Win 4 Vancouver International Children's Festival Tickets

Les Parfaits Inconnus & one of their incredible biking tricks

The Vancouver International Children's Festival is almost here! Returning to Granville Island May 25 to May 31, 2015 are a fabulous collection of local & international artists. As always, Kidsfest is showcasing a wide variety of performances, from Anne Glover's World of Story and String, where she creates pictures from a simple loop of string, or the playful extravaganza of circus, music, theatre, & comedy that is Les Parfaits Inconnus. I hear they pile onto a bicycle & ride around around the stage. We can't wait to see that!

What would a children's festival be without puppets? I Think I Can, from Australia invites kids to choose puppet characters & become temporary residents of a miniature model railway world. For more kid-powered entertainment, don’t miss the city’s first kid-co-created multi-media installation performance: Me on the Map.

Poet, storyteller & throat singer Taqralik Partridge

Our home country is well-represented on the stage, with Inuit poet, storyteller & throat singer Taqralik Partridge, who brings lively stories & tales from Canada’s north in There's A Whale In That Puddle. There's also trio Bon Débarras, who redefine traditional French-Canadian folk music & Vancouver's Will Stroet & The Backyard Band with his catchy songs about biking, libraries & even vegetables!

Last but not least, if you can't decide who to see, there's always the Variety Show. Watch Festival performers cut loose at our annual Variety show on Saturday, May 30 at 6:30pm. This year’s tour de force, hosted by comedian Michel Lauzière, features the captivating Inuit storytelling of Taqralik Partridge, the zany circus antics of Les Parfait Inconnus, the uplifting fusion beats of the Good Day Sunshine Band as well as toe-tapping, sing along tunes from Will Stroet & his BackYard Band.

Besides the incredible ticketed shows I've mentioned above, there are also tons of fun activities at the Children's Festival Activity Village. Learn to juggle in the Circus Skills tent, get your face painted, wander through the Musical Maze, bang & clang & bong in the Musical Playground, create one-of-a-kind pieces to take home at the Bicycle Spin-Art tent, try out some string games, learn the Japanese art of paper folding at the Origami tent, keep your teeny one occupied in the toddler toys & baby zone of Twist & Toddle. Last but not least, are the incredible roving stilt walkers, storytellers, mascots, & interactive costumed characters you'll meet on site.

So now that you're all excited about Kidsfest, are you ready to win tickets to the festival? I'm giving away four tickets to 1 performance* & four festival site activity wristbands (*excludes Variety Show), a value of $80, to one lucky Spokesmama reader. To enter, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below. I'll be contacting the winner by email  & they'll have 48 hours to get back to me, so make sure the email you sign up with is one you check regularly! The contest will close on May 12 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were given tickets to see a show at the Vancouver International Children's Festival but were not otherwise compensated for this post. 

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One month til Kidsfest!

The Vancouver International Children's Festival is only a month away--have you got tickets yet?

If you buy early you'll beat the rush, & get your top picks for shows. There's plenty of excitement happening on stage at this year's Children's Festival from international hits to local favourites. The super cute Pyjama Nights are back; they've got evening shows, & their Activity Village will be in full swing! New this year are workshops & dialogues with artists!

 As always, there are many ticket options to choose from: One-day Show Passes*, Two-day Show Passes*, & their great Family 4-Pack ticket deal* - 4 tickets to one show for only $68! All Show Passes include wristband entry into the Activity Village.
*Variety show excluded

For all you need to know about Kidsfest, check out the Festival Guide. Hot off the presses, the 2015 Festival Guide contains everything you need to know about the Festival from show descriptions to activities to ticket pricing & parking.

Will we see you at the festival this year?

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PEP Talks Winner

Congratulations to Kelsey! Enjoy your tickets to PEP Talks--I'll see you there!

For those of you who would like to go but didn't win, there are still some tickets left to see Jennifer Kolari speak about empathy in parenting.

Don't miss the other two speakers as well--here are the details & links:

Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid, November 27th, 2013
Barabara Coloroso, How to Raise Ethical Children, February 5th, 2014
Joel Bakan, Standing Up for Childhood, March 5th, 2014

All shows are 7:30-9pm at the Vancouver Playhouse 600 Hamilton Street.

You can purchase a SERIES TICKET for $99 to see all three speakers, or just see two SPEAKERS for $70, or one SPEAKER for $39. STUDENT tickets are $22. All prices include GST & service charges. Call 604 708 5655 for more information. All proceeds from PEP Talks go to support the ongoing programs of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
 

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PEP Talks: Jennifer Kolari on Empathy & Connected Parenting (GIVEAWAY)

Empathy. We know it's an essential part of being a decent human being. There are many programs in schools that are based around encouraging children to be more empathetic to prevent bullying. But how can we use it in our parenting?

Jennifer Kolari will be answering this question in just a couple of weeks during her talk, 'Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid'. The event is part of this winter's PEP Talks series, put on as a fundraiser for the Vancouver International Children's Festival (VICF).

Last spring's PEP Talks were a great success so VICF decided to do it again. I got to attend two of the spring talks; I really enjoyed hearing Lenore Skenazy speak about the Free Range Parenting movement and Deborah MacNamara explain the vital role of play in children's development. More than just an enjoyable evening out, the two nights really gave me something to think about and have informed my parenting since then.

PEP Talks are such a brilliant idea for busy parents. First off, getting to hear engaging, insightful speakers is fun. Secondly, it's quick--who has time to read a whole parenting book once you are actually a parent? Probably the best part of the PEP Talks series is the fact that, unlike a book, you can ask questions of the expert after their presentation.

Jennifer Kolari's will be the first PEP Talk of the winter series on November 27th, from 7:30 to 9pm. Connected Parenting is not unlike many other parenting techniques, which stress the importance of empathy. Connected Parenting helps parents to use empathy skillfully to repair frayed bonds, deescalate tantrums (have I convinced all the parents of three-year-olds yet??), contain and correct difficult behaviours and help children to become more confident and emotionally resilient. Kolari uses a collaborative and supportive coaching model and provide inspirational, easy-to-understand techniques grounded in neuroscience and attachment. The end result is a child who is more compliant, more relaxed, and–most importantly–happier.

Jennifer Kolari, MSW, RSW, is a family and child therapist with over twenty years of helping children, teens and families get connected. She's one of Canada’s leading parenting experts, as well as the founder and author of Connected Parenting: How To Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really) Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011). The Toronto mother of three is also the Parenting expert on CBC’s Steven and Chris show, and has frequently appeared on Canada AM and Breakfast Television. Her advice can be found in many Canadian and U.S. magazines such as Today’s Parent, Redbook, Parent Magazine and Canadian Family, not to mention the health advisory board for Chatelaine Magazine.

For more information about Jennifer Kolari visit her Connected Parenting website.

As I mentioned earlier, the PEP Talks is a series, with three different speakers:
Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid, November 27th, 2013
Barabara Coloroso, How to Raise Ethical Children, February 5th, 2014
Joel Bakan, Standing Up for Childhood, March 5th, 2014

You can purchase a SERIES TICKET for $99 to see all three speakers, or just see two SPEAKERS for $70, or one SPEAKER for $39. STUDENT tickets are $22. All prices include GST & service charges. Call 604 708 5655 for more information. All proceeds from PEP Talks go to support the ongoing programs of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

Now that you've heard about how awesome the PEP Talks series is, I bet you're raring to go to Jennifer's talk, right? Here's your chance to WIN two tickets to see her! You have several ways to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. A winner will be randomly chosen from valid entries on Monday, November 18th at 11:59pm. Please email me if you have any questions or issues using it! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Bucket List Scorecard

We'll call it a Staycation kind of summer. (beach at Lumberman's Arch)

Thought I'd go back & look at our Bucket List for this past summer to see how we did now that the season is pretty much over. Not terribly impressed with our results, notes added in italics to the original list. Here they are:

1. Travel (via transit, as usual) to Victoria to visit friends. Nope.
2. Edit: Whoops! Forgot #2... Heh. Did a lot of forgetting of things. I blame baby-brain.
3. Go camping: probably tent camping with a car at a provincial park--nothing too strenuous. Didn't get to this one either.
4. Stay on at least one of the Gulf Islands for a weekend or more. Still nope.
5. Go hiking: likely not anywhere too ambitious--given my 'delicate condition'--maybe a quick one to Quarry Rock or something? Again, nope.
6. Visit Spanish Banks at low tide & play on the sand bars. We did make it to Spanish Banks but not at low tide.
7. Go to the Vancouver International Children's Festival at least once. YES, we did this twice! & it was awesome, as always!
   
8. Have a picnic dinner in a park somewhere. Brought Hawkers Delight takeout to VanDusen Gardens. Sadly, they forgot to include the rice with our order & some of the food included a piece of packaging in it, but we picnicked, yes we did.
9. Host a barbeque with friends. We had people over for food, but I think we didn't actually use the barbeque to do it. We'll still count it.
10. Make popsicles! I keep seeing great recipes for interesting & healthy versions online that I need to try. Inspired by the 50 pounds of plums, pears & apples we got from our Tinka Orchards CSA, I whizzed up some plums in the blender with cinnamon & a little cane sugar.
11. Go swimming in an outdoor pool like Kits or New Brighton. Done! We swam at New Brighton one very warm evening.
12. Visit the PNE. Should be fun this year with a rambunctious three-year-old & me at about 38 weeks pregnant. Gulp. We went on Vancity Member Day, August 29th. I waddled around with my 38-weeks-four-days-pregnant belly & it was a blast. Well, okay, Sprout had fun & we ate mini donuts. :)
13. See some outdoor movies. It was so much fun last year seeing The Princess Bride in David Lam Park, Monty Python & The Holy Grail & Labyrinth in Ceperley Meadows. I definitely want to do it again! Getting to these events is best done by transit plus a bit of a walk, or biking. Most of the movies happened once I'd gotten too pregnant to comfortably use either combination of transportation, so we just didn't go. :( Sprout & Oli did make it to a movie in the park near our house, but I was so tired that night that I stayed on the couch. Maybe I'll give us a half point for that one.

Hooo, 8.5/13? Not a brilliant score, probably would get us a grade of C. There's always next summer, I guess.

Did you write a bucket list for this summer? How did you do at ticking off the items? Care to share your 'score' below?

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Help Kidsfest Get Even Better: Take their Survey!

It's been less than a week since the 2013 Vancouver International Children's Festival wrapped up & the organizers of the event are looking for your feedback.

If you've got a suggestion for something they could improve to make the experience even better next year, you'll have the opportunity to tell them. If you just loved everything about it, I'm sure they'd like to hear that too! Even if you didn't go, you can still do the survey. It takes only a few minutes & your opinions will help with the planning for next year.

Please follow this link to complete the Children's Festival survey: VICF 2013 Post Fest Survey. BONUS: complete the survey & you'll be entered for a chance to win a $100 iTunes gift card.

Also, while I have your attention:

Pep Talk Alert!
SERIES FINALE WITH LISA BLOOM
How to Raise Smart Kids in the New MillenniumJune 12 at the Vancouver Playhouse

Don't miss the final Pep Talk in the series with provocative attorney, writer & passionate speaker Lisa Bloom. The author of "Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World" and "Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture" was described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as:

"Feisty, articulate, and driven . . . [she has] a personal intensity and a fierce sense of outrage about women’s and civil rights, child welfare, and the abuse of power.”

She's got smart words for parents of boys & girls growing up in today's media-saturated world, a place where girls see America's Top Model as a more worthy ambition than a Nobel Peace Prize, & boys are failing out of school & falling into thug culture.

This is a showstopper finale to the Pep Talks series is guaranteed to provoke and inspire! & don't forget--the event is a fundraiser for Kidsfest, so by buying a ticket, you're helping the not-for-profit festival continue providing the amazing arts experiences for children next year!

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