Welcoming Our New Sponsor: Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival

On August 10th and 11th, puppeteers from all over the world will descend on the beautiful town of Almonte, Ontario to provide world-class family entertainment both in the quaint theatres of the town and all through the streets. Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival offers a daily parade, a visitor-friendly festival site that provides plenty of activities for the little ones and, of course, the great local shops and festival vendors of Almonte.

In keeping with this year’s “Family Reunion” theme, many familiar faces will be back in Almonte for Puppets Up!  Some of the most popular shows include The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers from Bar Harbor Maine with their hilarious “Legend of the Banana Kid,” Massachusetts’ Tanglewood Marionettes and the exquisite  “Dragon King.” Some new faces to the Puppets Up! family will be Toronto’s Heath Tarlin Entertainment’ with “Spin Cycle,”  and Metaphysical Theatre with “Pierrot and the Moon.” For a full lineup, you can visit their site here.

My daughter and I went to Puppets Up! two years ago and it was an experience not to be missed. There was fun, food, friendly faces and of course puppets all over the streets of Almonte. There was an awesome puppet-theme parade during the event, featuring many costumed performers and some puppeteers helping their favourite marionettes walk along the route. The festival grounds held something for everyone including a kids puppet-making station, crafts, food and lots of fun. Last year, after the kids went to bed, there was be a special gala for adults on Saturday night held at the town hall with a pretty cool "puppet cabaret" show.

All the theatre venues are wheelchair and stroller accessible. Theatres are located within an easy stroll of each other, and there are plenty of shady places to sit for lunch and to let the children run in the grass.  Children's single passes, adult single passes and weekend passes to the festival are available through online outlets and on-site at the festival gates. A day pass for Saturday or Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for an adult is $20, children three-to-12 $10 and children under-three are free. For a weekend pass for both days, for adults it is $30, children three-to-12, $15 and children under-three are free.

Puppets Up! is an amazing experience for kids and adults of all ages. It’s definitely something not to be missed so get out your inner puppet and we’ll see you August 11th and 12th in beautiful Almonte!

Welcome to Our New Sponsor: Laura Daub - Artist

I’m so happy to have the chance to welcome our new sponsor. After several years of teaching out of her basement studio, Laura Daub has just recently moved to a big, bright art space in the beautiful Britannia Beach area. Even though the studio is new, Laura has been on the Ottawa Art Scene for many years. In fact, the reason we met was that my two daughter’s have had the pleasure of taking art lessons with her for the past few years.

Formally trained in Art and Design, teaching others to love and appreciate art and creativity has always been one of Laura’s passions. She truly believes that exposing children to the arts promotes creative thinking, problem-solving and aids in mastering fine motor skills. As well, she feels that nurturing a love for fine arts in all children allows them to explore their imaginations, express their creativity in all aspects of life and aids in them becoming more well-rounded young adults.

In her new studio, located at 2728 Howe Street, Laura is able to offer so many different ways for both children and adults to connect to their inner artist. She has drop-in Saturdays, where you can take some time out for some creative play and learn the art of doodling and there is also a whole list of classes for both children and adults to choose from.

Between the classes, drop-in art times and workshops, Laura still finds time to offer private classes to children who have a passion for art and are looking to further explore their talents. From personal experience, I know that she takes a very nurturing, hands-on approach with kids of all ages to help guide them in their exploration of many different art mediums. Laura’s dedication, gentleness and passion are infectious and she can truly help those budding artists reach their full potential.

If you interested in perusing through her gallery, or want to find out more about the classes she offers, please check out her website and connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Laura. It’s nice to see you here.

Kids in the Capital Welcomes Our Newest Sponsor: terra20

“In this new millennium, as the world’s population soars, it’s up to us to explore a more sustainable, earth-friendly lifestyle. The year 20-something will be the year we get it right.”

Last fall, terra20 opened in Ottawa in the Pinecrest Mall, beside the giant IKEA. terra20, the largest eco-friendly store in Canada, focuses on providing a straightforward, easy-going and enjoyable shopping experience for those who want to both educate themselves about sustainable living and buy strictly eco-friendly products - everything from cosmetics, baby toys, clothing, cleaning products and food. Before writing this piece, I thought it best to visit terra20 and see what they had to offer. I’m definitely glad I did!

terra20 is a big, bright and well-organized space that displays their eco-friendly products clearly along with full explanations of what you are buying. In fact, one of the most helpful features of terra20 is their ethics logos, which tell you about the environmental features of any product on their shelves. The logos, which are on each pricing label, tell you what you get clearly and simply. They represent: high-efficiency (energy / water saving), contains no bunnies (no animal suffering or byproducts), organic, made in Canada, waste reducing (recyclable or biodegradable), free of harmful chemicals, sustainable (products that impact the planet in a positive way), fair trade and green certification (given to products that are certified by verifiable environmental organizations).

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There was plenty of staff on hand to answer my many questions. And as a newbie to eco buying and sustainable living, I did have quite a few questions while browsing through their 12,000+ products. Before my visit, I was under the impression that the products would be overpriced and not necessarily worth the specific trip to the store. I was wrong on both accounts.

At the Eco Bar, the largest refill station for household products in North America, the cleaning products were dispensed in 1L, 2L or 4L refillable containers that allowed for bulk shopping. When you bring in your old containers to refill, you receive an in-store discount that allows you to reduce both the cost and the waste. And the variety could not be compared. Even in the cosmetic section, the products were modern, relevant and in colors that I would definitely use.

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All in all, I think that terra20 is worth stopping by if you are in the Ottawa area. I like the idea that they have done all their research about green, eco-friendly, bunny-friendly and fair trade products so I don’t have to. terra20 has everything, as long as it’s green and it allows me to focus on what I’m there to do - shop worry free and without thinking in a pleasant and environmentally friendly space. And, of course, the workshops are a plus too!

Just Play Toy Rental Review

By Kamerine If your kids are anything like mine they love to run and play and  read.  They love toys of all shapes and sizes but often get bored with  their toys.  We like going to play dates and playgroups to mix it up,  but what if you could get new toys delivered right to your door every  month?  With Just Play Toy Rental that's exactly what you get.

I had the opportunity to review Just Play Toy Rental's subscription  service and let me tell you, it was like Christmas at my house every  month!  My kids, ages 1 and 3, were delighted with the toys and because  we had them for a month they didn't have time to get bored with them.   We tested blocks and puzzles and trucks and bigger toys like a tunnel  and a house.  It's hard to say what they liked best, everything got  played with.

 

I was very impressed with the quality of  the toys and the variation month to month, but I was also impressed with the company itself.  Just Play Toy Rental is an Ottawa business with a  great philosophy: stay home, relax and play!  The website is easy to  navigate and has all the toys available to rent, searchable by age group or type of toy.  They rent toys individually or by subscription and  will work with you to determine the best time for pick-up and delivery.  For us that was a weeknight after the kids had gone to bed so the toys  were waiting for them the next morning.

We enjoyed a  monthly subscription but I can see this being perfect for summer  birthdays if you wanted to rent bigger toys like tunnels, slides or  ride-on toys.  Or if you wanted to make sure your kid would like a type  of toy before buying it, just rent it for a month to check it out.   Either way, this is a great company and we're lucky to have them in  Ottawa.  So check out Just Play Toy Rental and stay home, relax and  play!

Disclosure: I was provided with a trial  subscription but was not compensated in any other way.  The  opinions are my own.

Kamerine is mom to 3-year-old Little J and 1-year-old Baby K.  She documents her life with two toddlers, a husband and a cat at followk.blogspot.ca.

Welcome to our New Sponsor: Ottawa’s Leaders in Science Summer Camps

  Does your child love animals? Do they want to be a pilot? How about a scientist? Well, then, our new sponsor will knock your kids' socks off!

The Ottawa museums are offering three awesome camps this summer for your budding adventurist.

Canada Agriculture Museum

Bringing the country to kids in the city!  A unique day camp adventure awaits you! Discover the fascinating world of farm animals with this fresh-air experience that will awaken your senses through nature studies, crafts, games and more.

Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Kids, clouds, and cosmos: Develop a passion for aviation, a love of history, and a sense of pride in this great country. Each camp features awesome games, historical tales of aviation adventures, fantastic crafts, amazing scientific experiments, and of course, a breathtaking flight over the Nation’s Capital!

Canada Science and Technology Museum

Sciensatinal Adventures: Kids who love adventure, discovery and hands-on experiments won’t want to be anywhere else this summer. The popular Canada Science and Technology Museum summer camps offer something for curious campers of all ages and interests.

Have you started thinking about summer camp yet?