Still suffering from Turkey Torpor? Time to get out and start celebrating the season! Here are some ideas to get you started. Per usual, we have many more in our online calendar (and many, MANY more to come when the December calendar gets posted on Tuesday).
Saturday
Puppetz vs. People. The zany improv artists from ComedySportz go head-to-(wooden)head with the whacky puppets from Tears of Joy. Hilarity ensues. Best for ages 10 and up. 8 pm Nov. 28. $16 adults, $14 youth. Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. 503-248-0557. www.tojt.com.
La Boutique Fantasque. More…
Category: WOW! (What's on this Weekend) // Posted on November 28, 2009 // Leave a Comment
The day after Thanksgiving is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. It’s garnered the nickname Black Friday – allegedly because it’s the day when retailers enter their big profit making period (they go from being “in the red” to “in the black”). Black Friday is notorious for stores opening REALLY early and for humongous sales. It’s chaotic and (In Our Humble Opinion) nerve-wracking and simply not worth the discounts (typically on stuff we don’t need/want/care about anyway). But we know some very nice people who really get into Black Friday, enjoying the thrill of snagging those great deals.
Others participate in Buy Nothing Day (tag line: Participate by not participating!). We’ve adopted a tradition for the day after Thanksgiving that’s closely associated with BND – we call it Buy Nothing But Socks Day. We trip over to Fred Meyer mid-morning and load up on enough half-price socks to last until the next BNBSD. That’s it.
There’s another possible way to commemorate the day after Thanksgiving. And everyone is welcome to participate. It’s called the National Day of Listening. On Nov. 27, people across the country are encouraged to set aside just one hour to record a conversation with someone important to them. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 25, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Well, almost free. We’ve got 10 “family four-packs” of admission tickets to the Providence Festival of Trees (Dec. 4 and 5) that we want to give to the first 10 of you who e-mail us after donating a minimum of $10 to Mercy Corps as part of our Holiday Giving Campaign. (E-newsletter subscribers will notice that this sounds A LOT like the offer we made in our latest edition – we have an additional 10 four-packs of tickets for this effort.)
This is such a great deal! Each set of tickets (good for two adults and two kids or four adults) is worth a minimum of $16. PLUS we’ll match your donation to Mercy Corps. A win-win-win!
Click here to make your donation to Mercy Corps. Then e-mail editor@metro-parent.com and claim your tickets! You can learn more about our Holiday Giving Campaign at this link.
And, even if you don’t end up getting the free tickets, we want to put a plug in for the Providence Festival of Trees. It is a WONDERFUL family event, featuring (of course!) beautifully decorated Christmas trees, more than 100 of them, plus a ton of entertainment, craft activities, a Teddy Bear Hospital (where kids 12 and under receive a free teddy bear as they’re “admitted”), model trains, visits with Santa and much more. The 411: 10 am to 9 pm Dec. 4 and 10 am to 6 pm Dec. 5. $5 adults, $3 ages 3 to 12, free 2 and under; benefits Providence and patients unable to pay for healthcare. 503-215-6070. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE MLK Blvd. More info:www.providence.org/festivaloftrees.
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 23, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Ignore the rain and get out to some of the great events happening this weekend in the area. As always, check our online calendar for many, many more ideas.
Saturday, Nov. 21
Tapestry of Tales Family Matinees. This is the Multnomah County Library’s family program day for its annual story telling festival featuring Will Hornyak, Anne Rutherford, Eth-Noh-Tec (pictured) and others. Ages 5 and up. Free; tickets given out 30 minutes before events. See Web site for times and locations. At 7 pm the final “Tellabration” occurs with three storytellers. Ages 8 and up. Free. First Unitarian Church, 11011 SW 12th Ave. www.multcolib.org/events/tales/events.html.
Family Day at Oregon History Museum. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 20, 2009 // Leave a Comment
The US Department of Agriculture released findings this week that hunger is on the rise in America: 49 million people – 17 million of them children – were unable to consistently get enough food to eat in 2008. That’s 14.6 percent of all American households, a 3.5 point jump over 2007.
The study documented both “low food security,” which describes people unable to consistently get enough to eat (49 million) and “very low food security,” describing those unable to eat because there wasn’t enough money for food. In the latter category – very low food security – there are 12 million adults and 5.2 million kids. Nearly half a million are kids under age 6 – which represents a 300 percent increase.
In Oregon, the number of “very low food security” households went from 3.9 percent in the last report to 6.6 percent in the most recent. Oregon is now among the five states with the highest hunger rate, in the company of Mississippi, Maine, Oklahoma and Missouri. Only Mississippi, at 7.4 percent, had a higher percentage than Oregon of hunger.
You can read more details about hunger in Oregon at this link. To donate to the Oregon Food Bank, click here. To learn about other actions you can take to help hungry people, check out the Oregon Food Banks’ Advocacy Alert.
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 19, 2009 // Leave a Comment
As citizens and parents we are so trusting. We assume that regulatory agencies actually protect our children from coming into contact with toxic substances.
But experts warn that that’s just not the case. Under the current Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA has required testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds now in use. Indeed neither the EPA the manufacturer is required to prove a chemical’s safety before it’s used.
That’s why people who care about the nation’s children are pushing for a new law to be enacted. The Kid-Safe Chemical Act would require that industrial chemicals be safe for infants and children and new chemicals be safety-tested before they are put into products.
On Wednesday, area parents and children will converge on Washington Square to demand that lawmakers take this step. The event is called the Million Baby Crawl, meant to symbolize babies crawling to Washington, D.C. to demand stronger protection against toxic chemicals.
The Portland Crawl to Action takes place Wednesday at 11 am at Washington Square Mall, Sears Court (9585 SW Washington Square Rd.) Local dignitaries will be there and there will be family-friendly entertainment. Click here for more information.
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 16, 2009 // 1 Comment
Now that we’ve got Friday the 13th behind us, what say we get out and play! Consider the following – and be sure to check our online calendar for MANY more ideas. (We counted 30 possibilities listed for Saturday alone!)
Saturday, Nov. 14
Keep Portland Weird: A Community Festival. Hands on activities, lots of performances and TONS of info on local resources. PDX Swap holds a drop-in swap (no need to RSVP). All ages. Noon to 4 pm. Free. Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave.503-988-5123. www.multcolib.org/events/kpw.html.
Free Family Day. Visit the Washington County Museum free. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 14, 2009 // Leave a Comment
…especially in a recession. Check out these FREE CHILDREN’S CLASS offerings around the area:
1. Mama Zen (located in “The Little Church”, 5138 NE 23rd) is a new family gathering place in northeast Portland, providing classes (yoga, arts) for kids and yoga for moms (childcare available!), spa sessions and more. Next week (Nov. 16 to 19), they’re offering FREE children’s classes (20 spots available). To register, RSVP at mamazenpdx@gmail.com. Visit www.mamazenpdx.com for details.
2. The Little Gym of Lake Oswego is offering 25 scholarships for their upcoming Winter/Spring semester (20 weeks of classes Jan. 25 – June 19) to families who have been hit hard by the economy. E-mail tlglakeoswegoor@thelittlegym.com by Dec. 15 and describe how a scholarship would benefit your family. For details visit www.tlglakeoswegoor.com.
3. The Multnomah Arts Center (7688 SW Capitol Hwy.) is offering a free Art Adventures class to children ages 1.5 to 4 (with parents). The class takes place Jan. 4, 6 and 7 and is available free to students who are new to MAC (never having registered for a MAC class previously). Winter term registration begins Nov. 18; parents can call 503-823-2787 or come into the MAC to register. (10 slots available). More info: www.multnomahartscenter.org.
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 11, 2009 // Leave a Comment
It’s your last chance to enter to win a Sunriver Traditions Getaway for a family of four! Traditions at Sunriver Resort is a month-long celebration of the holidays that takes place from Nov. 26 through Jan 1 and features more than 150 family-friendly events.
Metro Parent and Sunriver Resort are giving away a Family Traditions Getaway that includes:
• Two nights lodging
• Breakfast with Santa for four
• Teddy Bear Tea for four
• Children’s Christmas stockings for two
• Two 50-minute “Riverside Relaxers” (massages) at Sage Springs Spa
Click here to enter to win! (For more information about Sunriver, click here.)
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 9, 2009 // Leave a Comment
First, the sun is shining. Then it’s raining. Shining. Raining. Shining while raining…
WHATEVER the weather does this weekend, you’ll have plenty of options for family fun in the area. Consider the following – and be sure to check our online calendar for MANY more ideas.
Saturday, Nov. 7
Newt Day. Educational day about autumn changes in nature. Lots of fun, hands-on activities. All ages. Noon to 4 pm. $1 or two cans of food. Tualatin Hills Nature Park Interpretive Center, 15655 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton. 503-629-6350 . www.thprd.org/facilities/naturepark/newtday.cfm
Hawaiian Holiday Bazaar. Handmade holiday treasures and Hawaiian foods for sale and entertainment. Keiki Korner with kids’ activities. More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 6, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Our November issue is out! And it’s chock-full of great information for parents and dozens of family fun ideas.
We discuss a variety of methods to help keep kids mentally healthy – from bonding at birth and typical preschool issues to a look at pediatric psychotropic medication and the very serious topic of teens and suicide. Heavy, but incredible important, reading.
Our feature on single individuals who choose to become parents explores who these brave souls are, why they embark on this journey alone and where they get the support they need to be successful.
We review two family-friendly destinations More…
Category: Metro Parent // Posted on November 2, 2009 // 1 Comment
