Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in san francisco, CA

Jazz, Culture, Sunday Streets, and Yo Gabba Gabba

by Michael Rohde

June 03, 2009

There’s plenty of things to do this weekend as Sunday Streets explores new territory, there’s a Jewish community festival in Yerba Buena Gardens, and Yo Gabba Gabba hits the Xbox 360. If you’re looking for something to do tomorrow, there’s jazz at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Yerba Buena Gardens
Mads Tolling Quartet
Thursday, June 4, 12:30–1:30pm
Mads Tolling, two-time Grammy Award-winning violinist with the Turtle Island Quartet and violinist with the acclaimed Stanley Clarke Band, leads his own ensemble in a performance of contemporary lyrical jazz with virtuosity and spontaneity. The Mads Tolling Quartet is Mads Tolling (violin), George Ban-Weiss (bass), Mike Abraham (guitar), Eric Garland (drums).

Israel in the Gardens Festival
Sunday, June 7, 11am–5pm
Celebrate the diversity of the Jewish community! The largest Jewish community family festival in the Bay Area includes a variety of activities for teens, young adults and families featuring the hottest new music, theater, a film festival, resource tables, and freshly prepared ethnic foods. Shop for everything from jewelry to handmade clothing from artisan craft booths!

Sunday Streets
Sunday Streets is taking it’s fun and games to the Mission. All activities take place between 10am and 2pm unless otherwise noted (check the web site). The event’s centerplace is at Garfield Square Park at 26th & Harrison Street. Per usual, there will be kid’s activities, cultural programming, roller skating, dancing, and biking.

Yo Gabba Gabba
Many of you know that I’m a proud owner of an Xbox 360, along with 30 million others. In addition to me, 20 million others also have an Xbox Live subscription, which provides access to TV shows, movies, and other content. Now available on the Xbox Live Video Marketplace are episodes of the popular Yo Gabba Gabba children’s show. If you haven’t seen this before, it comes highly recommended.

For those of you without an Xbox, the DVD’s for the first and second seasons are available on Netflix.
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The Sippy Cups Rock

by Michael Rohde

May 19, 2009

Beatles. Rolling Stones. Ramones. The Sippy Cups.

You might not know it to think it, but kids do like Rock n Roll. This might be a matter of genetics, taste, and personal preference, but my kids tend to bop, sway, and head nod to classic rock, reggae (Jimmy Cliff in particular), and pop music far more than they ever did to Baby Einstein's classical music. Enter: The Sippy Cups.

I took my own advice (from Wednesday's post) and took the family over to Golden Gate Park last Saturday for the Life is Good festival (full disclosure: full props to my wife for finding the festival and already knowing about The Sippy Cups). It was awesome. The festival was very well sponsored and almost everything was free: from sample granola and Z bars to Project Joy's beach balls. There were plenty of games and face painting. I also want to fully recognize the staff, who were some of the most friendly, happy, and energetic people I've ever met.

But the real topper of the day was The Sippy Cups. When I heard there was going to be a kids band performing, I thought to myself, hear we go with 'Wheels on the Bus;' only louder. I couldn't have been more wrong. They opened with 'Dear Prudence' and had everyone from 6 months and up grooving, shaking, and dancing. And no one, and I mean no one, can beat The Sippy Cups bubble machine. Max and Julia (my two-year olds) stood there with mouths dropped open and stared in wide-eyed wonder at the thousands of bubbles that floated out from the stage. It was magical.

Other covers included the Stones' 'She’s a Rainbow' and the Ramones' 'I Wanna be Sedated' (appropriately changed to 'I Wanna be Related'). The Sippy Cups are by no means a cover band and played several originals, including a song with the lyrics, "7 is the new 14, 14 is the new 21, 35 and you’re barely alive…" Funny. Real funny.

The Sippy Cups have upcoming shows in Berkeley and Walnut Creek. I also noticed they played at Bimbo's 365 in North Beach (the doors opened at 3pm). If I remember correctly, the last show I saw at Bimbo's was Alex Chilton (the doors did not open at 3pm for that one…). Their gig list shows a few dates in DC and New York, so it looks like they travel.

They do have a mailing list (I just signed up), are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace…in their words, "The Sippy Cups are like, totally Web 2.0 Join us in the interwebsphere and we can make you special offers and also make you feel welcome in our world at all times."

It was a great show, it was a great day, and we look forward to next year's Life is Good festival.

There's still time to enter the contest to win tickets to see Sesame Street Live in June at the Oakland ORACLE Arena (details).  

Life is Good

by Michael Rohde

May 13, 2009

This Saturday there are first-time festivals at Golden Gate Park, sing alongs, street festivals, and carnivals. On Sunday, you can rest (speaking as the Dad of two-year old twins, comments like that are meant as sarcasm…there's no such thing as "resting" when you have two-year olds...).

Life is Good Festival
The first Life is Good festival is a free, family-friendly day in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at Speedway Meadow on May 16, 2009 from 11am to 5 pm. The outdoor bash features great live music from ALO, Martin Sexton, and The Sippy Cups, classic backyard food, and a colorful mix of good-time games and activities for all ages. From seed spitting and badminton to soccer kicks, tug-o'-wars and football flings, they promise a day of big smiles and healthy play.

Dream Circle Spring Sing (Bay Area Discovery Museum)
Saturday, May 16, performances at 11am & 12:30 pm
Members $8; General $10
Tim Cain, Cindy Cohen, Miss Kitty and Cristopher Smith – all under one roof! Join BADM for a delightful sing-along concert with Marin’s best loved children’s entertainers. Kids of all ages will be delighted to raise their voices and sing some favorite songs with this incredibly talented foursome. Ballerinas will have a chance to pirouette and doggies will be called upon to hop up and down. There will be lots of dancing, clapping and tapping fun.

Asian Heritage Street Celebration
Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 11am to 6pm. Two stages of music, arts and crafts, food, prizes, karaoke, traditional and pop culture J cars, Thai kickboxing, carnival rides and games. Free admission.

Splish Splash Peabody Bash
Time to celebrate the arrival of Spring! Please join the Peabody school for a whale of a good time at their Carnival this Saturday from 11am to 3pm. They will have carnival games for children of all ages, a silent auction, a jumpy house, a rock climbing wall and a raffle for the adults with food and fun for all! The carnival takes place on the school yard at 250 7th Avenue, between California and Clement Streets. Don't want to mess with parking? No worries, take the 2 Clement, 1 California, 44 O'Shaugnessy or the 38 Geary bus lines.

If you missed it yesterday, there's still time to enter the contest to win tickets to see Sesame Street Live in June at the Oakland ORACLE Arena (details).

Mother's Day 2009

by Michael Rohde

May 06, 2009

I have to give Sunday Streets continual props. The first one of the year was a blast. We went down to AT&T Park, ran the bases, played ball in the Fan Lot, and then walked over to the playground and a grassy field, which is about a block away. Sponsors had hula hoops and catch-and-throw toys spread out. It was hilarious to see my little two-year old trying to hula. She had no trouble getting inside the hoop and picking it up, but it was far too big for her to start swinging her hips. Gotta hand it to her for trying though!

I bring Sunday Streets up because on May 10 they will be back at it again along the Waterfront route in the Southeast Sector of the city. The route highlights the San Francisco Bay Trail, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. The route starts at AT&T Park, stretches to the Bayview Opera House, and then finishes at India Basin (details).

If you’re still looking for something to do today, don’t forget that the Bay Area Discovery Museum offers free admission on the first Wednesday of every month (yep, that’s today).

Koret Museum Days
BADM is participating in Koret Museum Days, which means on Sunday May 10, admission is free of charge. Seventeen other museums and varied locations are participating, including the Exploratorium, the SF Museum of Modern Art, and the SF Zoo (full list of locations).

That’s all good for Mom Day, but what about Saturday? Don't worry, there’s stuff to do then as well:

Richmond District Family Fun Days
The Richmond Village Beacon is presenting a carnival event with resource booths, food, and games for every member of the family! This event is free and open to the public (details).

Baby Loves Disco (in my wife's words, "geez, this is expensive!")
If your baby/toddler/kid loves to dance the afternoon away, and you don't mind dropping $18/per person at the door (that's $72 for a family of four), then Baby Loves Disco is where you need to be heading on Saturday.

Cherry Blossoms, Easter Egg Hunts, and the Union Street Spring Celebration

by Michael Rohde

April 08, 2009

The San Francisco weather has turned wet again, but the forecast calls for somewhat sunny skies this weekend, so go ahead and make some outdoor plans!

Over in Japantown, the 2009 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is taking place near Post and Buchanan. On the weekends of April 11 and April 18 the festival will celebrate Japanese Americans with music, dance, martial arts, tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, and (of course) food!

If your little one is anything like my daughter, who wore her Hello Kitty rain boots and jacket today, I'm sure they will go nuts-o for the Hello Kitty Land at the Children's Village on April 11 and 12. The next weekend, Hello Kitty and her entourage will perform live at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas from 11AM to 1PM.

Over in India Basin, friends and neighbors are holding their 9th Annual Spring Egg Hunt. Families are encouraged to gather around 10AM on Saturday and the hunt starts at 11AM. The event includes prizes and (of course) food and takes place at Hunters Point Boulevard between Evans and Innes.

Last, but not least, the 18th Annual Union Street Spring Celebration and Easter Parade takes place on Sunday from 10AM to 5PM on Union Street from Gough to Fillmore. The event features Union Street's best restaurants dishing it up in an outdoor bistro setting (what's a San Francisco event without food?).

Activities include large inflatable bounces, kids' rides and games, a climbing wall, a hands-on children's activities area, costumed characters, a petting zoo, a pony ride and music.

So there are three events that sound pretty fun. My best bets would be the Hello Kitty party on Saturday and the Union Street festival on Sunday.

Savvy Weekender: Play in the street on Sunday!

by Graham Charles

August 29, 2008

My wife and I will encourage our two-year old, Fern, to play in the middle of the street this weekend, although to be fair, we're going to be very selective about which street. First priority, of course, will be the hula hoop contest south of Market, or maybe we'll run the bases at AT&T Park or else we'll be break dancing in Chinatown. All of the above, of course, are part of this  Read more...