Art in the Park / the New Art Festival

by Shawna This coming weekend is one of my favourite events of the year: Art in the Park / the New Art Festival in the Glebe.  This year, for the first time, I’m going to be one of the artists, but in years past I’ve brought my kids down to visit friends who were participating.  In fact, the very first weekend of Harris’s life, two days after coming home from the hospital, I gingerly made my way across the grass to settle into a lawn chair for a chat at Marida’s booth to show off my new baby. 

There are always things for kids of all ages at this show: in addition to the art to look at, which is colourful and diverse, we have watched puppet theatre shows, nibbled on locally-produced food, and fed the fish in Patterson’s Creek.  That being said, you’ll have to keep a few things in mind if you’re bringing small kids:

• Kids have shorter attention spans so, unless you’re very lucky, you won’t be able to just linger where and when you’d like to and absorb the art or engage the artists in a lot of conversation.  It’s not unusual for me to go twice – once with my kids and once without them.
• You’ll have to be vigilant about enforcing the “look with your eyes, not with your hands” rule unless it’s hands-on art.  In the past there have been fabulous musical metal sculptures that kids are encouraged to interact with, but those booths are the exception rather than the rule.
• It can get hot and crowded so bringing hats and sunblock is a must; snacks and drinks can be bought there but it would be more frugal to bring your own.  If you have a stroller negotiating the crowds might get tricky, but may have that extra toting power to even bring a blanket to spread under a tree in an out-of-the-way spot for a picnic.

I love exposing my kids to art, and this is a very family-friendly, low-key way to do it.  There’s no admission and you don’t have to worry about them making noise like you would at the National Art Gallery.  And now that my daughter Sage is five and a big fan of making art of her own, I think she’ll get even more out of it when her father brings her down to visit my booth.  Feel free to stop on by yourself – the festival is bounded by Bank, Patterson, O’Connor and Glebe, and I’ll be at 23 North Pathway all weekend!

Shawna is mom to 5-year-old Sage and 3-years-old-this-Friday Harris. She has been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is her photography business. Her son hasn't missed a Glebe Art In The Park in his entire life.

Time to touch a truck!

by Krista If you anyone in your family is nuts about big trucks and machines, your should mark May 29th on your calendars as that is the date for Touch a Truck this year! Touch a truck is an outdoor event that lets kids (big and little) get up close and personal with trucks of all shapes and sizes. The added bonus is that it is a fundraiser for Mothercraft, a local non-profit that supports families! When we heard about it last year, it sounded right up our alley, given that both our lils are completely in love with all things truck, and have been for years. They regularly asks us to drive around searching for trucks, just so that we can catch a glimpse!

Last year, we heard about this event only days before it happened. Luckily, we were free that day, and planned to go. We had not told the monkeys our plans, but spent the morning of teasing them with a few details. By the time that we were heading out, they had a pretty good idea that there would be trucks where we were going, so they were keen to get out the door. None of us were disappointed. We had to drive by the truck set up (on the Carling Ave side of the mall) to find parking and it was impressive! You could hear all the horns honking before you could see the trucks, and then you were on top of them - a massive display of trucks and machines! There were fire trucks, loaders, street sweepers, police vehicles, the bookmobile, buses, street sweepers, army trucks, race cars, tractors and a crane!

We spent the better part of two hours moving from vehicle to vehicle to vehicle, climbing in some, and just checking out others. There were a good number of people there, but most of the lines were not too long, and most of the parents were really good about keeping things moving. I was sad that the kids didn't get to fully explore every vehicle until they were tired of them, but think that the balance of seeing so many outweighs that. In the end, the only desired one that we missed getting in was the crane. The line for it was far too long, we would not have made it through. I think that Woo's favourite parts were the horns, he's a honker!

If you are going to head down, the event runs from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM on Sunday May 29th. Admission is $5.00 per person, to a maximum of $20.00 per family. Keep in mind that this is an outdoor event, so dress accordingly, and remember the sunscreen - there is no shade in the lot! If you have younger children, strollers are appropriate, but it does get crowded, which may make maneuvering difficult. I recommend heading down early if you can, beat the rush. For anyone that is sensitive to noise, note that it is LOUD. The children are allowed encouraged to honk the horns on all the vehicles, and they honk like mad, loving every minute.

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 4 year old son, Woo, and 2.5 year old daughter, Goose. You can find her at Life in the Hutch or on Twitter @kgraydonald

International Museum Day: May 18

by Sasha

Did you know that tomorrow is International Museum Day? We are lucky to so have many world-class museums right here in Ottawa, not to mention a wide range of community museums scattered throughout the region. Why not visit one? Admission to the museums of Nature and Science and Technology will be free, and there will be special activities at the Museum of Civilization and the War Museum.

Or if the 18th doesn't work for you, here are some other free ways into Ottawa area museums:

The Ottawa Public Library lends passes for the Museums of Civilization, Science and Technology, Nature, and the National Gallery. The passes cover a family of 4-5 (the OPL catalogue has the specifics for each pass). They tend to be hot commodities, but at any given time there tend to be a half dozen or so checked-in at various branches throughout the city. So why not play museum roulette: pick a pass that’s available at a branch near you, and off you go! Just search for ‘Museum Pass’ in the online catalogue.

Admission to the Museum of Civilization (including the Children’s Museum) and the Canadian War Museum, is free every Thursday from 4 until 8pm. It is also free on Canada Day (July 1) and Remembrance Day (November 11).

The Museum of Nature is also free on Thursday afternoons (from 5 to 8 pm), as well as on Earth Day (April 22), and Canada Day (July 1).

The Museum of Science and Technology doesn’t have a weekly freebie, but they are free on Canada Day (July 1).

The Canada Aviation and Space Museum and the Agriculture Museum are free from 4 to 5pm. Every day. How cool is that? And the Agriculture Museum is also free on Canada Day.

The National Gallery (including the Museum of Contemporary Photography) is free on Thursdays after 5, and for children under 12 all the time.

What is your favourite Ottawa-area museum?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

Mother’s Day at the Tulipfest Lego® Community Garden: a photo essay

by Avra  

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When the Tulipfest schedule first came out, my husband sent me a link to Lego garden activity with the single sentence: "we should go to this." With two Lego maniacs in the house, this kind of activity is a no-brainer for us, as I am sure it is for a lot of families in the NCR area. Lego events of any kind tend to draw crowds.

  This event appeared to be no exception. We chose Mother's Day as the day to head over. The tent was set up at Major's Hill Park, in the FUNtasia zone. The description in the guide billed it as free with the park passport, or by donation. When we got there at 2 p.m., there was nobody checking passes and no donation boxes in sight. But there were piles and piles of Lego.  And lots of kids.

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A note here: all the building blocks provided were Duplo, which is the larger Lego.  It’s not what we normally play with at home, but it didn’t seem to bother my kids, or even some of the older kids who were in attendance. 

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We started off at the back of the tent. There were about 20-25 other kids sitting in groups of 6-8 around large piles of red, yellow, green and black Duplo.  They had chairs set up along the edges for parents to watch and take photos. There was not a lot of talking:  mostly the unmistakeable click-clack of pieces being moved around and clicked together, punctuated by the occasional: “Look what I made!”

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  Creativity was everywhere. Robin Sather,  A Lego-certified Professional hired specifically for the event, kicked things off that weekend by constructing large, elaborate tulips.  He was still present on Sunday, but all the creations were coming from the visitors.

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The theme was to build something you find in your garden. Each group was given about 20-25 minutes to build a creation before  volunteers asked us to clear out and make room for a new group of kids.   This was not strictly policed, but it did help keep the crowds from getting too large, and allowed kids to have lots of pieces and room to let their imaginations go.   

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We stayed for about 45 minutes, and in that time my little guy created two flowers, a bird and a nest.  When I asked him later if he had fun, he said yes.    The event runs until May 23 from  10:00am – 5:00pm , except for Monday May 16, when it is closed. If your kids like building with Duplo, it’s worth checking it out!

Avra Gibbs Lamey (@gibbslamey) is the mother of two little Lego-maniacs.  When she’s not picking pieces out of the carpet at home, she has a day job as the Communications and Media Relations Officer for the Canadian War Museum.

Spring at Petrie Island

by Cathy Spending time outside as the world is waking up again is one of the best parts of spring.

One of our favourite places to celebrate the season is Petrie Island– the perfect place for a Sunday morning ‘wonder wander’. And if you go in the next few weeks, you’ll get to see one of Petrie Island’s star attractions – turtles! – emerging along many of the Island’s trails.

Easily accessible from downtown Ottawa by turning north on Trim Road, the area is home to many wildlife species, including three different types of turtles. A small network of trails, each between 0.5 and 2.5 kilometres long, lace the property and are perfect for little ones to roam.

When they’re ready for a break, there is a small play area near the beach (with a train my 2 year old loves to ‘ride’) and lots of picnic tables for a welcome snack. There is also a small interpretation centre on site for those wanting to know more – or who’d like a closer look at some of the area’s most reptilian residents!

The area is considered a Class 1 wetland, which means we should have worn our rubber boots when we went last weekend. Some of the trails were still flooded but we saw 5-6 turtles enjoying the early sunshine, as well as a muskrat swimming quite close to shore. Everyone came home muddy, wet, and filled with excitement about what we’d seen. A perfect morning, I’d say!

Cathy is a blog-less but avid follower of Kids in the Capital. She has a 4.5 year old daughter and a 2.5 year old son who both love being outside as much as she does.