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

Ticket Giveaway for Classic Rock Night at the LA Zoo!

Music at the L.A. Zoo takes place THIS THURSDAY night

Ticket Giveaway for July 28 at 6:00 PM

When our kids were small, they loved Good Night, Gorillaand imagined the thrill of observing the animals at the zoo after the crowds had gone home. This Thursday, Angelenos have a chance to duck under the ropes at a party called Music at the L.A. Zoo. Local bands will play classic rock tunes (think Beatles, the Doors, Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin) while guests wander along the shaded paths of the zoo, peeking in on the animals as they go through their after-hour routines. Kids Off the Couch has five pairs of tickets to give away to subscribers for the party, which is sponsored by GLAZA to support the mission of the L.A. Zoo.

What: Performances by an array of cover bands take place while guests may view many of the Zoo's animals (until 8:00 PM) and enjoy an eclectic array of food and beverages. Picnics are also permitted. Tickets to Music in the L.A. Zoo are still available to the general public. Admission for GLAZA members is $13 for adults and $8 for children ages 6 to 15. Admission for non-members is $17 for adults and $11 for children ages 6 to 15. Children 5 and under are free. Music in the L.A. Zoo is one of many programs presented by the private, non-profit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA), founded in 1963.

Enter to Win: Kids Off the Couch has five pairs of tickets to THIS THURSDAY's 6:00 PM event (July 28). Please write to familysavvy@gmail.com. Winner will be chosen by Wednesday, July 27.

Where: The Los Angeles Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Drive in Griffith Park at the junction of the Ventura (134) and Golden State (5) freeways. Tickets for Music in the L.A. Zoo may be purchased at the Zoo or in advance by phone at (323) 644-6042 or online.

Kids Off The Couch info@kidsoffthecouch.com

info@kidsoffthecouch.com

www.kidsoffthecouch.com

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

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

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Kids Off The Couch: Memorial Day Weekend 2011!

Summer is Upon Us

Good news: it's going to be sunny by Monday, so get your BBQ prep done early (while the kids are studying for exams or finishing up their spring sports). We've had a chance to look at most of the new art shows around town, so you can have the summer's cultural outings planned before June even begins.

MOVIES in THEATERS: There's plenty of raunch in the theaters for adults, from Bridesmaids to Hangover Part II so if that's not your thing, drop in on a worthy kid option (Kung Fu Panda 2) or check out the films that were well received in Cannes last week: Midnight in Paris from Woody Allen (starring Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams) or Terrance Malick's much awaited The Tree of Life.

ART AROUND TOWN: We got a sneak peek at what will surely be this summer's must-see show, LACMA's Tim Burton, which is lots of fun. We will write up a comprehensive report next week, but mark your calendar to take advantage of a fabulous line-up of Burton films, screening at the museum throughout June. Show is expected to be a blockbuster, so get your advance entry tickets now. The Getty Center's Paris: Life and Luxury employs an engaging organizing theory, with objects from a Parisian household presented by the "Four Times of Day." We were particularly impressed with a spectacular golden bed where the women of the household performed their "toilette" while receiving (what a concept!). The Skirball Cultural Center's Houdini: Art and Magic is great for magic-loving tweens, and we also loved The Annenberg Space for Photography's Beauty Culture. Be sure to head downtown for MOCA's Art in the Streets, showcasing large-scale, colorful graffiti art that is a hit with everyone from 8-80. If your kids are into street culture, check out a related show at the Pasadena Museum of California Art featuring the work of the Clayton Brothers. And, while you're sipping lemonade by the pool, don't forget to peruse this season's Hollywood Bowl schedule which includes a Grease Sing-A-Long, Hall and Oats for the July 4th Fireworks Spectacular and Hairspray with the original Broadway cast of Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Subscriber Tip: A loyal KOTC-er gave us the heads up about a new show at the Santa Monica Museum of Art -- a video installation by filmmaker Marco Brambilla, called The Dark Lining, that uses film clips in pastiche to create a new narrative. Our subscriber's kids, who are 11 and 13, thought it was the "coolest art show ever".

MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES: In lieu of parades, LA has wonderful regional celebrations starting today, such as Topanga Days, the Valley Greek Festival and a Jazz Reggae Festival at UCLA.

Ideas: Stumped by what to get a graduate in your life? Check out Flavorpill's grad gift guide. While you're thinking about college and careers, consider that PayPal's Peter Thiel is plucking kids out of college and supporting their entrepreneurial ideas with $100,000. Not a bad idea considering this sobering report on the highest (and lowest) paying careers.

And, Finally: We were moved by this YouTube video about the dangers of melanoma. Titled "Dear 16 year-old Me," it's a powerful reminder to young people that their "skin never forgets". Good-bye tanning beds, hello sunscreen.

We'll be back next week with the June Radar Screen.

Kids Off The Couch

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

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Marie Curie + Jennifer Steinkamp = LA Kids Off The Couch

Jennifer Steinkamp only at ACME until Saturday, March 12

If you have walked around the W Hotel in Hollywood, or like to hang out near the Hammer's Cafe, you've probably noticed the arrestingly beautiful imagery of artist Jennifer Steinkamp - large, colorful butterflies along Vine Street, or a gently waving tree in the Hammer's courtyard. When we heard that Jennifer had named a recent piece of work after Marie Curie (our favorite female scientist), we popped intoACME gallery, located on Wilshire just west of Fairfax.

The Artist's Work: A pulsating, colorful wall of flowers that is Steinkamp's "Madame Curie" greeted us as we entered the gallery. With lights dimmed to best offset the computer's projections, we were quickly captivated by the rhythmic undulations of stems and petals that seemed to wave in an unseen breeze. The artist recently became interested in Radium and so studied up on Marie Curie, who received theNobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for discovering the element Radium. Steinkamp learned that Marie Curie was a avid gardener, and her work depicts flowers that Curie cultivated in her own yard.

The show, which is only up until this Saturday (3/12), is perfect for kids. They sidle right up to the wall, playing with the image as it beams on their hands and casting shadows on the wall itself. Up close, what was a cascade of posies from the gallery door becomes a needlepoint canvas of form and color. One of Steimkamp's lyrical, waving trees is on view in another room of the gallery.

Learn Online: The cool thing about computer generated art is that you can view it online -- if you can't get to ACME by Saturday, or if you're just curious about this cool artist, here is Jennifer's website with links to all her installations. If you click on one, you can read all about it, but be sure to click on "quicktime movie" to see the pieces in motion. Another version of "Madame Curie", listed first, is installed in the San Diego through June, if you are inclined to take a little road trip south.

A Getty Connection: Jennifer Steinkamp is the FY11 Getty Artists Program's artist-in-residence and has selected college students as the primary focus for her project. Stay tuned for updates this project.

Madame Curie: Getting your kids to watch a classic title is not easy but we promise that Madame Curie is worth the effort -- that is, for kids over the age of 8. (1943, 124 minutes, directed by Mervyn LeRoy). Curie was married to fellow scientist Pierre Curie with whom she toiled in rudimentary laboratories to unlock the secrets of radioactivity. The film, which starred Greer Garson, was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and made the AFI's Top 100 Inspirational Movies list; it is both highly romantic and remarkably good at showcasing the couple's scientific method -- something that our kids study in school, and appreciated seeing in action in the film. We loved that Marie kept at her experimentation, believing in herself and her work, and ultimately triumphing as the first female Nobel Prize winner. Seems that her persistent intelligence ran in the family: her daughter Irene won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935. Curie also received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for recognition of her work in radioactivity.

Kids Off The Couch

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

www.kidsoffthecouch.com