Pink is not only my daughter's favorite color, but also the subject of her favorite book, Pinkalicious, the children's best-seller by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann. You and your children can see the story retold on stage in Pinkalicious: The Musical beginning this Saturday when the Bay Area Children's Theatre opens its Broadway-style production at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage.
For Pinkalicious Pinkerton there is “one color like no other”—pink! But when she eats too many pink cupcakes, she develops a rare condition that turns her that color. There’s only one known cure: a steady dose of foods that are green. Will Pinkalicious eat her broccoli popsicles and return to normal?
Pinkalicious: The Musical, with music by John Gregor and lyrics by Gregor and the Kanns, has all the ingredients for a wonderful family treat. This glittering stage adaptation bounces from one upbeat Broadway-style number to the next, with tap dancing galore, as the peripatetic Pinkertons pilot precariously through their peculiar predicament.
The Marin Music Chest has launched its annual scholarship audition program in its ongoing effort to provide financial support to Marin County students studying classical music. Students studying wind and string instruments, piano, and voice are encouraged to apply, and all scholarship applicants must be residents of Marin County for a minimum of two years and have at least two years of music study prior to the audition.
Junior Division instrumentalists must be between 10 and 13 years old and vocalists between 14 and 16. The Junior Division application deadline is February 10, 2012, and auditions will be held March 10, 2012. Senior Division instrumentalists must be between 14 and 19 years of age and vocalists between 17 and 24. The Senior Division application deadline is February 24, 2012 and auditions will be held on March 24, 2012.
We finally had a chance to check out the Family Fare series at Novato's Ghiringhelli Pizzeria Grill & Bar. Ghiringhelli's Novato restaurant is a relative newcomer on the Marin dining scene (they've had another location in Fairfax since 1985), and has created this series of Monday night events with families of young children in mind. Each Family Fare event features a local children's musician or performer, arts and crafts, and other activities, in addition to dining from Ghiringelli's menu.
On our visit we ate pizza while local kid music legend Miss Kitty performed. Family Fare takes place in the restaurant's event room, where, in addition to dining tables, a large padded "dance floor" and activity tables were set up. Activity table offerings included coloring and painting, and a Wii console was available on a nearby flat-screen TV for game playing. Tables were covered with butcher paper and cups of crayons encouraged us to draw on our tablecloths.
Even though school's back in session, it's still summer. In fact, September usually sees the nicest weather of the year in San Francisco and other places along the coast. Take advantage of sunny September and head over to the Park Chalet at San Francisco's Ocean Beach to catch a fantastic family performance at the free Summer JAMBand Family Festival.
This Sunday, September 11, the whimsical and exuberant Octopretzel takes the stage at 3 pm, followed by Charity and the JAMBand at 4 pm. It all takes place on the family friendly Park Chalet's expansive lawn, where they'll be serving up tasty food, house brewed beers, and cocktails for you to enjoy during the show.
Octopretzel, a group of five Bay Area musicians and educators, performs folk-inspired music that crosses genres and cultures, incorporating a wide array of styles including bluegrass, rock-and-roll, klezmer, African drumming, lullabies, and more.
The Park Chalet is located across from San Francisco's Ocean Beach at 1000 Great Highway (at John F. Kennedy Drive). For more information, visit www.parkchalet.com.
Marin's SingersMarin, an association of choral groups and a provider of quality musical education, is now offering a limited number of new member full tuition scholarships to young singers who show the promise of a great talent and demonstrate some financial hardship.
Scholarships are offered for SingersMarin's young women’s groups, Celestial Voices and les étoiles. These advanced level ensembles provide superior vocal and musicianship skills while teaching young women to sing at the highest level of artistic excellence. This program has been in operation since 1996 and has won several local and international awards, including the Marin County Women’s Commission Award for “excellence in serving the community and developing the extraordinary ensemble of young women.” The groups have toured overseas to perform in Austria, South Africa, and other international destinations. Many of the graduates from the program have gone on to have professional careers in the performing arts.
I think most parents of preschoolers and toddlers agree that the Wiggles are the superstars of the kids' music scene. This Australian foursome is heading to Oakland's Paramount Theatre for their 2011 Big Birthday! Tour on Friday, August 12. Come join the Wiggles, Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, and the Wiggly Dancers as they celebrate the group's 20th birthday live on stage.
There will be two shows, at 2:30 and 6:30 pm, and we're giving away a four tickets for you and your family to go see the 6:30 pm performance! Read on for details on how to enter.
Every Wiggles show is fun and educational, and features plenty of audience interaction. Make a birthday card or a sign at home and bring it to the show and dress up as your favorite character. You can even greet your favorite Wiggles character as they sing and dance through the audience. And don't forget to yell "Wake up, Jeff!" when Jeff the Purple Wiggle invariably falls asleep on stage. Sing along with favorite songs like Hot Potato, Play Your Ukulele, Fruit Salad, and Rock a Bye Your Bear and wiggle away in the aisles!
This summer, Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum is open late by popular demand on select Fridays for the Summer Sunsets Concert Series. Come to the museum from 5–7 pm tonight, July 8, and July 22, August 5 and 19 for an evening of family fun by the Bay with music, food, and the special exhibition Curious George: Let's Get Curious! Curious George himself makes a personal appearance at 5:30 pm (so don't forget your camera) and musical performances begin at 6 pm.
This year's Summer Sunsets lineup:
July 8: Rhythm Child introduces children and families to the basic elements of music in a drum circle experience. Come drum, dance, and sing in the museum's Festival Plaza.
July 22: Popular Bay Area children's entertainer Enzo Garcia brings his eclectic selection of instruments— including five-string banjo, musical saw, accordion, harmonica, and enzotar—and songs to the museum.
August 5: Dance and sing along with the Bloody Scupper Plunder Club as they perform songs of piracy, general mayhem, and high-seas adventure.
August 22: It's always a dance party with Asheba, the energetic singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose show is spiced with Caribbean and world beats inspired by his childhood on Trinidad.
This summer the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center presents its Summer Nights series of outdoor concerts at its campus in San Rafael. Bring a picnic, your blanket, low-backed lawn chairs, and dancing shoes—there's fun for the whole family! Dinners from a variety of favorite local restaurants along with beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, and snacks will be available for purchase, and for kids there's a playground available for supervised play and an art room that will be open for coloring fun.
This summer's outdoor concert lineup features Bluegrass Night with Hot Buttered Rum and Jugtown Pirates on Saturday, July 9 (dinner from Roadside BBQ), an evening in Puerto Rico with Plena Libre on July 16 (dinner from Sol Food), Balkan Romani Night with Brass Menazeri on July 23 (Middle Eastern food), and some cultral fusion infusion with Rupa and the April Fishes on July 30 (dinner from Mi Pueblo). All concerts start at 7 pm; doors open at 6:15 pm, and there's a dance lesson at 6:40 pm.
Advance concert tickets are $20 (order by midnight the Friday before concert). Day-of tickets are $25 general and $20 for JCC members. Kids 6–17 are $5, and children 5 and under are free.
Still looking for fun kids' activities and camps for summer? There's still time to sign up for one of the many classes and programs offered by local parks and recreation departments and other organizations. Find your local recreation resource on our list below. We've also included links to the summer camps offered by the Marin YMCA and the Osher Jewish Community Center.
Pink is not only my daughter's favorite color, but also the subject of her favorite book, Pinkalicious, the children's best-seller by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann. You and your children can see the story retold on stage in Pinkalicious: The Musical beginning this Saturday when the Bay Area Children's Theatre opens its Broadway-style production at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage.
The Marin Music Chest has launched its annual scholarship audition program in its ongoing effort to provide financial support to Marin County students studying classical music. Students studying wind and string instruments, piano, and voice are encouraged to apply, and all scholarship applicants must be residents of Marin County for a minimum of two years and have at least two years of music study prior to the audition.
We finally had a chance to check out the Family Fare series at Novato's Ghiringhelli Pizzeria Grill & Bar. Ghiringhelli's Novato restaurant is a relative newcomer on the Marin dining scene (they've had another location in Fairfax since 1985), and has created this series of Monday night events with families of young children in mind. Each Family Fare event features a local children's musician or performer, arts and crafts, and other activities, in addition to dining from Ghiringelli's menu.
Even though school's back in session, it's still summer. In fact, September usually sees the nicest weather of the year in San Francisco and other places along the coast. Take advantage of sunny September and head over to the Park Chalet at San Francisco's Ocean Beach to catch a fantastic family performance at the free 
Marin's SingersMarin, an association of choral groups and a provider of quality musical education, is now offering a limited number of new member full tuition scholarships to young singers who show the promise of a great talent and demonstrate some financial hardship.
I think most parents of preschoolers and toddlers agree that the Wiggles are the superstars of the kids' music scene. This Australian foursome is heading to Oakland's Paramount Theatre for their 2011 Big Birthday! Tour on Friday, August 12. Come join the Wiggles, Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, and the Wiggly Dancers as they celebrate the group's 20th birthday live on stage.
This summer, Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum is open late by popular demand on select Fridays for the Summer Sunsets Concert Series. Come to the museum from 5–7 pm tonight, July 8, and July 22, August 5 and 19 for an evening of family fun by the Bay with music, food, and the special exhibition Curious George: Let's Get Curious! Curious George himself makes a personal appearance at 5:30 pm (so don't forget your camera) and musical performances begin at 6 pm..jpg)
This summer the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center presents its Summer Nights series of outdoor concerts at its campus in San Rafael. Bring a picnic, your blanket, low-backed lawn chairs, and dancing shoes—there's fun for the whole family! Dinners from a variety of favorite local restaurants along with beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, and snacks will be available for purchase, and for kids there's a playground available for supervised play and an art room that will be open for coloring fun.
Still looking for fun kids' activities and camps for summer? There's still time to sign up for one of the many classes and programs offered by local parks and recreation departments and other organizations. Find your local recreation resource on our list below. We've also included links to the summer camps offered by the Marin YMCA and the Osher Jewish Community Center.
