Spring forward: fun with ReptileFest, Windy City Rollers, Kidical Mass, Schuba's, & Audubon Society

Ah, Springtime in Chi Town.   Yesterday it was 80, tonight it's going to snow!  If you're still on spring break (or not), daunted by the weather, and running out of ideas to keep the kids educated and entertained, we've come up with a short list of great stuff happening through the end of April.

 ReptileFest  April 10 - 11 from 10am-5pm, the Chicago Herpetological Society is hosting ReptileFest at the UIC Phys Ed Bldg., 901 W. Roosevelt.   

• See and touch hundreds of reptiles and amphibians from around the world
• 40,000 square feet of exhibits, vendors, and games
• Meet the Iguana Squad to learn about proper care for all species of iguanas.
• Climb into a tortoise pen
• Have your photo taken with a large reptile
• Learn about reptiles and amphibians in your backyard and beyond
• Talk about herp health with a vetrinarian
• Purchase preferred pet products, t-shirts, and jewelry

 Adults $8.00.  Kids 3-11 $6.00.  Print the coupon below for $1.00 off admission for everyone in your party.   Find out more at ReptileFest.com.

Kidical Mass--Make history this Saturday, with Chicago's first Kidical Mass bike ride.   Kidical Mass began in Oregon and the idea is spreading to bike friendly cities across the nation.   If you want to ride, meet at Palmer Square / bunny park with your kids and your bikes and your kids on bikes for a kidical mass ride to Humboldt park and back.

The first Chicago Kidical Mass ride will be held Saturday March 20 in Palmer Square in the Logan Square neighborhood. Riders will gather at  9 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. departure and may ride until 10:30 a.m. The ride will start and end at “the bunny park” playground in Palmer square. The park is in the middle of Palmer Boulevard between Kedzie & Humbolt Boulevards. Future rides are proposed for each 3rd Saturday of the month.

Check out the Green Parent Chicago link for more info.

Also, Saturday at 11AM, The Verve Pipe  plays Schuba's as part of their fun family series.  Check out their site for more details.

Whip It--Windy City Style  The Roller Girls are back for another season.   Come join the fun.   April's bout is Saturday night at 6pm.  Doors open at 5pm.  Come early to avoid the lines.  

photo by Gil Leora COLLEGE NIGHT AT THE WINDY CITY ROLLERS! THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 10 The WCR league season lurches forward this Saturday at UIC Pavilion, where the Manics will look to take the wind out of The Fury while Hells Belles will be looking to sneak up on the Double Crossers. Tickets are $20 in advance and $21 at the door. It's College Night at our April 10 bout! Show your college pride and get a group of 15 or more to wear your alma mater's colors! Groups of 15 or more qualify for Group Tickets, 40% off the ticket price. Get a group together and e-mail events@windycityrollers.com to arrange your tickets. Wear your college or university's gear and get a shout-out at the game plus goodies from the WCR Fan Zone! Deadline for group tickets is April 7.   The National Anthem will be performed by Karen Embree. Bout entertainment will be provided by the Macha, a circus act with Shayna Swanson and Amanda Crockett. A portion of this bout's proceeds will benefit The Night Ministry -- a volunteer organization assisting vulnerable youth and adults on the nighttime streets in Chicagoland with traveling services and programs. Don't forget about our official after party at Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake St., and check out the Action Booth!

Birds and Boats--On April 24, the Chicago Audubon Society is having a bird watching float at the Skokie Lagoons. Find out more, or make reservations through Chicago River Canoe and Kayak at chicagoriverpaddle.com.

I ♥ Faces--Bundled Up Tapping Maple Trees At North Park Nature Center

The challenge for this week's contest at I ♥ Faces is "Bundled Up".   It's hard to believe how bundled up and cold we all were, just last month.   This shot was taken on February 17th, when we learned how to tap maple trees and catch the newly running sap.   Every child got a chance to turn the drill and hammer the spot where the spile would be inserted and a bucket hung.  


We had the help and instruction of a grandfatherly, old soul, one of NPNC's dedicated corp of volunteers.   Ours was a former scout leader who taught us all about maple tree tapping and then led us in a rousing rendition of a song about eating worms.   "Nobody likes me.   Everyone hates me.   Guess I'll go eat worms.   Great big slimy ones.   Little bitty tiny ones.   See how they wiggle and squirm."

It's a timely shot, because this weekend is NPNC's annual and much anticipated 2 day Maple Syrup Festival!
  
Date: March 20-21, 2010 from 10am-3pm

Cost: Free

What's Goin' On: Come on out for sap and syrup tasting, music, storytelling, farmer's market, nature walks and syrup/ sap tasting at North Park Village Nature Center.   Pancakes and breakfast goodies are available for purchase and you can bet the fresh syrup will be liberally flowing.

5801 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL
312-744-5472

Celebrate!

We were very excited that both kids made it to State in IPDGC tumbling, after our first few months of competitions this year.   At State, Dugan placed 3rd and won his 1st trophy!   

Sage placed 5th and won a cool, Olympic style medal with a green ribbon.

 

 February 27th, Fox Valley, Aurora   IPDGC  State Tumbling 2010

It's been a few full weeks of firsts.   Sagezilla got to be a flower girl for the first time, in her Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Leo's 20 year anniversary celebration.   As much as we love the music, theatre and art scene in Chicago, we always make time for family.   They are our past and our future and deserve to be well celebrated.

 February 20th, 2010 20 year anniversary recommittment ceremony

Now, Friday we're celebrating the end of 2 weeks of 3rd grade ISAT testing, Du-Jay's 1st dance (an old school 80's theme), and Du-Jay's actual 9th birthday.   

If that's not enough, that evening he has been asked to read one of his original works at 826CHI's kick off to Zine Fest week in Chicago!   He's chosen to share his piece from The Lost Sock Letters workshop I taught this past November.   So much to celebrate.

I ♥ Faces--Jump for Joy

 Brooklyn, playing in a north side Chicago park, at a school picnic.

Maybe you're jumping rope, jumping for a frisbee, or jumping over ever rising limbo sticks.   Maybe you're jumping on a trampoline, moon shoes, roller blades, a skate ramp, or your own two feet.   Nothing says "jump for joy" like good old fashioned, low tech fun in the park with friends.

Spring is officially less than two weeks away.   So spring up in the air, with a bounce to your soles and your winter weary soul.   And jump for joy.

Look For ChiIL Mama This Weekend: Home Depot Kids Workshop, The Cabinet,

Come on out to your local Home Depot today from 9-noon for free family crafts.   

 
We'll be making a rain gauge to see how all those April showers measure up.

We finally made it out to see Red Moon Theatre's remounting of The Cabinet last night, and it was phenomenal.   What's not to love about murder and madness in an ominous armoire.   I was amazed and amused to see a good segment of the crowd came in costume, ala Rocky Horror Picture Show.   We sat behind a dark haired girl in a long, white lace gown and a well padded boy with wrinkles drawn on his face and hair gelled straight up and whitened with baby powder.  Dr. Caligari lives!

It's been five years since we were first impressed by Frank Maugeri and company's stage adaptation of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari".   Both then and now, we went to Facets Multimedia and rented the German Expressionist classic from 1919, right before heading out to Redmoon.   The characters and sets bear an excellent resemblance to their cinematic inspiration.  Redmoon's addition of narration, played on a scratchy, old Victrola, adds a whole new dimension to the violin heavy silent film.   

None of the puppeteers from the original production are in this one, but all came back at least once and consulted.   And Vanessa Stalling has risen from puppeteer to the position of director, this time around.   Another is currently involved in Looking Glass Theatre's Alice.   Despite different puppet masters, the same puppets from 2005 starred in this reincarnation, and they haven't aged a day.   After the show, be sure make use of Redmoon's open invite back stage, to check out the amazing sets, props and characters--live and created.

Through March 7th, 2010

    Thursdays 8:00 PM Price: $15
    Fridays 8:00 and 10:00 PM Price: $20
    Saturdays 6:00 and 9:00 PM Price: $25
    Sundays 3:00 PM Price: $20
Through April 4th, 2010

    Thursdays 8:00 PM Price: $15
    Fridays 8:00 PM Price: $20
    Saturdays 6:00 and 9:00 PM Price: $25
    Sundays 3:00 PM Price: $20

TICKETING INFORMATION:

Group Rate Ticket Price (Parties of 10 or more)—Call the Box Office to order your group discounted tickets!

A $1.50 service fee is applied to each ticket for all online and phone orders. If you would like to avoid the service fee, you may stop by our Box Office during business hours to purchase.

Box Office Hours:
    Monday (9am-5pm)
    Tuesday (9am-5pm)
    Wednesday (9am-5pm)
    Thursday (9am-9pm)
    Friday (9am-11pm)
    Saturday (2pm-10pm)
    Sunday (12pm-4pm)

Sold Out/Wait List Policy: Patrons may join the waitlist by coming to the Box Office in person up to one hour prior to the performance start time.

PERFORMANCE AND VENUE INFORMATION:

The running time is 60 minutes with no intermission.
The Box Office will open for ticket purchases and Will Call one hour before the performance. The Bar will open one hour before curtain. The Bar is cash only and serves snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The House will open for seating 30 minutes before the performance.
Tickets are general admission. Patrons are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to curtain for a seat of their choice. No late seating available. Those arriving after curtain will not be admitted.
Redmoon Central is located at 1463 W Hubbard Street near the corner of Grand and Ashland in Chicago’s West Town. Please look for Redmoon’s sign in front of a small parking lot. Walk through the parking lot. Redmoon is located on the left. Ample street parking is available, and handicapped parking is available in our parking lot.
Directions:
From 90/94 northbound: take Lake St (exit 51A) west; take a right on Racine and a left on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your left.
From 90/94 southbound: take Ogden Ave (exit 50A) southwest to Hubbard; take a soft right on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your left.
Via El: Harlem/Lake Green Line train to Ashland; walk north on Ashland, under the Metra tracks; turn right on Hubbard and walk 1.5 blocks; Redmoon Central will be on your right.
Via Bus: #65 (Grand) bus to Armour Street; walk one block south on Armour; turn left on Hubbard; Redmoon Central will be on your right. #9 (Ashland) bus to Grand Avenue; walk one block south on Ashland; turn left on Hubbard and walk 1.5 blocks; Redmoon Central will be on your right.

Again, this is not recommended for children under 13, or you might give your kids a lifetime fear of murderous marionettes!   But for a parents' night out, it can't be beat.

I ♥ Faces Hilarious Outtakes--I ♥ Lucy?!

It's Hilarious Outtakes Week at I ♥ Faces.

Click on the camera link below, for more shutterbug fun.

I ♥ Faces--Hands On Fun

Here at ChiIL Mama, we love hands on fun.   So it's especially cool to focus on everyone's "hand"y work in this week's contest over at I ♥ Faces.

This is our friend, Sabrina, getting back to nature with the touching table at North Park Nature Center in Chicago.   The kids got to handle everything from antlers to worm bin dwellers.  The kids could even touch fur, feathers, jaw bones, pine cones, bees wax and opossum skulls.

They even got to tap their own Maple tree!   Each kid took a turn on the Maple, with the hammer and the hand drill, and learned about spiels, sap and syrup production.    The Nature Center is always free and is an incredible 155 acre oasis on the north side of urban Chicago.

Look For ChiIL Mama This Weekend: Welcoming The Year of the Dragon, Bidding Polar Adventure Day Goodbye, Loving Bleeding Heart Bread, and Rockin' The Roller Derby

SATURDAY
If you missed out on Chinatown's Lunar New Year parade last weekend or if you still haven't gotten your fill of welcoming in The Year of the Tiger, head up North to Argyle and Broadway at noon, for more fire crackers, Chinese dragons, martial arts and great food.

Lunar New Year Parade
Hosted and sponsored by Hip Sing and Area Merchants

Saturday, February 20, 2010
11:30am-1pm
1121 W. Argyle

This parade is a visual delight with parade floats, two lion dance teams, a dragon dance team, martial arts demonstrations, and two sections of the Rickover Naval Academy marching band!

The parade steps off at noon from Broadway & Argyle, heading East on Argyle, South on Sheridan, West on Ainslie and then north on Broadway, ending in the Tai Nam parking lot (4925 N. Broadway).

A traditional firecracker display will take place at Hip Sing - 1121 W. Argyle St.

Come early or stay after the parade to enjoy a fabulous meal at one of the many Argyle Street Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai restaurants, and browse the many shops for unique gift items!

Alternately, this is the last Polar Adventure Day of the winter out at Northerly Island.

SUNDAY
We've been hearing about the weekly bread co-op over at our favorite Punk Rock Pastry Shop, Bleeding Heart Bakery.   But last week was our first foray into ordering a loaf.   They're just $5 and can be picked up every Sunday after 1pm in Roscoe Village or Monday in Oak Park.   Bread must be pre-ordered by 7pm Friday.   

Every week is a different, creative flavor.   We can't wait to pick up our Sourdough loaf this Sunday.   Our first was, appropriately enough, a rich chocolate Valentine's Day heart, bleeding with dried cherries and gooey chocolate chips.   We made awe inspiring French Toast with some and tried it toasted, and sliced right off the loaf.   It was deeeeelicious.



Finally, Sunday night is the 2nd bout of the season.   Come cheer on The Windy City Rollers in some fast paced, flat track fun.