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Kidsguide’s weekly e-letter is filled with all kinds of cool things: exhibits, festivals, seasonal highlights, and new ideas to try with your family. If it’s fun, family-friendly and happening in Long Beach Metro and Orange County, it’s in there. The Buzz also regularly holds giveaway contest with prizes such as family four-pack tickets to shows and amusement parks, video games and DVDs. The best part? It’s free!
The day is finally here! See the Southland’s best, brightest and community-minded kids and teens as they compete on May 15th for the titles of Mr. California and Miss Southern California in five age divisions. Debuting this year is the Miss & Mr. Mini, a pageant program for kids 2-5. It’s not too late to sign up!
It’s not too early to begin thinking about summer, and Los Caballeros Racquet & Sports Club has an active one in mind! Sports Camp 2011 provides a noncompetitive environment for campers (4-12) to build self-confidence and cultivate the spirit of good sportsmanship.
Does your little one, tween or teen have what it takes to wear the crown? Check out Mr. California and Miss Southern California, a community- and service-oriented program devoted to helping young men and women develop character. Learn more at their free April orientation!
Learn, munch and come home with a wealth of delicious ideas from the 6th Annual Kids in the Kitchen Healthy Eating & Exercise Fair. This free Long Beach public event engages families and children in fitness challenges, hands-on cooking stations, Veggie Bowling and more.
Get those feet and that heart pumping! Join thousands of families on a cool, crisp Saturday this month to run, walk, roll, swim and skate for two great causes – the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center and the Cancer Support Foundation. There’s plenty to see and do from the always-fun Kids Zone to fantastic military vehicle displays.
Looking for fun family activities for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day? Kidsguide has a list full of them: New Year’s Noon at the Children’s Museum at La Habra and Kidspace, a sleepover at the Aquarium, Times Square-style countdown at Legoland, entertainment and fireworks in Fullerton, a Polar Bear Plunge in La Mirada and the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
Don’t let holiday shopping turn into a drag – speed through your list while the kids experience the thrill of skateboarding! Vans Skatepark at The Block at Orange his month is offering two Holiday Skateboard Clinics for youth: Dec. 11 and Dec. 18.
Step into the colorful world of Curious George, the inquisitive monkey of the popular children’s book series. Now, fans of all ages can follow his lead when the Curious George traveling exhibit makes a stop at Pretend City Children’s Museum to engage visitors in math, science and engineering activities modeled after his own adventures.
Forget about bouncing off the walls. At Vans Skatepark at The Block at Orange, skaters have some 46,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor street courses, has vert and vert ramps on which to test their skills. Skatecamps, private lessons and birthday parties are just some of the amenities that earn the skatepark its world-class reputation.
Take a day trip this fall, and prepare your senses for a feast: the unmistakable flush and fragrance of apple orchards. Take a break from city-livin’ when you visit Oak Glen, a mountain town halfway between Riverside and Palm Springs. There, orchards open their doors to the public to pick and harvest apples by the bushel.
You don’t need to travel far to find respite from the summer heat – Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center has everything water babies enjoy, from spa facilities and year-round swim classes to its popular, splashy Buccaneer Bay.
Are you ready to play? Play as an important learning mechanism in child development takes center stage, along with summer-themed events. Celebrate the season and participate in all kinds of play this June with a line-up of free and low-cost events ranging from cooking lessons and World Soccer Cup and Flag Day activities, to a host of engaging parent workshops.
Parents, here’s an idea to consider when the next birthday rolls around – how about being a part of the fun? No cleanup, no fussing over the menu or party favors, because the folks at GameWorks have it all worked out for you! The little details are already taken care of, from party invitations and food to entertainment, all fit to excite your little party monster and even the shyest wallflower.
Bubble over with mirth when this annual spring program returns to the Discovery Science Center! One of Orange County’s favorite events, it explores the practical and fantastical science of what makes bubbles bob, pop and float. Kids can test their bubble-making prowess at bubble stations and meet Guinness Book World Record Holder and Bubble Scientist, Fan Yang.
Learn, munch and come home with a wealth of delicious ideas from the 5th Annual Kids in the Kitchen Healthy Eating & Exercise Fair. This free Long Beach public event engages families and children in fitness challenges, hands-on cooking stations, Veggie Bowling and more.
Get those feet and that hearts pumping! Join thousands of families on a cool, crisp Saturday this month to run, walk, roll, swim and skate for two great causes – the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center and the Cancer Support Foundation. There’s plenty to see and do from the always-fun Kids Zone to fantastic military vehicle displays.
Kidsguide Magazine’s popular weekly e-letter is back with a new face, but the mission is still the same: help busy parents and inquisitive kids find fun things to do every week in Orange County and throughout Long Beach metro. If you find yourself hankering for the next biannual issue of Kidsguide, new readers, take heart – you can get your Kidsguide fix with The Buzz!
New Year, new slate! Celebrate the New Year a tad early at Orange County’s newest children’s museum on Dec. 31. Then, come back in January to enjoy a slew of exciting programming, including Pretend City’s Free Class Preview Week; celebrations commemorating heroes Amelia Earhart and Martin Luther King Jr.; art studio and storytimes and, of course, touring the museum’s popular miniature city.
Whether you’ve refined your family traditions or are in search of new ones, Kidsguide shares some of its staff’s favorite things.
Not only are winter camps lifesavers for the busy parent, they are also a productive way for kids to spend their two-week school vacation. Most camps often fashion their activities – sometimes even menus! – around fun themes to maximize the experience for participants.
Christmas is coming, and it’s time to get “crafty” when it comes to finding low-cost ways of getting your kids into the holiday spirit. Read on to learn about easy do-it-yourself projects, from making your own tree ornaments and dreidel cards to setting a colorful Kwanzaa table.
We’ll help you find your inner Santa – jolly, efficient and prepared to tackle the nice and naughty things about the holiday season. First on our list: time. Where do the hours go?
…to Discovery Science Center’s “The Science of Gingerbread” exhibit and its annual Gingerbread Competition! Learn delicious tidbits about ginger and gingerbread, and the roles they have played through the ages as medicinal remedy and coveted spice, and as tokens of royal favor.
What do you call a nameless dog that would cross 70 miles of desert war zone in the thick of bitter winter to be with the human who showed him kindness? Marine Corps Major Brian Dennis christened the wild dog “Nubs,” after the little stubs of what used to be ears before someone had cut them off to make the animal “a dog of war.”
It’s easy to get spellbound during Halloween. But in between trick-or-treating and planning the perfect costume, remember not to skimp on a few easy-to-do safety measures. Whether you’re a child or a child-at-heart, it’s good to keep the following tips in mind to ensure a merry – as opposed to scary – Halloween.
For a snack that’s been around for thousands of years, popcorn never really got old – we munch on it at the movies, string fluffy kernels together to to decorate our Christmas trees, and continue to invent recipes to satisfy our cravings for something familiar yet new. Celebrate the granddaddy of snacks and the ghoulish season with this poppin’ recipe.
Ghost or goblin? Fairy princess or Frankenstein monster? There’s plenty to look forward to when it comes to Halloween festivities, be it shopping for costumes, decorating your home or getting “BOOed.” But it’s always good to keep safety in the forefront of your mind. Local law enforcement agencies weigh in on the ways your family can keep Halloween a treat by following some simple safety tricks.
Kidsguide Magazine’s fall/winter 2009 issue is now out! And you might notice something different about it. Yep, we’ve slimmed down to a trimmer, tree-saving size ? without leaving out the helpful, money-saving resources that we’ve happily provided families over the last 23 years. The spirit of the “big” book lives on in the “small” issue, where we celebrate the bigness of life’s little pleasures and treasures.
Within the walls of Orange County’s newest children’s museum is a city fit for the littlest pretenders, big dreamers and future leaders. Welcome to Pretend City, where playing dress-up is just one of the ways to teach tykes how the world around them works.
Once upon a time, you built a fort out of couch pillows and thought the neighbor kid’s treehouse was just so cool. Turns out these simple childhood pleasures (and fantasies) have found a home (and reality) in a new generation of kids and DIYers. We talk to designer-artist Barbara Butler about the irresistible draw of outdoor play and why the treehouse remains in the American consciousness.
Country, Celtic, classic rock: usually, every musical palate gets a taste of something they like at community concerts in the park. This seasonal staple of free entertainment is offered by nearly every city, and though summer is halfway through, the music is far from done. Want to know who’s playing at your local regional park? Prepare your picnic blankets and lawn chairs; we’re sending you out for a twilight performance!
Looking for the perfect gift for your favorite bookworm, or for a fun summer read? Look no farther! See what’s out and what to look forward to, from an environmental lawyer-turned writer, to a long-awaited sequel to a one-of-kind historical fiction of a kid’s life on “residential” Alcatraz.
International City Theatre is back with its Summer Youth Conservatory! The six-week program for youths ? scheduled July 6 – Aug. 13 ? places 7- to 15-year-olds under the wings of industry professionals. They’ll learn how to translate acting, music and movement onstage, skills that will be showcased in a free performance at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.
How about whiling away these upcoming lazy summer days at $5 or less? “Impossible!” you say. Nope, you read that right: we did the work so you can have more time for fun. We found what you didn’t know you were looking for, from low-cost day camps and free movie programs to rockin’ summer concerts and super-discount days at favorite retailers. We even dish about area restaurants that let kids eat free!
For one day next week, the millionth guest to arrive at Kidspace Children’s Museum will get the No. 1 treatment. Officials are expecting this special guest to arrive at the museum’s Brookside Park location by Wednesday, June 10. Whoever they are, they won’t be going home empty-handed. That’s right ? expect balloons, plenty of gifts, photographs and all the fuss associated with being a part of the Pasadena establishment’s 30-year history.
Tough economic times or not, the demands of raising kids – not to mention finding fun activities within a budget – go on! And that’s just what we found for you: the best and arguably the most ingenious ways for you and your family to have a blast…on the cheap! Within the 80 pages of this year’s recession-busting issue, you will find coupons for super-discounts and freebies, an expansive directory of resources to help you plan your days, and neat ideas plucked straight from our readers’ clever noggins.
