago, but I still wanted to write a brief review.)

On short notice and thanks to the tip of a reliable friend, the boy and I headed out to the Southern Farm Show on the State Fairgrounds. Now this is not the State Fair where kids are expected. This is a trade show for farmers. And we all know what farmers do. They have dogs. They have cows. They ride big friggin’ tractors.

I mainly went for the tractors; my son is at the stage where everything with wheels deserves a “Wow!”. Anything that looks more exciting than a car or bus is a dee-tee, from ‘digger’. There were lots of dee-tees. I was also not the only father, it seems many farmers brought their kids, so I tried to blend in as we studied the offerings of the farm equipment industry.

... upon further inspection of this image, I realize that maybe our "farmer and son" disguise had been busted. We enjoyed it anyway.

Before going, I looked at the program (always a good idea), and saw that a cowdog demos was scheduled for that day. Cowdogs are herding cows, and they are pretty good at it. We were both impressed by the half-hour demo..

The next Southern Farm Show will be in a year (1/30-2/1), so mark your calendars. However, we’ll be heading to the fairgrounds before that, in May (18-20) for the “Got To Be NC Festival”, formerly known as NCAgFest.

The Ringling Brothers are in town! (2/8-2/12/2012)

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I saw a few weeks ago that the Ringling Brothers will be in Raleigh this coming weekend and filed it in the back of my head to mention here. I was very excited when I drove down I-40 on Monday and right at that moment, the Ringling Brothers’ train was crossing the bridge over 40! A circus arriving by rail, now that brings back some very fond childhood memories of the The Daddy himself. The elephants and the Auguste clowns were my favorite. The horses and lions less so. But The Daddy has grown up, and while not a card-carrying member of PETA, he is now concerned with the proper treatment of the animals (and I’ve always felt sorry for Auguste). The fact that The Ringling Brothers have three animal care related links right on their front webpage shows that I’m not alone. If you go, educate yourself about the issue, and discuss it age-appropriately with the youngens. Look at PETA, look at the Circus website and judge for yourself. The circus is at the RBC Center from Wednesday, 2/8 – Sunday, 2/12. Tickets can be bought here.

A family outing at Blue Jay Point (2/4/2012)

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Blue Jay Point County Park is probably a well-kept secret among Falls of Neuse suburbanites and other folks on the outskirts of North Raleigh. To be honest, this is one of the few parks in the Triangle I know only from driving by. A good reason to visit this Saturday is that the park is celebrating its 20st anniversary with a big party.

According to the website, “This event is free, no preregistration is required, and all ages are welcome.” What more could you want? Well, maybe that it is a bit closer. It is about a 40 minute drive to the North of downtown. If you’re in North Raleigh, good, if you’re in South Raleigh or Cary, you may want to think twice. The Park is on 3200 Pleasant Union Church Road, which is off Six Forks.

Best of Playgrounds: Chavis Park

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The playground at Chavis Park gets 4 out of 5 stars. 4 because an upgrade/remodel is planned for the near future, and we need room for improvement, right?

Chavis Playground

My two-year-old particularly likes the suspension bridge on the play set and the large Jeep-shaped spring toy.

I like Chavis because it lies in a nice setting; the green way and a creek are nearby, and of course the pool in the summer. There are also picnic shelter and plenty of park benches. It has a quite interesting playset (pictured) with multiple slides and a second one for the little kids. Spring toys, diggers, swings, see-saws – it is all there.

The ground cover is sand, and I’m still undecided in the sand vs. rubber debate. Rubber is cleaner, but sand may be more fun.

Chavis is easy to get to from downtown; walk east on Martin / Davie / Cabarrus / Lenoir as you like, and then south on Chavis Way until you reach the playground. There is supposedly a nice antique carousel in the round building, but it is currently closed for renovation and should re-open later this year in a new building.

Review of “A Rollicking Tale of Blackbeard!” by Storytellers To Go (2012)

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On Saturday, 1/28, my son and I went to see A Rollicking Tale of Blackbeard! Pirate of the Carolina Coast by Storytellers To Go and I we have to give it a glowing review. Storytellers To Go is a performance class for teenagers by Raleigh Little Theater. From what I saw, I should send my kids there someday.

Storytellers To Go perform "A Rollicking Tale of Blackbeard"

Why did we like it? Continue reading →

Fred Fletcher Park

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Fred Fletcher Park just might be one of those places that you will vaguely remember driving by, once somebody explains where it is. (Going from downtown to Five Points on Glenwood, it is on the left.)

If this is the case, the park is worth checking out up-close. Fletcher Park has just about everything you could want packed in one small-ish park. Some outdoor art, a large field, some hills and bushes to play hide-and-seek, swings, benches, open spaces and hidden nooks.

If you walk from downtown, follow Boylan to the North until it ends at the park entrance. If you drive, look for parking on the north side along Washington Street.

Note, this is not directly a kids’ destination like Pullen or Chavis with structured playsets and concession stand. But for running around and exploring, it is wonderful.

That’s what I call storytelling! (1/28/2012)

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Cameron Village Regional Library is hosting the Raleigh Little Theater Storytellers, who tell the story of our local pirate hero, Blackbeard with “puppets, a sea chantey, and a wild pirate dance“. If the weather is still cold, this might be a good reason to go inside and warm up for 45 minutes. Arrgh!
If you haven’t been to Cameron Village Regional Library, check it out. It has a nice kids’ books section. After the story, stop by Fresh Market and buy some fresh produce with the kids and cook dinner together. See, there’s your plan for Saturday! I dedicate this first post to my wife, an avid fan of this library.

The library is in Cameron Village, at 1930 Clark Avenue. The event is on Saturday at 3 pm.

Update 1/30: Read our review of this event.