One of the things our family loves is music, and in the Bay Area there's no shortage of skilled and talented musicians who specialize in performing for children. One of the most popular performers in both Marin and San Francisco is multi-instrumentalist and singer Enzo Garcia, who has been delighting children and their parents with his "Breakfast with Enzo" for over five years. In what he hope is the first of a series of interviews with area musicians, we asked Enzo some questions about himself and his music and why he loves doing what he does.

If you’re looking for something fun to do with your 0–6 year old on a rainy or cold day, you’ll definitely need to check out the new open play space in Novato called Playtime Safari. I took the kids on one of the many rainy days a couple weeks ago and we all had a blast. They had a great time playing and running around the open room and I had a great time chatting with the other moms and was able to watch them play at all times. The wide-open, 4,000 square-foot space offers a wide variety of things for kids to do. Some of the activities include an 8-foot-long train table, a gated baby and infant play area, an animal costume dress-up area, a bubble machine, a play kitchen, tents to crawl through, a book corner, a play store, musical instruments, art, a chalk table, and much more.

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Birthday parties—and unique and interesting places to have them—are a popular subject on this web site. Coincidentally, we’ve been planning a 4th birthday party for our son, so I’ve had the chance to do a lot of research. Here are a few suggestions for fun and out-of-the-ordinary children’s party venues in Marin:

The Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross offers Habitat Garden birthday parties Fridays and weekends. The Habitat Gardens include a butterfly garden, a pond, a compost and worm bin, a small lawn, and the Butterfly Cottage. Nature-themed goody bags are provided to all children at the end of the party. Cost is $300 for MAAGC members, $320 for non-members. More info on their web site: www.maagc.org.

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It’s time to start planning for my son’s 4th Birthday party. I’m always looking for a fun and easy place to have my sons party every year. Last year we had two parties for him at the Round Table Pizza with Merlin’s Magical Kingdom in Novato. An indoor playland with tubes for the kids to crawl through, this is also a great location for any type of get together on a rainy day. Another great place for this age range is the Redwood Empire Gymnastics in Petaluma. We went there for my niece’s birthday a couple years ago and all the kids had a blast. They offer a gymnastics session and they have an area for food, cake and gift opening.
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