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. 

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Ticket Giveaway: Friday, June 17th - Family 4 Pack for Les Miserables at the Ahmanson!

When the kids were young, we had a beloved babysitter who sang "Castle on a Cloud" as a lullaby and the lilting melody is part of our family lore. Naturally, we took the kids to Les Misérables when it last came to town but they were probably too young to truly appreciate its historical sweep and romantic power. We're headed to France for a celebratory family trip this summer, and are excited to see Boublil & Schönberg's legendary musical before we depart. What better way to get in a Parisian mood?

The original Les Misérables, based on the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, is one of the most successful musicals of all time. Cameron Mackintosh has re-conceived the show for the 25th anniversary with glorious new staging and dazzlingly re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

What: Les Misérables at the Ahmanson Theatre from June 14 - July 31. For tickets call 213.972.4400 or click here. Shows run Tuesday - Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM, Sunday at 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM, and include Thursday matinees on June 23, 30 and July 28 at 2:00 PM.

Enter to Win: Kids Off the Couch has a Family Four-Pack to give away to the Friday, June 17 show at 8:00 PM. Click here to be in the drawing - and please include your telephone number. Winner will be chosen on Tuesday, June 14.

Les Misérables: Les Misérables is set in 19th century France, and tells a classic story of revolution and redemption. The magnificent score includes the classic songs "I Dreamed a Dream", "On My Own", "Stars", "Bring Him Home", "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "One Day More", "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", "Master Of The House" and many more.

Kids Off The Couch

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Kids Off The Couch: What's On Our June Radar Screen!

Welcome, Summer!

Ballet Nacional De Cuba Ticket Giveaway

If school isn't out yet for your kids, at least the end is in sight. Get ready to celebrate the End of Homework by enjoying some of the many family festivals and art events around town this month. We've unearthed so many neat film festivals that we are secretly hoping for some June Gloom so we won't feel too bad ducking inside!

Ballet Nacional de Cuba Giveaway: Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center is bringing the wonderful Ballet Nacional De Cuba to town for five shows of Don Quixote from June 23-26 (including two matinees). First formed in 1948 by Alicia Alonso, Ballet Nacional de Cuba has created more than 600 works and performed in more than 60 countries. Kids Off the Couch subscribers are eligible to win a Family Four-Pack of tickets to the 2:00 PM performance on Saturday, June 25 at the Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Click here to enter your name to win - please include a phone number!

Movies Galore this Month: Besides the many summer films already in theaters (we love Kung Fu Panda 2), there is a plethora of film festivals for lucky Angelenos this month. From the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival at the Chinese 6 Theaters (June 6-9), that includes a free matinee of The Incredibles, to the Los Angeles Film Festival(June 16-26), that takes place downtown again this year, to a fabulous line-up of Tim Burton films at LACMA. Your family's film savvy quotient is about to go way way up!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Tree People is holding it's annual Green City Fair this weekend (June 4) in Coldwater Canyon, with live music, face painting and plenty of environmental workshops and hikes. You can also enjoy the outdoors the following weekend (June 11) at the Children's Nature Institute's Kids Rock Concert and Festival in Hancock Park. If you have grandparents in town, there's nothing more relaxing than an afternoon spent at the Getty -- either the Villa or the Getty Center -- following some of their creative art programming for kids. And, consider paintapic, a cool at-home art project, which turns a photo into a paint-by-numbers project.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: MOCA is holding a Big Family Day celebration (June 5), downtown. The Hammer continues its Family Flicks programming with a free screening of Hyper Sapien (June 12). The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum has two Shakespeare plays in its summer line-up, The Merry Lives of Windsor and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Plan ahead for this treat, because seeing a play in Topanga Canyon is a must-have LA experience. Click here to read a Popcorn Adventure about this fabled outdoor theater.

TEENS: Consider letting your art-loving teens wander around the Culver City Artwalk this Saturday (June 4). Or if they're into dance, check out the Dance Camera West Dance Media Film Festival (June 16) at The Getty Center. We're always fretting over our kids' obsession with their cellphones, so take a quick listen to Warren Olney's radio show from yesterday; it's the start of what is sure to be a lengthy national conversation about cell phones as potential carcinogens.

PARENTS: Satisfy your travel itch at the Getty by checking out a new photo show, A Revolutionary Project: Cuba from Walker Evans until Now, that explores the Cuban cultural and political landscape during three distinct historical periods - before, during, and after the 1959 revolution.

Too Good to Be True: Two cool new food ideas emerged this month -- check outWaffle Chix, serving fried chicken and waffles in Westwood, and a souffle bar at Rockenwagner's at the Market at Santa Monica Place. As for eating at home, check out the USDA's brand new food plate, released this morning that replaces the 19 year-old food pyramid, and aims to be easier for families to use in planning healthy meals.

Kids Off The Couch

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Watch "Glory" + Civil War Reenactments = Kids Off The Couch

Bringing History to Life

Heritage Days This Weekend at Pierce College May 14-15

On the edge of the Boston Common, facing the gold-domed State House, is a bronze frieze that commemorates the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Tourists gazing at the State House inevitably find themselves drawn to Augustus Saint-Gaudens's handsome bronze relief. The 54th Massachusetts was the first African American contingent of the US Army, led by Bostonian Robert Gould Shaw. We recently stood before the gorgeous memorial which, in fact, inspired screenwriter Kevin Jarre to research and write Glory, an enduring film that immortalizes this brave regiment.

The first shots of the civil war were fired at Fort Sumter 150 years ago last month, and the South's grand battle sites, such as Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and Manassas, are experiencing record tourist traffic this spring. The need to review our history is, perhaps, even more powerful at a time when war continues to dominate the headlines. Californians can explore the Civil War's legacy as well. This weekend, Pierce College hosts its annual Civil War Heritage Days(Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15), where hundreds of volunteers stage cavalry charges, artillery barrages, infantry assaults, Victorian dancing and military drills, and demonstrate skills and crafts from the era -- all designed to bring history to life for a new generation. An afternoon of watching a battle reenactment will enable elementary school-aged kids to think about the basics of a soldier's life, and compare them to changes in weaponry, battle planning and medical assistance over the past 150 years.

The Movie: Glory (rated R) is a graphic tale of war and, therefore, not necessarily a match for your fifth grader studying the Civil War. That being said, it's a powerful tale about how a band of black soldiers came together under a white commanding officer in the days immediately preceding Lincoln's decision to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. The 54th Massachusetts' final march to Fort Wagner is nearly a suicide mission, and the film portrays difficult battle scenes. Powerfully told and made with meticulous attention to historical detail, Glory is recommended viewing for tweens and teens, if you think they can handle the violence. Watching the film as a family can stimulate valuable discussions about racism and war. Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, directed by Edward Zwick and featuring the music of James Horner,Glory garnered five Oscar nominations and took home three gold statues; Washington took home the Best Supporting Actor award. (1989, Rated R, 122 minutes).

Visit Fort Tejon: Fort Tejon (70 miles north of LA in the Grapevine) has a robust Civil War history program. This link, to Calfornia's Civil War Alliance, provides more information on Civil War reenactment in CA.

On screenwriter Kevin Jarre: Glory's screenwriter, Kevin Jarre, died this past spring.Click here for his obituary, which details how a love of history led him to research this story and bring it to the world.

Your Reading List: Click here for a blog about good Civil War literature for kids, including Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulson for fifth graders and up.

More from the New York Times: Here is a great article detailing trips to lesser known historical sites throughout the South and a slide show of stunning images from contemporary reenactments.

Kids Off The Couch

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Kids Off The Couch Ticket Giveaway for November 27 at Walt Disney Concert Hall

LA Presents Salonen Conducts Hindemith and Wagner

We're lucky to be working with the LA Phil this holiday season. We have two pairs of two tickets to see Salonen Conducts Hindemith and Wagner for Saturday night of this Thanksgiving weekend to giveaway. The former LA Phil musical director returns to Walt Disney Hall to conduct the second program in his homecoming concert series, Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Weberand selected scenes from Wagner, with the remarkable singer Bryn Terfel. If your relatives are still in town, why not ask them to babysit so you can grab a night downtown?

Enter to Win: Please send us a note if you're able to attend Saturday night's 8:00 PM performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall (11/27). Winner will be notified first thing Wednesday morning (11/24) so please give us your phone number so we can call you if you are the winner.

Buy Your Own Tickets: This concert will be performed on Friday night and Sunday afternoon as well (2:00 PM) andtickets are still available. Esa-Pekka Salonen signs CDs at the LA Phil store following Saturday's performance!

More on Esa-Pekka: We got a kick of learning what the conductor has been doing since leaving LA. Turns out he keeps a house here and travels back and forth to London, where he is currently working. Learn more in a recent LA Times article.

Holiday Programming: While you're on the LA Phil's website, check out their varied Deck the Hall - Holiday Concerts programming, including a Holiday Sing-A-Long andNew Year's Eve with Kristin Chenoweth.

The First Thanksgiving + Honoring Native American Heritage = Kids Off The Couch

Screening of Iroquois Rising this afternoon at the Museum of Tolerance

Growing up in Massachusetts, we frequented the Plimoth Plantation, a recreation of the first English settlement where costumed actors play the roles of Pilgrim and Wampanoagnatives from the 17th Century. We once spent a chillyThanksgiving, dressed up as Pilgrims, sharing a celebratory meal with museum actors who stayed in their roles, and conversed with historically accurate speech patterns and accents. We loved trying to trick them into acknowledging that it was actually three hundred years later, to no avail! As we ramp up for Thanksgiving, it's nice to remember the diverse traditions involved with this distinctly American holiday. Here are a few ways to do that in the next week, including a just-announced screening this afternoon about a Native American lacrosse team.

Screening this Afternoon, Thursday 11/17: If you love lacrosse -- the fastest growing sport in the US -- dash over to a just-announced premiere of Iroquois Rising at the inaugural Museum Of Tolerance International Film Festival. The 53 minute documentary starts at 3:00 PM, and tells the story of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team, who play as a sovereign nation in the World Lacrosse Championships. Last summer, the Iroquois were barred from traveling to the 2010World Games because the British would not recognize their passports as valid travel documents. One or more members of the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team and/or Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) will be on hand for the event. Click here for more details.

Witness a Native American dance performance this weekend: Come to the W.M. Keck Children's Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Hall for a FREE performance by Red Thunder. With authentic regalia, consisting of vibrant feathers, intricate beadwork, handmade jewelry and headdresses, Red Thunder celebrates the unique heritage of the Plains Indians. The program will highlight music, song, and traditional dance while re-telling the stories that have been passed through generations. Saturday (11/20) at 11:00 AM & 12:30 PM. Performance tickets are FREE and are distributed on a first-come basis one hour before the show at Grand Avenue at 2nd Street. Click here for further details.

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month at a Family Sunday at the Museum of Tolerance: Come see performances by Sherman Indian High School White RoseSingers, Harrison Lowe and Mylo IronBear designed for a family audience on Sunday (11/21) from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Click here for more details. Other activiites for Native American Heritage month include a special screening of the documentary Reel Injun at the Museum of Tolerance on Saturday (11/20); the film examines how Hollywood has contributed to the myth of the "injun." For more information call 323-549-6644.

Watch a Movie Together: See for yourself how Hollywood has portrayed Native Americans in these holiday classics. Everyone will love the music and spectacular animation in Disney's Pocahantas (1995, G), and those who've had some history at school may appreciate The New World by acclaimed director Terrance Malick (2005, PG-13). Romantics can take in Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner's Academy Award winning directing and acting tour de force (1990, PG-13).

And finally, we heartily recommend visiting Plimouth Plantation the next time you are in Massachusetts, where historically accurate characters populate the replica Pilgrim village and interact with visitors. Check out this video field trip about The First Thanksgiving, that allows kids to be history detectives.

Gobble, gobble!

Rent "Big" + Visit a County Fair = Kids Off The Couch

It's a fact of life that when kids are young, they yearn to be big... but that adults would gladly trade their responsibilities for the idyll of childhood. The sweet comedy at the heart of Big gets right to the core of this truism, and Tom Hanks captures this capricious mood perfectly as 13 year-old Josh, who wakes up one morning in the body of a 35 year-old toy company executive. Elizabeth Perkins plays a co-worker that falls in love with his youthful energy (who can forget the scene at the cocktail party when he eats the tiny cob of corn, typewriter-style) and Robert Loggia his boss who delights in the fact that Josh actually wants to play with the toys they are producing (the two dance on the floor size piano keyboard that is still the main attraction of every FAO Schwartz location). Josh makes his wish to be "big" to a scary Fortune Teller at an amusement park, so we invite you to indulge your own inner child by paying a visit to a County Fair. Watching the kids climb aboard an ancient carousel's beautifully painted animals is much more fun - in our minds - than standing in line forever at a theme park and we all love the take-away of connecting to a farmer while petting his goat, or meetingsomeone who has grown an unusually large pumpkin. Good old-fashioned fun keeps us all young at heart. (Click here for more details on the film and adventure.)

Rent Huck Finn + Going Fishing = Kids OFF The Couch

What is more symbolic of summer than a barefoot child and a fishing rod? Even if your kids have never put worms on a hook (or aren't likely to wait patiently for a bite), the kicked-back mood of the angler is contagious now that the end of school is in sight. To get ready for the relaxation and recreation we all crave this time of year, we turned to a 1993 adaptation of Mark Twain's great American novel, The Adventures of Huck Finn, starring Elijah Wood and Courtney B. Vance. The lazy journey of Huck and Jim down the Mississippi is a classic metaphor for a boy's racial coming of age, and our kids caught the film's message about slavery and racism, even though it is presented very subtly in this PG-rated Disney film. Our kids are always happy to cast a line over a river or a bay, and have learned (from experience, believe us) that the process is often - necessarily - more important than the product! Whether you send them out with Dad on Father's Day this year, or pick up a few rods to use on a lazy day sometime later this summer, we can promise that baiting and casting and waiting will bring you peace of mind.

Click here for detailed fishing tips and a description of the basic items you'll need to get started.

Diary of A Wimpy Kid + Visiting Your Local Library = Kids Off The Couch

Move over wizards and vampires, there's a wimpy kid sitting on top of the bestseller list. Part comic book, part graphic novel, the Diary of a Wimpy Kidseries by Jeff Kinney has wrangled reluctant readers and been found, dog-eared, on the nightstands of girls and boys alike. Why? It's just so darned funny! Kinney's main character Greg Heffley faces his very ordinary days at middle school with an attitude that kids find reassuring, but by telling the story through stick figures in his diary, this hapless nerdball wins our hearts. Got an annoying little brother? So does Greg. Think what your parents say is pretty ridiculous? Greg is right there with you, except that he knows how to spin it into a joke. We love any book that gets kids reading, so whether yours have locked onto a favorite character or are searching for the next good yarn, it's always helpful to drop in on a Public Library. Ours love to bring stacks home at a time, and the reluctant spender in us loves that borrowing costs only pennies -- except for those pesky late fees! So whether your kids go wimpy or find another character that speaks to them, here's hoping they get lost between the pages. Click here for more on author Jeff Kinney, who still works as a web-designer even though he's one of the country's bestselling authors.

Kids Off The Couch's Hints and Tips - All About Abraham Lincoln

Happy 200th Birthday Abe!

There have been more books written about Honest Abe than any other historical figure. In honor our 16th President's big day, we have come up with a few ways to peek under his big hat and get to know him better.

If Your Kids Read Only One Book about Lincoln: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary is an exciting new biography for kids that combines photos, letters and text. Common Sense Media says "this is the way biographies for children ought to be done".

If You Only Read One Book About Lincoln: Okay, we couldn't narrow it down to one -- here are several excellent choices. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is a lively portrait of the President's election and his historic, inclusive Cabinet choices; our current President is said to be influenced by this biography, and Steven Spielberg has optioned the film rights. Garry Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America is a Pulitzer Prize winning deconstruction of Lincoln's most famous speech, and Gore Vidal's Lincoln: A Novel gets below the skin of the iconic figure. In Sunday's New York Times, William Safire reviewed several new books about the 16th President -- from a concise 79 page book to a momentous 2,000 page study. Click here to learn which one is right for you.

If Your Teens Only Have Ten Minutes: Have them check out this great NPR podcast, a brief tribute to Lincoln with music and anecdotes.

If You Want to Build Lincoln's Log Cabin with your Tots: Lincoln Logs were designed by John Lloyd Wright and let kids re-create Lincoln's early days with their own hands.


If You Only Watch One Movie About Lincoln: Young Mr. Lincoln is a wonderful John Ford film starring Henry Fonda in an unforgettable performance. Made in 1939, this black and white film is geared for adults, so not a natural fit for kids (unless yours are either devoted to classic film, or Abe himself). (1939, UR, 100 minutes)

If You Like to Learn Online: The Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was assassinated, is a surprisingly cool place to visit (next time you are in DC). Check out their Learn The Story website, a great one-stop resource for all things Lincoln.

If You Only Read One Speech or Poem: Read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (in his own handwriting) and Walt Whitman's poem in response to the news of Lincoln's assassination.

If You Love The Huntington Library: A brand new exhibit, The Last Full Measure of Devotion: Collecting Abraham Lincoln showcases documents and relics that will thrill adult Lincolniana lovers. Through April 27.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa + Wildlife Safari Animal Park or Zoo Visit

A Beastly Good Time

Temper tantrums, eye rolls and spotty table manners seem beastly enough when coming from your own sweet darlings, but Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (which opens this Friday), features a band of animals who embody admirable human traits, like fierce loyalty and toleration of differences among friends. This lusciously animated sequel to the 2005 blockbuster follows the escapades of four Zoo-raised animals who find themselves out of their urban element in the African plains. Our tribe loved revisiting their animal pals from the first film and roared throughout this rollicking tale of family and friendship. Inspired to meet some of those kingly beasts up close, we drove down to our local Wild Animal Park, and jumped into jeeps for a photo caravan through the park where the animals roamed cage-free. Our kids got close enough to lions to examine their paws (behind a special glass barrier) and were thrilled to serve lunch to a herd of giraffe. While a trip to your local Zoo is both geographically and economically more efficient, the safari let us feel like we adventured to Africa for a few hours. (Click here for our review and for more on visiting a wild animal reserve.)

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