The Family Savvy - A Parent's Guide to What's Worth Seeing, Doing, Reading and Thinking Right Now (Los Angeles Edition)

Click on over and peruse the new site for things to do this weekend. You'll find our picks listed by age group under This Month. Feel free to poke around the site to check our reviews of interesting new art and culture around town. Then, if your coffee cup is still full, spend a few moments reading our blog.

Tickets are still available for Cirque du Soliel's IRIS, at the Kodak Theater - we loved it. And a new show from Cirque du Soleil, OVO, opens today at the Santa Monica Pier. Music fans will love the family show for They Might Be Giants, at UCLA Live on January 28.

Fast Breaking Idea: There is an unusually large pod of orcas off the coast, so a whale watch is not a crazy idea for the weekend.

My kids are as obsessed with taking pictures and editing them onto Instagram as I am with pinning pretty images on Pinterest. How'd we get so visual? And... when did everyone become a photographer!?

You'll pick up some clues when you take the family over to see The Annenberg Space for Photograpy's new show, Digital Darkroom. Everything - from gorgeous portraits of athletes, to dreamy shots that originated in the imagination of a romantic 20-something year-old, to sophisticated collages made of found objects. Each image is more intriguing than the next, and were all cooked up by contemporary artists with the help of the folks at Adobe Photoshop. You'll head back into the world wondering what's real and what's not.

Kalpa at the Getty -- Kicking off 11 days of Pacific Standard Time's Performance and Public Art Festival is a one-time installation called Kalpa. Dancers and musicians will take over your senses in a performance like no other. Click here for details.

The Family Savvy Launches! A New Website to start the New Year

There's a new website in town called The Family Savvy. I spent the last six months creating a robust calendar-based site for families looking to interact with the city and with each other, and I am excited to share it with you. It's where I'll focus my attention from here forward, so check it out and start 2012 equipped with up-to-the-moment information about culture and kids around LA.

CLICK TO VISIT THE FAMILY SAVVY

A few words from The Family Savvy: 

We don't know about you, but we can't stand having this conversation: "What-do-you-wanna-do"," I-dunno. What-do-YOU-wanna-do"? The Family Savvy was created in order to let you skip past the planning inertia and find ways to keep the whole family engaged. By staying up-to-date on everything cultural and cool around town, we are in a great position to help you make the most of your family's time together. We know from experience that family outings help to change up the weekly scenery, are useful for oiling the joints of inter-generational communication, and - most importantly -- are a fun way to introduce your family to many wonderful events, art and ideas that crop up in our world-class city.

Think of The Family Savvy as your Cultural Concierge. Your Ambassador for Adventure. Your Envoy for Enjoyment.

Connect with The Family Savvy: Here's how you can get up-to-the-minute information about what's happening around town as well as free screening and ticket offers. 

·   Bookmark The Family Savvy

·   Sign Up for the free newsletter

·   Like The Family Savvy on Facebook

·   Follow The Family Savvy on Twitter

Spread the Word! We rely on the good graces of subscribers like you to grow. If you like the new site, please share it with your friends and teachers, family and co-workers so they can share in all the subscriber benefits.

Best wishes for 2012 to you and your family.

Sarah Bowman
Co-Founder, Kids Off the Couch
Founder and Editor, The Family Savvy

Questions? Write to me at:familysavvy@gmail.com

Scorsese's First Family Film

Hugo - A Holiday Gift for All!

Our favorite in this season's varied crop of family films is Hugo, director Martin Scorsese's sumptuous 3D adaptation of Brian Selznick's award-winning, best-selling novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". At first glance, Hugo would seem to hail from Spielberg territory, so it takes until the final reel to understand why Scorsese chose to helm this captivating PG film. The film opens with an extended tracking shot that flies over the roofs of Paris and swoops down through a busy train station, signaling the technical proficiency of the celebrated director, and drawing the audience dramatically into the life of an intrepid child living between the walls of the Gare Montmartre. Hugo, orphaned after the death of his clockmaker father, has taken over for a drunken uncle, whose job it was to maintain all the clocks in the busy station; not even the nosy Station Master (a curious turn by Sasha Baron Cohen) knows a child is the one keeping the trains running on time.

Hugo spends his extra time repairing an automaton figure that his father was working on at the time of his death, but one day, while swiping the workings of a toy mouse from a toy shop, he is caught red-handed by the shop keeper, a brilliant and enigmatic Ben Kingsley. Kingsley finds the tattered notebook that Hugo's father used to fathom the mystery of the automaton and a flash of recognition is borne. Hugo's quest to unlock the mystery of his automaton leads him to unravel the mystery of the shopkeeper's true identity.

Hugo is a loner, watching the world go by from the safety of his Hunchback-like perch above the train station. Much has been made of Scorsese working through his childhood demons in this story (as an asthmatic, he spent time isolated from other children) and in the end this is a very personal story that is pitched at the broadest possible audience. Everyone over seven will be caught up in it's elegant storytelling. Visually, the film is stunning - from the incredible sets which are augmented by 3D technology, lending a story book moodiness that lets us know we are in the netherworld of make-believe and magic. Scorsese turns the station into a rollicking maze of wheels, slides and hidden compartments. While full of kinetic energy, the story unravels at an unhurried pace true to Selnick's inspired book - a must-read for anyone who wants to pore over the simplicity of the original narrative - a novel told for the most part in line drawings.

Hugo's companion in the tale is Isabelle, a plucky girl whose advanced vocabulary and sense of adventure spur Hugo on in his journey. Hugo sneaks her into a movie theater where they watch Harold Lloyd dangling on the clock in Safety Last and Charlie Chaplin riding a train gear in The General -- Scorsese's nod to two lions in the panoply of silent film greats. Grounded by the silent stars, Scorsese reveals Kingsley's character to be a real figure from cinema history, and the loving attention focused on a recreation of the creative genius of George Méliès explains why Scorsese (whose passion is film preservation) chose to bring this story to life. In flashback, Kingsley plays the spirited writer-director-producer-actor at the height of his renown. It's hard not to be struck by Méliès' creative genius, and heart-breaking to see how desperate he has become by the time Hugo meets him.

And this is where Hugo's ability to put things back together comes into play. The boy's simple insight is that when people lose their purpose, they become broken. In putting the automaton back together, he fixes his friend Méliès, and he fixes himself. We promise you'll leave the theater a bit more in touch with your dreams -- for that is what cinema represents in this parable.

Click here to read our Popcorn Adventure about "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and Méliès' A Trip to the Moon. We also love Brian Selznick's latest book, "Wonderstruck".

Next week, we'll take a look at Spielberg's holiday gifts -- The Adventures of TinTinand War Horse.

Kids Off The Couch

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Los Angeles Kids Off The Couch - ZAM FEST Ticket Giveaway!

Saturday, October 15 from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Ticket Giveaway: Two Family 4-packs to ZAM FEST

Paul Kim, an avid fan of the Coachella Festival, set out to create a music and art festival that could inspire the same kind of passion in kids that rock music inspires in young adults. The result is ZAM FEST, a one-day festival that debuts in Long Beach in two weeks. "I would take my daughter to different events with the hopes of inspiring her to find something she's passionate about, but found that most were essentially clones of one another" says Kim. "So I thought, why not create something that has the potential to inspire lots of kids, and can give back to our communities at the same time?" At a time when the public school system isn't always able to expose kids to inspiring arts programming, we applaud Paul's efforts. Join him for the first annual ZAM FEST on October 15.

What: ZAM FEST stands for the Z Arts & Music Festival, where the Z refers to our current 'Z Generation' of kids. Festival entertainment will include the drummers of Taiko Project; the original music of teen rock band The Christopher Brothers; the Indian Bollywood- style dance troupe Beyondancing; the quirky dance music of AJ & The Flip Flops; the athletic hip hop dancing of the Beast Mode Crew and the turntable and beat-making sounds of Knockstudy DJ Scratch. Also making her performing debut singing her hit song "Do My Thang" is Cori B, who follows in the musical footsteps of her father Snoop Dogg. Families can also participate in a hands-on recycled material ReCreate Art project, a EuroZip line above festival grounds, Human Hamster Balls, food trucks and a surprise performance.

Subscriber Giveaway: KOTC subscribers can enter to win one of two Family 4 Packs to ZAM FEST. Write to us at familysavvy@gmail.com -- and please include a cell number.

Where and When: ZAM FEST is a one-day only event, scheduled rain or shine for Saturday, October 15 from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The event takes place in the Marina Green Park in Long Beach. Click here for a map.

Ticketing: Tickets are currently available online and at the festival on the day of the event. Discount early bird tickets are available now with adult all day tickets priced at $12, kids all day tickets priced at $8. Children under three will be admitted for free. After the pre-sale period ends, adult all day tickets will be $15 and kids all day tickets will be $10.

ZAM FEST gives back: A portion of the proceeds from ZAMFEST will go to a local arts mentoring program called Create Now. 

Kids Off The Couch

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Los Angeles September Parenting Radar Screen PLUS Ticket Giveaway!

School Daze

Ticket Giveaway: IRIS for Tuesday, September 13th at 8:00 PM

So... the endless summer comes to an end. Labor Day caught us off guard this year, so much so that we had to scramble to get a lunchbox packed this morning. Never mind, though. The stone fruit at the farmers' market is still incredible, our summer tan hasn't faded and we know those teachers won't pile on the homework ... just yet! We're firing up the BBQ tonight and plan to play cards in the fading September light. Spit, anyone? 

Ticket Giveaway: Cirque du Soleil has a new show, IRIS, A Journey Through the World of Cinema. This large-scale production - created exclusively for its permanent home at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles - offers a new take on the art of cinema as only Cirque du Soleil could imagine it. IRIS is an inventive spectacle that combines acrobatics, dance, projections and live music. The show takes the audience on a fantastic voyage directed by acclaimed choreographer Philippe Decouflé with music by Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman. Kids Off the Couch subscribers can enter to win a Family 4-Pack to the 8:00 PM show on Tuesday, September 13 by writing to us at familysavvy@gmail.com. Winner to be notified by this Friday morning, so please remember to leave us your cell number. 

Hollywood Bowl: It is still summer at the Bowl, so line up another relaxing evening under the stars; click here for the Bowl's September calendar, which includes performances from Dudamel, Alex Trabek with the American Film Institute's Movie Quiz, and Moulin Rouge.

Elementary: Noted Chinese artist Ai WeiWei's sculptures of animal heads, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, have recently been installed at LACMA and is gathering happy crowds of all ages. The twelve massive animal heads are impressive to behold (not to mention, run around!). Click here for a great review of the work from the Los Angeles Times. All Join In: A Fairy Tale Sing-A-Long Afternoon is the most popular Santa Monica Playhouse production ever, so bring your budding music lovers on Saturdays and Sundays, 12:30 and 3:00pm, September 10 through October 16. The excellent companion exhibit to this summer's blockbuster Houdini show features an excellent family program each Sunday afternoon until January. If it's time for your kids to start learning proper manners, consider signing them up for Cotillion this fall at Beverly Hills Manners. Finally, get back to the beach one more time on the Coastal Clean Up Day with Heal the Bay on September 17. 

Middle School: If it's still brutally hot by the weekend, you'll want to head to Malibu and watch the 2011 MSA Classic from September 9-11, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Malibu Surfing Association (FREE, and open to all). Or get into a cool movie theater and watch the screwball comedy Bringing up Baby at Free Family Flicks at the Hammer. KCRW's third annual Good Food Pie Contest takes place on Sunday, September 18 at LACMA, with plenty of family programming (whether you bake or not!). And, if pie's not your thing, have you tried fonuts yet?

Teens: A visit to the Annenberg's blockbuster show, Beauty Culture, is a true conversation starter, especially with a teen-age girl. Combine that with Jennifer Siebel Newsom's provocative documentary at the Hammer this month, which pairs interviews with teens and iconic female figures in culture, and is called Miss Representation. 

Adults: Southern Californians take note! We've got your date night covered for the next six months. After much planning, and an unprecedented collaboration among over sixty museums in the region, Pacific Standard Time is here: for six months these institutions, at the initiative of the Getty, will tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. The first ones to check out: a retrospective of the work of acclaimed (and beloved) potter, Beatrice Wood: Career Woman-Drawings, Paintings, Vessels, and Objects opens on September 10 at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Click here for more on the Mama of Dada, who was 105 when she died in 1993. And, the Pomona College Museum of Art has opened It Happened at Pomona; Part 1: Hal Glicksman,which was reviewed in today's Los Angeles Times.

Planning Ahead: An extraordinary screening of Lord of the Rings, accompanied by a live orchestra, takes place on October 15 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Grab your seats now for the holiday must-see, The Joffrey Ballet - Nutcracker, for six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in early December.

And of course... the 10th anniversary of 9/11: We think that how you commemorate 9/11 with your family is an extremely personal matter but we did hear about Big Sunday Remembers 9/11, a food drive and breakfast in conjunction with letter writing to our servicemen with Operation Gratitude. Click here for other service opportunities to remember 9/11 through LAWorks. For tips on talking with your kids about 9/11, click here.

Kids Off The Couch

If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up! info@kidsoffthecouch.com

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Ticket Giveaway to Hollywood Bowl Fireworks Finale: A Night at the Moulin Rouge!

We were lucky enough to be in Paris this summer (ooh, la la!) and spent an afternoon exploring the cobbled streets of Montmartre, where Picasso once lived and where modern day artists sketch portraits of tourists. Montmartre is home to the most famous cabaret in the world, the windmilled Moulin Rouge, where the can-can was created by the courtesans of the 19th century, forever memorialized in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec. Enjoy an intoxicating adventure through the City of Lights with high-kicking dancers direct from the legendary Moulin Rouge performing the can-can, and the jazzy French cabaret sounds of Paris Combo, accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and ending with a dazzling fireworks display. Put a little Paris into your summer by spending an exciting evening at the Hollywood Bowl.

What: Fireworks Finale: A Night at the Moulin Rouge, Friday & Saturday, September 16-17, 8:30pm; Sunday, September 18, 7:30pm at the Hollywood Bowl. Plenty of seats are still available. Click here for tickets and more information about the show.


Enter to Win: Kids off the Couch subscribers can enter to win a Family Four Pack to Friday night's performance (9/16 at 8:30 PM) by writing to us at familysavvy@gmail.com. Please include your telephone number. Winner will be chosen by August 31.

Kids Off The Couch

If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up!info@kidsoffthecouch.com

www.kidsoffthecouch.com

Los Angeles Kids Off The Couch: What's On Our August Radar!

Endless Days of Summer

Ticket Giveaway for Fantasia at the Hollywood Bowl

Did you notice that the city felt empty over the past weekend? While many Angelenos vacation elsewhere, we're enjoying quiet freeways and perfect weather. With blue whales cruising our coastline in record numbers and a bevy of outdoor screenings and concerts, what could be better than LA in August? Another month of summer, that's what.

Ticket Giveaway: August is our favorite time to spend an evening at the Hollywood Bowl, and we are excited about many of the varied concerts on the August calendar -- from Hairspray (this weekend) to the Buena Vista Social Club, classical concerts with Gustavo Dudamel and an evening celebrating the music of maestro John Williams. This month Kids Off the Couch has a Family Four-Pack to Walt Disney's Fantasia for Sunday, August 21. You'll see all your favorite scenes, plus a glimpse into the brilliant artwork and unfinished segments of this Disney masterpiece. The evening features the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and ends with fireworks. Tickets are still available to the three performances, Friday & Saturday 8:30 PM and Sunday 7:30 PM (August 19-21). Send us a note at familysavvy@gmail.com to enter our giveaway contest. Tickets will be awarded by August 10.

Cruising the Coastline: It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and there is an unusually large congregation ofBlue Whales off Long Beach, reminding us who shares the waters off our beaches. Click here for our whale-watching Popcorn Adventure.

Elementary: Nothing says summer better than listening to music outdoors. Take the tram up the hill on weekend afternoons this month for the J. Paul Getty Museum'sGarden Concerts for Kids, and hear Frances England, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, and Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Saturdays and Sundays, August 6 through 21, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM. The Skirball also has fun weekend programming for kids, so consider their Family Amphitheater Performances, Saturday and Sunday at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, or a fun water-themed family day on August 21. You can indulge a childhood fantasy of running away with the circus this Sunday morning at a free Family Flicks screening of Toby Tyler (August 7 at 11:00 AM) at the wonderful, pink Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer. Don't forget the very gentle Winnie the Pooh, a surprise hit about our favorite friends from the Hundred Acre Woods, still in theaters.

Middle School: If you have Tim Burton fans in your house, you will want to spend a few Friday evenings outside at LACMA watching some of his more popular films, like James and the Giant Peach, Pee Wee's Big Adventure or Alice in Wonderland. Films start at sundown and are free. On Thursdays this month, check out the outdoor screening lineup at Movies in the Park @ The Grove, including The Blind Side and Toy Story 3. To keep idle fingers busy (and away from texting), pick up a new craft this month. Our girls love to knit and needlepoint; knitters should check out Wild Fiber in Santa Monica, and Aristeia is a good place to get started on needlepoint. Make your own books at Scribble Press, or, learn to cook at Piccolo Chef. We have tried and tried to find a good woodworking class for kids here in LA (as you can see, this idea is gaining steam elsewhere in the nation) but haven't yet found one. If you know of one, please tell us and we'll pass it along to subscribers.

Teens: Sad that the X Games are over? Check out the US Open of Surfing, taking place in Huntington Beach through this weekend...also can be viewed live, online. Without homework, teens might have time to knock off two books -- Kathryn Stockett's The Help and David Nicholl's One Day -- before their film adaptations hit the big screens. The Help opens on August 10 and stars Emma Stone. One Day, starring Anne Hathaway, opens on August 19.

Adults: MOCA's Art in the Streets closes this weekend, so get downtown and, while you're there, check out The Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo.

Concert Goers: Pop stars Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are both in town this month (Perry at Nokia Theater this weekend and Swift at Staples for four nights, August 24-24.)

One More Thing: We are impressed with this beautiful digital book called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from noted children's book author and illustrator William Joyce and his colleagues at Moonbot Studios.

Kids Off The Couch

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Los Angeles Parenting July Radar Screen

Dinosaurs, The Space Shuttle and Carmageddon

Ticket Giveaway for The Bright Stream

For the first time in 823 years, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. That's not exactly an excuse for the Radar Screen arriving later than usual (it's because we were on vacation, actually). But, be assured that there are still four fabulous July weekends to enjoy. Even if next weekend is the much anticipated Carmageddon!

Ticket Giveaway: American Ballet Theatre visits the Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for The Bright Stream from July 14 -17.The Bright Stream, a delightful ballet set to a witty score by Dmitri Shostakovich, is full of fun, misplaced flirtations and a slew of disguises. Angelina Ballerina will be making a special guest appearance following the matinee this Saturday, so bring your cameras! Kids Off the Couch subscribers are eligible to win a Family Four-Pack to this Saturday's matinee performance (2:00 PM, July 16). Click here if you'd like to be entered to win. Tickets will be chosen by Wednesday night (7/13).

Dino Hall Opens: The BIGGEST news this month is that the Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum is finally opening this Friday (7/16). Go online and reserve your timed entry tickets and then rent Land Before Time or Jurassic Park to bone up on the difference between an Allosaurus and a Velociraptor.

Elementary: Summer is a perfect time to visit the Descanso Gardens, especially onFamily Tuesdays when the gardens stay open at night for music programs. You can brush up on your Dickens at the Pasadena Playhouse's TWIST: An American Musical, which is based on Oliver Twist and directed by Debbie Allen. Shrek the Musical will be at the Pantages for two weeks, starting July 13. Summer Reading Tips: We love the two new books about Jane Goodall's life and work (for the very young) and even though school is out, your 2nd and 3rd graders can lose themselves in Dan Gutman'sMy Weirder School series.

Middle School: Even if you're not traveling to Europe this summer, put Paris on your itinerary by touring Paris: Life and Luxury at the Getty, which is open only until the first week of August; be sure to pick up the Family Programming flyer. Check out the free concerts at the Santa Monica Pier, running all summer and featuring the Bangles this weekend. If local art is your thing, take a tour of Watts Towers, which LACMA is helping to preserve (their tours are sold out, but you can do it on your own easily). Get your tickets for the latest Cirque du Soleil production, IRIS, billed as "a journey through the world of cinema," opening July 21 at The Kodak Theater. Summer Reading Tip: Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series will take over your kids' brains, much as Harry Potter once did.

Teens: A perfect art and movie pairing, recommended by several subscribers, is to watch Bansky's Exit Through the Gift Shop and head down to Art in the Streets (the graffiti show) at MOCA. Slightly more highbrow would be the pairing of Ed Ruscha: On the Road, an exhibit at The Hammer through October, and picking up Jack Keroac's classic novel, of the same name. And you've gotta introduce your kids to Cameron MacIntosh's blockbuster musical, Les Miserables, at the Ahmanson through the end of this month, which has been re-staged for a new US tour. Summer Reading Tip: We just blew through this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tale by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Adults: Vermeer's "Woman with a Lute" is spending the summer at The Norton Simon, making her the only Vermeer on the west coast. Be sure not to miss Christian Maclay'sThe Clock, which won the Gold Lion at the Venice Bienalle, and is playing at LACMA through the month. Click here for Kenneth Turan's rave review. Summer Reading Tip:Pick up local author Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan -- the film version will be in theaters Friday.

If You Watch One Movie Together as a Family This Month: With Monday's successful launch of the last space shuttle, it's a great time to revisit Apollo 13, one of our favorite family movies. With spectacular direction from Ron Howard, memorable performances by Tom Hanks, Ed Harris and Joan Allen, you can celebrate the red, white and blue of it all, all month long. Click here for our Popcorn Adventure.

Women's World Cup: Click here for ABC's interview with Hope Solo and Abby Wambach, the stars of the American team's thrilling victory over Brazil last weekend. The semi-final game will be broadcast Wednesday, July 13 on CBS.

Kids Off The Couch

If you like what we do, please tell a friend to sign up! info@kidsoffthecouch.com

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