Artomatic

This year’s event is a Crystal City office building scheduled to be demolished, featuring 10 floors of art by more than 1,000 artists. of every medium. Visual art, music, performance, film, fashion, and more are highlighted. Workshops, tours, seminars and other events are held all month long.

Special events for kids – click the links for full description and to RSVP/reserve your child’s spot for these completely free programs:

• Saturday May 19 1-2pm: Community Paper Quilting Bee for Children
• Saturday May 19 2:30-3:15pm and 3:30-4:15pm Mobile Making Workshop (kids under 10 will need a little assistance from a parent)
• Sunday May 20 1-2pm Bubble Wrap Art Workshop (ages 4 and up)
• Sunday May 20 2-3pm Kids Drum Circle (all ages — don’t forget your hacky sack!)
• Saturday May 26 1-2pm Headdress Making Workshop (all ages)
• Saturday May 26 4-5pm African Adinkra Workshop (ages 6-10)
• Sunday May 27 12-1pm Oh Susannah! Singalong  (preschooler and parents)
• Sunday May 27 2-3pm Super Snake Collage (three age groups: 5-9, 10-13, 14+)
• Sunday May 27 3-5pm Visual Poem Assemblages (maximum children in class: 18; ages 8 and under must be accompanied by adult)
• More Children’s programs and events at Artomatic

Directions

Hours: Open through June 23 Wed. and Thurs. noon-10pm, Fri. and Sat. noon-1am, Sun. noon-5pm, closed Mon. and Tues.

A Walk for Flynn
Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM
North Lake Center at 15101 Bauer Drive in Rockville, Maryland (this is the holding school for Beverly Farms ES, previously known as Manor Lake ES).

Donation:  $20 per person.  Make checks payable to Research Down Syndrome (RDS)

RSVP:  Maureen Haynos at jep873@aol.com

What to Wear:  Navy Blue and Kelly Green – Team Flynn colors!

Rain Date:  Sunday, June 2.

Why We Come Together: To honor and remember Flynn Thomas Fry. We want to help keep Flynn’s spirit alive, and also contribute the family’s favorite charity, Research Down Syndrome (RDS).

Walk Details:

The Walk for Flynn will take place around Lake Frank, located in the Manor Lakes neighborhood off of Bauer Drive. After our walk, we will provide a light breakfast for everyone before they head off to their other Sunday activities.

The walking paths around Lake Frank are not hard to maneuver, and there are only a few hills to climb. The entire walk around the lake is about four miles, with a few interesting creek crossings on big stones. For the seasoned walker/hiker, it takes about an hour.  We will have an alternate route that is shorter and easier for the less-seasoned walker and children.

Jean has three kids. I have three kids. The scheduling and driving and commitment required of us parents for our kids’ extracurricular activities is daunting. Admittedly, I would rather ditch the whole process and go play soccer as a family in the backyard, or take the kids along to a wine festival to play in the gravel while I savor a Sauvignon Blanc. Of course I don’t do that. Just like you parents out there, I sign up, pay for and drive my kids to multiple activities each which enrich their development, confidence and joy.

But when you hear the words, “It means everything to us,” from a fellow mom who willingly gets up on weekend mornings before the sun for games and practices, invests in oodles of expensive hockey gear, and oh yeah, has two other sons with their own interests and activities you know this local activity provider must completely rock. 

So my family and I are definitely hitting this fabulous fundraiser and family skate event on Saturday May 12 from 5-7 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. People can come out and skate for a couple hours, or cheer the skaters on and eat snacks from the rink restaurant (what Alice and I will be doing as Chris/Dad, Charlie and Eve get their skate on). We can all also participate in a raffle for Disney tickets, Nintendo 3DS systems, and more prizes aimed at the family demographic, and donate to the Cheetahs if you are so inclined. I am so inclined.

You can register for the event in advance. 100% of the money raised will fund ice expenses for the Cheetah program. If you pony up $50 at their donation site (a very fair price for a night out for your family) you can send a shout out to your favorite Cheetah (Go Jack!) and get a Cheetahs t-shirt.

Having just turned 37, I myself look forward to wearing a cheetah tee while doing errands around town.  (Oh wait, it’s the cougar that is the wild cat symbol of a hot older woman. Hmm, maybe I can start a new pop culture name that a cheetah is a not-overly-worked-out-but-takes-care-of-herself professional woman and mother who gets sh*t done?? Do you think that will catch on??)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

5:00 – 7:00 pm

Rockville Ice Arena

50 Southlawn Ct, Rockville, MD |

The Montgomery Cheetahs are a non-profit organization offering an adapted ice hockey program for young people with developmental disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome. More than 100 youth have participated in the program since its founding in 2006.

Cannot make it but feeling inspired? Donate online for this county-wide program of awesome. Interest in signing up your child? Check out information about the Cheetahs on their website and Facebook page. And if you live outside of the DC area, check the American Special Hockey Association website under “member programs.

This is a Guest Post by Silver Spring Town Center

Taste the World in Downtown Silver Spring’s Fenton Village

Sunday, May 6, 1-5pm

Nearly two dozen restaurants featuring cuisine from around the globe will be showcased in the second annual Taste the World in Fenton Village on Sunday, May 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. Fenton Village is located just south of downtown Silver Spring between Wayne, Georgia and Burlington avenues and Fenton Street.

Pictured above: The band Eastern Standard Time plays at 4pm

Unlike other tasting events assembled on sidewalks or public lots, Taste the World, in a “pub crawl” style, welcomes participants into the restaurants to sample not just their specialties but their special atmosphere. Restaurants will offer appetizers or small tasting plates for $2, $3, $4 and $5.

Event attendees will pick up their Taste the World passports at Parking Lot 3 on Fenton Street between Thayer and Silver Spring avenues beginning at 1 p.m. An array of live music will be played on our Taste the World Stage, including Eastern Standard Time who will really get the party going with a Caribbean Beat! Once participants have their fill of the range of tastes, they return to the stage area and enter a free drawing for prizes from local merchants.

For more information, call 240-832-3078 or visit www.tastetheworldfentonvillage.org for maps, a list of participating restaurants, and other event details. Also join our event page on Facebook  

Addis Ababa Restaurant
8233 Fenton Street

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Bombay Gaylord

Fenton Cafe

Fire Station Restaurant

Ghar-E-Kabob

Good Food

Jackie’s Restaurant

Kefa Café

Langano Ethiopian Restaurant

Lesaac Ethiopian Cafe

Lizbeth’s Café

Lotus Café

Mandarin Restaurant

Manny & Olga’s Pizza

Original Big Greek Café

Pacci’s Neopolitan Pizzeria

Piratz Tavern

Roger Miller Restaurant

Thai Derm

Thai Market

The Greek Place

Vicino Ristorante Italiano

Zed’s Cafe

Full event information and performance schedule at the Children’s Cancer Foundation website.

FRIDAY APRIL 27

On Friday, April 27, the Newseum will open the HP New Media Gallery, an interactive experience that uses the latest technology to allow visitors to physically step into a social network that shows media’s powerful impact on our world. Live Twitter feeds fill touch-screen monitors and connect visitors with trending news stories. The 2,500-square-foot gallery is the first permanent addition to the museum since its grand opening in 2008.

As visitors enter the gallery, they are directed to the “Check-In” area, where they can post photos of themselves to screens in the gallery and comment on events of the day. At two 11-foot-wide interactive touch walls, visitors are encouraged to explore dozens of important news events and viral videos, including the first Twitter reports of the 2008 China earthquake and the Facebook posts that fueled the Egyptian revolution in 2011.

In the “Choose the News” area, visitors can flip through the latest stories and build custom news pages, then publish them to a large video wall. The “Game Zone” features motion-tracking technology that allows visitors to use hand gestures to test their knowledge of social media.

SATURDAY APRIL 28

Fenton Street Market returns to Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring on April 28, from 10:00am – 4:00pm! Every Saturday through October 27, over 60 local vendors a week will showcase their wares: original artwork, handmade and imported crafts, antiques, jewelry, furniture, vintage clothing, unique services such as acupuncture and henna tattoos, and much more. Community programming will include a screen printing demonstration by Pyramid Atlantic, an interactive model train exhibit by the Riverdale Model Train Club, and music by market favorites Snakehead Run and Israel Dempsey. Veterans Plaza is located in front of the Silver Spring Civic Building, at the intersection of Fenton St. and Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, MD 20910.

SATURDAY APRIL 28 & SUNDAY APRIL 29

USA Science and Engineering Festival
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
April 28: 10:00am-6:00pm
April 29: 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission FREE

This huge and awesome free festival which features over 3,000 hands-on science and engineering activities, and more than 100 stage shows on six stages! It’s a science loving family’s dream! Attendees can operate state-of-the-art robots; converse with astronauts, Nobel Laureates, storm chasers, science celebrities like Bill Nye the Science Guy or the MythBusters and even scientists of the past; fly a fighter jet simulator; enter a virtual reality environment, be a CSI agent and so much more. Students can also leave with information about science and engineering scholarships, internships, mentorship and future jobs.

Before you go, be sure to download the FREE USA Science and Engineering Festival App. It lists all activities, stage shows, 36 Featured Authors, and gives you a map and more. The app is available for both iPhone and Android.

Highlight for Young Kids 

Visit the PBS Kids Sid the Science Kid Booth for fun hands on activities for children all day, a photo opportunity with the Sid the Science Kid costume character, see Sid the Science Kid will perform his “Science is Everywhere” singalong on the Curie Stage on Saturday at 10:50am and 12:50pm and Sunday at 10:00am and 11:50pm, and be entered to win a Sid the Science Kid collection of merchandise drawing each day.

Also, leave a comment on this post to win one of TWO copies of the Sid’s Backyard Campout DVD! The winners will be randomly drawn in one week.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Glen Echo Park’s Family Day is full of free events abound from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  including face painting, music and dance performances, magic shows, a youth art exhibition, family dancing, T-Ball Extreme, tours by National Park Service rangers, and more. If you have attended in the past, new to this year’s event is storytelling. There is also cake and lemonade for all.

Family Day marks the opening of the Park’s historic Dentzel Carousel carousel for its 92nd season. Visitors will enjoy many FREE activities, Carousel rides are $1.25/person. The Park’s new Ballroom Café will be open — operated by the Brown Bag — and will serve lots of tasty and healthy fare.

While at Glen Echo Park, head to The Puppet Co. to relax and take in a show!

Pinnochio
Thursday at 10 am
Saturday at 11:30 am and 1 pm
Sunday at 11:30 am and 1 pm
Half life-size rod puppets, performed in the Italian “Commedia del Arte” style, tell Carlo Collodi’s story of what it means to be “real.” Share the trials and tribulations of the little live puppet as he finds in one adventure after another that the “easy way” isn’t always the right way. Deemed, ”One of the most exquisite productions to ever grace our theater,”by the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater. Running Time: 45 minutes; Recommended: K through Grade 6. Tickets $10.

Tiny Tots – Mother Goose Caboose
Saturday at 10 am -Geared towards tots age 0-4. The Tiny Tots program is designed for the youngest theater patrons. The lights stay on, the doors stay open, and everyone has a great time! All individuals must have a ticket, including babes-in-arms. Tickets $5.

The Puppet Co. Playhouse
7300 MacArthur Blvd
Glen Echo, MD 20812
Phone: (301) 634-5380
Website: www.thepuppetco.org
E-Mail: boxoffice@thepuppetco.org
Please visit www.thepuppetco.org/directions/ for directions to the venue.

Disclosure: The Puppet Co. and Creative MoCo, of which both Glen Echo Park Partnership of the Arts and The Puppet Co. are members, are advertising partners of this website. However, in support of these performing arts non-profits in which I believe and which enrich local families’ lives, they receive a highly reduced advertising rate as well as whatever promotional support I can give.

The story tells of young Caroline’s fantastic adventure at the seashore where she and her friends encounter characters such as friendly octopuses (octopi?), sea horses, angel fish, crabs, even King Neptune.

Caroline Goes to the Seashore by Maryland Youth Ballet
Saturday, April 28, 2012, 3:00-4:00 pm
Cultural Arts Center, Montgomery College, Silver Spring/Takoma Park
(Georgia Avenue at East-West Hwy)
Children: 12 & under: $10; Adults: $15
Tickets available in advance from Maryland Youth Ballet
926 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and day-of at the Cultural Arts Center if tickets remain (as of Tuesday morning, there are still tickets)
Note: Tickets may only be purchased using cash or check.

For more information: call 301-608-2232 or www.marylandyouthballet.org.

Disclosure: MYB is an advertiser on this website. My daughter is a student of the MYB, however all tuition and extras are paid entirely by me.

Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30pm and 4pm through May 26 (the show extended through Memorial Day!), 4908 Auburn Avenue in Bethesda. (Special days: Princess Parade after 4:00 show on April 28, and a Wig Out Dance Party on May 18 after 7:00pm show– Get your wildest wig or wackiest hairstyle and boogie.)

Show your Tangled-loving kids the story of Rapunzel on the live stage, with lots of interesting twists that differ from both the Disney retelling and the Brothers Grimm classic. The Imagination Stage brings to life the book by Friends creators (yup, the Chandler-Monica-Rachel Friends) David Crane and Marta Kauffman, using four accomplished actors who sing and bring the colorful characters to life.

Actor Felicia Curry, a veteran of musicals such as Les Miserables at the Signature Theatre, is receiving glowing reviews for her portayal of Rapunzel. Curry is African American, and she tells The Washington Post, “It’s not what a princess usually looks like. Or sounds like. Or acts like. That’s a really new take on it, and it’s going to be a reminder to the kids that a princess can be anybody . . . whoever your prince may be.”

Tickets are $10-22 and available online. Rapunzel is recommended for children 4 and up.

Here’s a video sneak peek of the show!

International Day of the Book Festival in Kensington

Sunday April 22nd 2012, 11am-4pm, rain or shine
Howard Avenue, Old Town Kensington, Md
This street festival celebrates reading and community. Children’s activities include storytelling, art projects, a kids’ scavenger hunt, nature discoveries, free books and more.  For the adults, there is live music, author events, readings….check out the whole lineup.

Visit a National Park for Free

Save a few bucks and visit a nearby national park for free. During National Park Week, April 21-29, 397 national parks offer free admission, all week long!

Maryland National Parks Near D.C.
Antietam National Battlefield
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (including Great Falls, Maryland side)
Fort McHenry NM and Historic Shrine National Monument
Fort Washington Park

Virginia National Parks Near D.C.
George Washington Memorial Parkway’s Great Falls Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Prince William Forest Park
Shenandoah National Park

Trout Fishing in America at Black Rock Center of the Arts

Saturday, April 21 at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM
Trout Fishing in America, a beloved folk/rock duo in a concert for children and families, is playing BlackRock Center for the Arts‘ final family matinee concert of it’s 10th Anniversary Season. The eclectic folk/rock duo of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet has won multiple Parents’ Choice and Indie awards and nominated for four Grammy Awards.  But don’t let the whimsically-titled songs (“My Hair had a Party Last Night,” and “Hello, My Chicken Thinks He’s a Dog”) fool you:  these very talented musicians have been hailed “a sublimely musical band” by the Boston Herald.

The performance is recommended for ages 4 and up.12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD.   Tickets are $12.  Purchase at the box office 240 -912-1058 or online at www.blackrockcenter.org

Photo and video courtesy Imagination Stage.

Clark’s Elioak Farm and the Enchanted Forest are Now Open!
Open Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m to 4 p.m. through November 4, 2012.
Tickets: $5.00 per person, no charge for Infants under 12 months. Show  your AAA Card and pay $4.50 for all visitors entering the farm with you. Hayrides, pony rides and the cow train are each $2 extra per person.

My family and I love this place.

Read my full review, and check out more photos from our trip yesterday below.