Town Hall Seattle presents "Choosing Hope after Sandy Hook" featuring Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis - 1st Grade Teacher and Sandy Hook Tragedy Survivor - Thursday, October 8th 2015 at 7:30pm - "Less than a Double Latte" with $5+small fee per ticket.

Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis

‘Choosing Hope’ After Sandy Hook

7:30PM, Thursday, October 8, 2015

Downstairs at Town Hall

$5

" Gun violence is a pressing public issue and in 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting brought the debate to an all-time high. Now, Roig-DeBellis, a first grade teacher who survived the tragedy, offers a firsthand account of this national nightmare. She'll share simple steps anyone can take in the face of national--or personal--tragedies and explain why the key to moving on lies in individual resilience. "

For more info. go here.

4th Annual Polish Festival Seattle (with additional children's activities!) at Seattle Center - Saturday, July 11th 2015 from 12-8pm

Go and check out the Polish Festival and enjoy all things of the Polish culture as well as some fun children's activities!

Many thanks to Marija for submitting this to the FreePlay Kids calendar!

" The very popular Polish Festival returns to Seattle Center on July 11, 2015 as part of Festal cultural programs. Come explore and experience Polish cultural traditions and contemporary achievements through live music, dance performances, workshops, exhibits, and children's activities. Merchandise market place will showcase Polish glass art, hand-crafted pottery, amber jewelry, crystal, and cut-out paper art (wycinanki); it will also provide information about local Polish-American community and travel to Poland. The beer garden will be well stocked with a variety of imported Polish beer, and the food booths will serve plenty of authentic Polish food.

This summer the Festival will feature many new children's activities including crafts, a drawing contest, story time, and an interactive science presentation based on experiments of Maria Sklodowska Curie.  The Festival's featured Polish region is the Polish Highlands (Podhale).  The unique traditions of Polish Highlanders (Górale) and the splendor of the Polish Tatra mountains  will be showcased with regional artifacts exhibit, performances of authentic music and dance, and special sheep cheese (oscypki) from the mountains.

The Polish community is proud to present this Festival and provide an opportunity to share its Polish heritage and find common ground with others, to foster understanding between cultures and build a greater Seattle community overall. "

For more info. go here.

Scott Sampson, the Paleontologist/Host of "Dinosaur Train" presents: Connecting Kids to Nature in a Technological World at Town Hall in Seattle - Thursday, April 2nd at 7:30pm - Tickets available for $5 (+ 1.30 fee) online so "Less than a Double Latte" each!

This looks like a good one for us parents!

" In our increasingly digital age, children are spending less and less time playing outdoors–despite nature’s correlation to improved physical and emotional health. In How to Raise a Wild Child, Scott Sampson (host of beloved PBS show Dinosaur Train) lays out the importance of getting outside, and offers a step-by-step guide for parents and teachers to engage kids in nature. Sampson will explain why it’s crucial to strengthen a rich relationship with the environment at an early age, and explore the way this connection changes with age. He’ll even offer his suggestion for a somewhat unusual channel to get kids moving out the door–with technology. "

For more info. go here.

To buy tickets go here.

Explore Virtual Puppetry and CG Animation Drop-in Session/Tour for kids ages 7 and up presented by Digipen at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle - Sunday, January 25th 2014 from 12-3pm

EXPLORE VIRTUAL PUPPETRY AND CG ANIMATION WITH DIGIPEN
January 25, 12pm-3pmA free drop-in tour for ages 7+

Ever wanted to get a glimpse of the magic behind CG animation? Drop in at our free afternoon session to see examples of how technology is being blended with traditional art and digital puppeteering. This opportunity is presented byDigiPen Institute of Technology, a world-renowned leader in education and research in computer interactive technologies, located in Redmond, WA. The DigiPen team has some amazing surprises lined up for you!

For more info. go here.

Health and Wellness Fair with a kids zone, demos, health screenings and more on Mercer Island - Saturday, January 10th 2014 from 10am-2pm

For more info. go here.

DigiPen offers Free Preview events for elementary, middle and high school students in March and April in Redmond - Registration for the free preview days this year opens on Monday, January 5th 2015!

My son hasn't been old enough to attend these yet but I hear they are pretty cool!

" These free events will give elementary, middle, and high school students the chance to preview our upcoming course offerings. Attendees will also receive a discount of either $100 for a two-week workshop or $35 for a one-week workshop during the 2015 summer!

Each summer, DigiPen offers one-week and two-week workshops that introduce students to a variety of fun and engaging Video Game Programming, Game Design, Fine Arts and Multimedia Production, and Engineering topics. We offer Teen Workshops for students entering grades 8-12, Junior Workshops for students entering grades 4-7, and Young Explorer Workshops for students entering grades 1-3. These programs are offered at DigiPen’s Redmond, WA, campus, located within minutes of Nintendo of America, Microsoft Game Studios, and Valve Software at the heart of the video game industry.

Registration for 2015 Preview Days will be open on January 5, 2015. In order to make room for all interested participants, attending parties and families must be limited to no more than four guests each. There will be a separate schedule for students and parents. Please register each participating student separately (even if there is more than one student in the same party), and feel free to contact us at projectfun@digipen.edu for further information.

*Note: Combination of discounts cannot exceed $250 for two-week workshops and $100 for one-week workshops. Discounts available for on-site summer workshops at DigiPen in Redmond, WA. The Preview Day Discount is only available to first time students in the ProjectFUN Workshops. "

                        2015 Summer Workshop Preview Day Dates:

                                                             Saturday, March 28, 2015
                                                               Saturday, April 4, 2015

                                                              Saturday, April 18, 2015

Each full-day event includes:

                             A welcome presentation by DigiPen President and Founder, Claude Comair
                             A preview of select workshops on Video Game Programming, Fine Arts and 

                                           Multimedia Production, Engineering, and Game Design.

                                            Complimentary lunch at DigiPen’s Bits & Bytes Café

Check-in begins at 9:00 am. 

Registration and additional details about these events will be available on January 5, 2015. 

For questions, check out our FAQ below or contact us at projectfun@digipen.edu. "

For more info. go here.

THE BEST OF NFFTY-CINEMA IN TUNE featuring music videos & films created by Teens for Teens and Adults at the Central Library in Seattle - Saturday, September 27th 2014 from 2-4pm

" The Teen Center at Central Library and NFFTY bring you an afternoon of films with a music focus created by teens. Teen directors will discuss making videos and entering the NFFTY festival.

The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY, the largest festival of its kind) presents music videos and films with a focus on music made by 16-24 year olds from Seattle and around the world. See below for the films to be screened, though the lineup and order may change. Please call the Library for verification of titles a day or two before the event. "

Featuring:

Flash Point

Colin Campbell

Michigan

Dresses - Painting Roses

Tim Hendrix

California

Fortissimo

Noah Wagner

New York

Song For Anna

Lucinda Harstrick/Isiah Hoban-Halvorsen

Washington

Hope

Adam McArthur

Washington

Eric’s Basement & Secret Tunnels

Jake Oleson

New Jersey

75 Pianos

Jackson C. Davis & Grant Olans

Brush – Manatee Commune

Tyler Michael James

Washington

Renminbi Tips

Cole Jackson & Tommy Lee

A Warmer Sound

Daniel Morris & Carolina Nunes

United Kingdom

This Life 

Joanna Roy

California

Insan_Human

Karim Shaaban

Egypt

For more info. go here.

Monroe Swift Night Out (1000's of Swifts coming home to roost) with children's activities, presentations, food and more! - Saturday, September 13th 2014 from 5pm until dusk!

" Come witness an amazing natural event occurring in our community!
Celebrate the arrival of the 2nd largest roost of Vaux’s Swifts in America!
Watch thousands of these birds swirl into a 4-ft.-square chimney in just minutes!

Spaghetti Feed ($6), Hot Dogs ($1) and Apple Crisp ($1) starting at 5:00 p.m.
Fun-filled lecture: 6:30 p.m. – Frank Wagner Auditorium
Swift Experts available: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. to answer your questions
Information booths with birds, mementos, and more!
Fun activities for kids!
Yummy food and drinks!

Bring a blanket or a lawn chair and watch the show! "

Location:

Wagner Center (old Frank Wagner Elementary School)

639 W Main St., Monroe, Washington
Old Town Monroe on Main Street, between Kelsey St. and Dickinson Rd.

For more info. go here.

8th Annual Festival of Fruit with cider pressing, music, tours, kids activities and more at Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center in Seattle - Saturday, September 13th 2014 from 10am-2pm

Some Fall fun already! I love it!

" We’re holding the 8th annual Festival of Fruit on September 13, 2014 from 10:00AM – 2:00PM at the Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center. Events will include cider pressing and tasting, live music, activities for kids, guided tours of the historic orchard and more. In addition to the regular Festival, we’re excited to host a presentation on making cider from 2:30PM to 4:00PM in the ELC.

Experts including the renowned Dr. Bob Norton, retired research scientist from WSU Extension in Mt. Vernon and Shaun Shepherd from Portland’s Home Orchard Society, will give talks on apple varieties and identification.

Visitors are encouraged to try out making cider the old-fashioned way, with a hand cranked cider press.

Visitors are welcome to donate homemade pies. Fresh warm cider and slices of homemade pie will be available at a nominal cost, with proceeds to support ongoing maintenance of the orchard.

Expert volunteers who have painstakingly restored the orchard will lead tours, pointing out the heirloom varieties that are going strong as well as younger trees and newly planted grape vines.

Visitors will have the chance to taste heirloom apple varieties that are grown in the orchard.

Little ones will enjoy organized arts and crafts activities. "

 

For more info. go here.

5th Annual Pants Party at Eastside Baby Corner with food, games, entertainment, giveaways and more in Issaquah - Saturday, September 6th 2014 from 10am-1pm - Please consider donating new or gently used 0-14 sized pants!

10 am - 1 pm - 1510 NW Maple St., Issaquah, WA

Help EBC collect 4,000 pairs of pants -- bring a pair of new or gently-used pants (boys or girls size 0-14) and stay for games, activities, a raffle for great prizes, Hub tours & entertainment for the whole family. 

This year's lineup inlcudes "touch a firetruck and police car," pony rides, face painting, The Science Lady, KidsQuest Museum and it's all free!

For more info. go here.

"Heaven is for Real" Conference featuring the family that inspired the movie - A free all ages event in Bothell! - Today, Saturday, June 7th at 4pm and 7pm and tomorrow, Sunday, June 8th 2014 at 9am or 12pm

Discovered this while driving to a cool, new nearby park! Thought some of you might want to check it out!

"HEAVEN IS FOR REAL"

" Meet the family featured in the movie "Heaven is for Real."

Come and hear stories from three best-selling authors who have been through near-death experiences and have returned to tell about their time in heaven. 

Hear what they have to share about what heaven is, what it is like, and what it means for us right now.

Heaven is real. It's ours to make heaven real on earth. 

Have you seen the movie "Heaven Is For Real" yet? If not, go to Fandango.com for tickets at a theater near you.

THIS EVENT IS FREE!

There will be opportunity to make donations towards the conference costs and select charity organizations at the events.

Unfortunately there will not be any Childcare during the events. There will, however, be a small nursing mothers room with a live stream feed of what's happening inside. "

For more info. go here.

Celebration of Food Festival 2014 - A real food movement celebration with demos, activities, a kids food station and a lot more at the Lynnwood Convention Center - Sunday May 18th 2014 from 11am-4pm

Go and learn or relearn what real food is!!

" Food Revolution Snohomish County, a movement aimed at encouraging growing, cooking, preserving, and eating real healthy food, brings this unique community event to Snohomish County.

A free, family event where you can taste, explore, and experience real food.

• Food — Free samples, demos, displays, and items for purchase (see list of vendors below).
• Gardening — Demos, displays, and activities by farm and garden professionals will show how to grow your own food and where to purchase locally grown food.
• Resources — Experts, displays, books, and resources will be available for children and adults to learn everything about growing to cooking to preserving food. "

Highlights include:

Cooking Demonstrations

Presentation Line-up

Kids Food Station

Children's Reading Tent

Celebrate Your Preserves Contest

About the Kids Food Station:

" Children and youth are welcome to join this hands-on activity and make healthy, yummy snacks. From 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., we will offer "kits" where kids can make one of the three snacks. This activity will also offer skill stations where kids are welcome to learn kitchen skills such as measuring, whisking, folding, cutting, etc. Details about the snacks to come. "

For more info. go here.

5th Annual "Celebrate Urban Nature" with Caspar Babypants, a reptile show and lots more at Magnuson Community Center in Seattle - Saturday, April 12th 2014 from 10am-1:30pm - "Less than a Latte" each at $10 per family or $3 each!

Definitely recommend this one! 

" This annual spring event, co-sponsored by Magnuson Community Center and Earthcorps, features family-friendly presentations, interactive booths, and displays, art and nature activities, nature- themed carnival, Nature Explorers Lab, and more! A fun-filled day for the whole family! "

Featuring:

• 10:30 am Caspar Babypants sings nature songs in the Auditorium

• 11:30 am Reptile Show with Isaac Petersen, son of the reptileman

• 12:30 pm Raptor Presentation by Sarvey Wildlife Care Center

• 10:30am-1:30pm in the gym: The “Nature Explorers Science Lab” will be chock-full off hands-on adventures including wildlife tracks, pond water from the Magnuson Wetlands, birds and their nests, Magnuson’s fabulous dragonflies,  how ants build their homes, where ladybugs go in the winter, and more!

Along with:

• Animal Encounter’s Spring Petting Farm of Bunnies and Chicks, and their Exotic Live Bug Zoo,
• Don Ehlen’s Insect Safari
• PCC Natural Markets Kid Picks Mobile
• Just Frogs & Friends Amphibian Center
• Interactive booths from EarthCorps, NOAA, Seattle Audubon, Bats Northwest, MESA, Magnuson P-Patch & Children’s Garden, Washington Native Plant Society, & more.
• Test your “nature knowledge” and win prizes at our vast array of nature carnival games!
• Go on a “nature scavenger hunt” and play “wheelbarrow guess” for prizes in Magnuson Community Center’s Bird-friendly Landscape and Resource Conservation Landscape!

Don’t miss this event…it will be fun, educational, and something for everyone!

For more info. go here.

"Tooth-Apolooza" plus free admission at Imagine Children's Museum in Everett - Friday, February 21st 2014 from 5:30-9pm

For more info. go here.

"The Scoop on Poop" a FREE all ages family event with interactive activities, arts and crafts and more at IslandWood at Brightwater Center in Woodinville - Saturday, February 8th 2014 from 10am-12pm - Register online - Treatment Plant tour also available for kids ages 9 and up - Register separately for the tour.

Image courtesy of Brightwater Center  

" Poop. We all do it; from birds to worms to humans. Come to Brightwater Center and join IslandWood and King County as we explore the world of poop and the science behind it.  After a short presentation at 10am, take your time exploring a variety of fun poop-related activities. Get down and dirty dissecting some real animal waste, search for the scat of local wildlife in our natural area, and create an art project related to what (and what not) to flush down the toilet! Scoop on Poop activities are great for families with kids of all ages.

A tour of the state-of-the-art Brightwater Treatment Facility will also be available at 10am for those curious about King County's Waste Water Treatment Process. Treatment plant tour attendees must be aged 9 and up. Register for treatment plant tours (separate from event registration) here.

For more info. and to register for the non-tour event go here.

Beyond Labels: The HANDLE perspective on Sensory Disorders and Autism - Free presentation at the Shoreline Library - Saturday, January 11th 2014 from 2-3:30pm

A free presentation on Sensory Disorders/Autism and The HANDLE Approach.

" Is someone you know struggling with sensory disorders or autism? Let'slook beyond the labels to see what some of the underlying neurodevelopmental causes may be, and take a look at HANDLE, a non-drug, gentle, effective approach that helps a person improve their functioning and quality of their daily life. "

For more info. go here.

Free Lecture on Dyslexia by National Dyslexia Expert Susan Barton in Seattle - Tuesday, September 24th 2013 from 6-9pm - Free tix available online!

If you know someone with dyslexia, suspect it or want to just learn more about it, then check out the free seminar happening in Seattle on Tuesday evening!

" Learn about dyslexia from leading dyslexia expert, Susan Barton.

You'll discover:

• Dyslexia's inheritance patterns and the genetic link
• The symptoms of mild dyslexia in adults
• The classic warning signs in children
• Why most dyslexic children don't qualify for special ed
• Research-based "best practices" to improve spelling, reading, and writing
• Why tutoring alone is not enough and much more!!! "

For more info. go here.

Special Event! Meet NASA Astronaut Mike Foreman at the Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo! - Saturday, June 15th 2013 - Presentation at 1pm, Autographs and Pictures at 1:45pm

For more info. go here.

The Parrot Lady with Live Parrots at Everett Public Libraries - Saturday, May 11th 2013 at 11am at the Evergreen Branch and 2pm at the Main Library

Head to one of the Everett Libraries this Saturday and learn all about parrots, wild and domestic from Debbie Goodrich, The Parrot Lady. She will have live parrots along with her as well!

Recommended for preschoolers and up.


For more info. go here.

 

Free tickets to see Dr. Pepper Schwartz Presentation "Balancing Life, Love & Your Growing Family - Wednesday, May 15th in Seattle or Saturday, May 18th 2013 in Bellevue - various times

Just received this email in my inbox and had to share!

SPECIAL OFFER: FREE TICKETS FOR PARENTMAP FAMILIES! To help parents navigate the craziness of family life while staying connected with their partners,  ParentMap is hosting two special talks next week. Don't miss this great finale to our 2013 Seattle + Eastside lectures.  Please share this offer with your friends — especially new parents! Reserve seats at www.parentmap.com/schwartztickets

Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D. Balancing Life, Love + Your Growing Family  Details + Recent News Clip  Wednesday, May 15 Seattle Children's Theatre, 6:30 p.m. Saturday May 18 Bellevue College, 11 a.m. Check out our pre-event fun below!  Doors open one hour before the talk.  Enjoy free childcare at our day-time Eastside event.

BOOK NOW Seats + childcare limited! RESERVE SEATS HERE!

For more info. go here.