Image by AxsDeny via Flickr

Well this is a whole lot of random fun wrapped into one event. The Penguin Bookshop in Sewickley is hosting this event to collect books and money for the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.

Penguin Bookshop Children’s Festival

Satruday, July 16 2011 10:00 am
Location: 420 Beaver St, Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143-1502

With special guest Brett Kiesel of the Pittsburgh Steelers…

The Penguin Bookshop Children’s Festival is a celebration of summer reading, for, and by children in the greater Pittsburgh community. This event will be an effort to accumulate donated books geared towards teens for the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. Monetary donations will also be accepted.

The festival is a daylong family centered event which will include:

10:00-4:00 It’s a Penguin Party

Come anytime for a plethora of penguin activities featuring:

• Customers are encouraged to purchase titles appropriate for teens who are supported by the Homeless Children’s Educational Fund
• Penguin Publishing Group book based art and reading activities for characters such as Lady Bug Girl, Skippy Jon Jones, Spot and Froggy
• Painting tiles/squares to fit in a larger art piece, titled Kids Read, to be hung in the bookstore and raffled at our end-of-summer auction
• A visist from Smiley the Eat-n-Park mascot
• Complete scavenger hunt and choose a prize from the Penguin Bookshop Igloo

11:00-12:00 A visit with Elvis, a penguin from the National Aviary

Elvis is a South African penguin who lives at the National Aviary with his buddies, Sydney, Patrick, and Stanley. Today Elvis will visit and be on hand with a representative from the Aviary to answer your questions.

11:00-2:00 Brett Kiesel visits the Penguin Bookshop

Story time with Brett Kiesel of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will read two of his most memorable children’s books.

12:00-1:00 An Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social: Make a Sundae on Saturday

Sewickley Patch will provide all the ingredients for awesome sundaes. Penguin Bookshop will serve complimentary advanced reading chapters from popular books series so that everyone can get the “scoop” on what’s next for their favorite characters.

And I want to share this photo with you, because it is awesome and brings together Legos and Bon Jovi. This was in the window of S.W. Randals on Forbes Ave in Sq. Hill.

Blake, Age 7 – chose to enter the Lego contest with a Lego creation of a “Bon Jovi Rock Concert” – if that doesn’t speak to the power of Pittsburgh I don’t know what does – happy to see kids appreciate the music of Bon Jovi.

But the Legos are coming to Pittsburgh – The Lego Kidsfest is a giant interactive Lego exhibit that will be in Pittsburgh June 17-19, 2011 at the David Lawrence Convention Center.

What else happens at The Lego Kidsfest:

• LEGO Model Gallery: 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
• LEGO Master Builders: building tips, tricks and live demonstrations from the crew who get paid to play
• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
• Mystery Mural: build a piece of a giant mural to help reveal the image
• Race Ramp: build your own custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family
• LEGO Games Arena: roll the dice to play LEGO board games
• Construction Zone: creative free build, play and display area
• LEGO DUPLO® Jams: toddlers explore building and imagination while rocking out to fun playroom tunes
• And much more, covering 125,000 square feet of space

WIN TICKETS with Wawadoo!

We are teaming up with our friends Tim and Chris who are the founders of Wawadoo – a new start up company based here in Pittsburgh. Tim and Chris moved to the burgh to participate in AlphaLab this past spring.  Wawadoo is a new events website that helps your find things to do.  Wawadoo is short for “what would you like to do” – think of it as the Pandora of events.  We will be giving away

Win tickets (4 tickets) to the LEGO Kidsfest Saturday morning session (Sat. June 18, 2011 9am-2pm)! To be entered into the drawing, all you needto do is follow 3 simple steps before Wednesday at 5pm EST:

1. Visit www.wawadoo.com/legokidsfest
2. Become a Wawadoo user with the invite code “IHeartPGH”
3. That’s it! You’ll get an email indicating that you’ve entered the contest and another email when you’re the grand prize winner.

More ways to win tickets – the blog Play Unplugged, which is a blog about games that get you away from the computer, is also giving away a 4 pack of tickets.  Click here for the Play Unplugged Lego ticket giveaway.

Image by San Jose Library via Flickr

I just got this email from the WQED education email list about a Dr. Seuss birthday party at the Children’s museum this weekend.  I love that there always seems to be a birthday party to celebrate in this town – did anyone go to the Toonseum or this case the Tunaseum to celebrate Charlie the Tuna‘s big 5-0 birthday last Saturday?

But this got me thinking – does anyone else remember the Dr. Seuss exhibit which was at the Carnegie Museum of art sometime in the 1980s.  I have a vague memory of seeing it at the art museum.  As a kid I loved and I still love those big steps that lead up to the art galleries.   I have tried every google search I can think of to find more about the exhibit.  I did find this book – Dr. Seuss from Then to Now: A Catalogue of the Retrospective Exhibition which was published in 1987.  And this Dr. Seuss collector mentions that the exhibit was put together by the San Diego Museum of Art and traveled to 7 museums around the country.  Used copies of the book can be found on Amazon and I also found one on Etsy here.

I think this is the same exhibit – Darcie Forman Museum Exhibits includes a Dr. Seuss exhibit  on her projects page here – I don’t think these photos are from the Carnegie Museum.

You can read the introduction to Dr. Seuss from Then to Now here (this is provided by the Saper Gallery which hosted a D.r Seuss exhibit in 2008).

Which brings us back to this weekend – while I would love to hop into my time machine and travel back to the Carnegie museum in 1986 – the time machine is in the shop for repairs so I will just have to settle for the Dr. Seuss birthday celebration at the Children’s museum this weekend.

The birthday party is included with regular musuem admission.  There will be story book making and visits from the cat in the hat too.

Dr. Seuss’s Birthday Party
Saturday, March 5, 2011 11am-1pm
Pittsburgh Children’s Musuem

Read about how others are celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday….

• “World set to commemorate Dr. Seuss on his 107th birthday” and related posts (personalmoneystore.com)
• Happy Birthday Dr. Suess! Read Across America (dsgnmomonline.wordpress.com)
• Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday with Green Eggs and Ham (blippitt.com)
• A Birthday with Green Eggs and Ham (beaconhill.seattle.wa.us)

Thanks to the folks at The Cotton Factory for tipping us off to this oh so Pittsburgh event (they are also the founders of the Facebook Group for The Parking Chair).

Stop by the Children’s Museum on Saturday between 10am and 3pm to watch artists decorate Praking chairs and play some musical chairs too.

Pittsburgh Parking Chair Day
Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
Saturday, February 20, 2010 10am-3pm

Artists will be decorating chairs that will be auctioned to benefit the North Side Charm Bracelet Project. Artists include – Ashley Andrews, Kristen Barca, Maddy Landi, Nate McDonough, Stephanie Neary, Andy Scott, Flora Shepherd and The Schmutz Company (art duo Don Orkoskey and Dave English).

Free family fun from the good fun loving folks at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh!

Fourth Annual Oakland KazooFest
Saturday, January 30, 2010
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Kazoos will be provided, but you may BYOK (Bring Your Own Kazoo) if you wish. We’ll practice our standard repertoire then open the program to requests. ANYONE can make music with a kazoo, so . . . “Pucker up and party!” This free program is for all ages. Bring the whole family.

Location: Main Library (Oakland), 4400 Forbes Ave,Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Contact: Children’s Department, 412-622-3122, children@carnegielibrary.org

Please register here – http://www.clpgh.org/events/details.cfm?location=Main%20(Oakland)&event_id=49453

Image by g_cowan via Flickr

I am going to see if I qualify for the kids age range because I would like to participate in this activity too. Venture Outdoors has an activity this weekend to help you stay warm outdoors – Campfire building.

Think you can start a campfire with just one match? Prove it! We’re going to break this course down into three sections: collecting your materials, placing your campfire and building it. We’ll cover fire safety and Leave No Trace throughout the class. So leave your fuel canisters at home, and join our experienced leaders for a fun class on the essence of campfire building. (Geared towards ages 8-18.)

Date: January, 17, 2009
Location: Riverview Park
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Cost: $5.00 non-member / $5.00 member / $5.00 kids / $20.00 family

Visit www.ventureoutdoors.org/Activities.aspx and click on January 17 to register.

I think this might be your last chance to check out the set of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood! I have seen some pieces of the set before but it would be pretty cool to see the whole thing at the WQED studio.

Posted via web from IheartPGH

On Saturday, September 12 from 3-7PM, Leslie Park swimming pool at 4700 Butler St. in Lawrenceville will thrum with activity-and not a drop of water.  The site will host Accordion Pool Party, an ethnic music and dance festival and quirky spectacle of culture and community pride.  The one-day event is a also a catalyst for a more lasting civic endeavor, Pool Planning Workshops to involve residents in shaping the future of the Leslie Park Pool site.

Accordion Pool Party involves about 20 seasoned Pittsburgh accordionists and 30 costumed folk dancers performing in the empty pool a mix of genres including Cajun, tango, polka, French, Israeli and Balkan music. Special guest Guinea West African Drum and Dance Ensemble will open the program.  The event will be emceed by Michael “Zombo” Devine.

The event will also feature refreshments courtesy of the Estelle S. Campbell Boys and Girls Club (neighbors to Leslie Park Pool), and light fare by Lawrenceville’s eclectic cafés and restaurants.  Several eateries will also host busking accordionists on the day of the event. There is a $5 suggested donation for the event.  Visit  http://www.accordionpoolparty.org/ for more information.

Saturday,  May 30 is Beyond Bikes Day – a family friendly bicycle celenbration for beginners – I wan’t to make sure to point out that this is beginner friendly – I know we have posted lots of bike information but I am a bike begginner myself and I know that it can be intimidating.  

Beyond Bikes Day is organized by Venture Outdoors and the Major Taylor Cycling Club

The event will be held Saturday, May 30, at the Kingsley Association Community Center at 6435 Frankstown Avenue from noon to 3 p.m. This particular event will encourage biking as a family-friendly activity, as well as showcase some of the bike lanes in Pittsburgh, particularly the bike lane along East Liberty Boulevard. Riders are encouraged to bring their own bikes and helmets. A limited number of loaner bikes will be available. Raffle prizes will be given away throughout the day, including kids’ bikes and biking gear.

I had seen a reference to the Major Taylor Club before but I didn’t know much about it.  The Pittsburgh Chapter is a project of Pitt’s Center for Minority Health.  

Do you know Major Taylor? 

In the late 1890′s bicycle races drew crowds that filled Madison Square Garden; the biggest draw of all was Marshall W. Major Taylor. Having become the undisputed black champion of America, Taylor overcame racial segregation and intolerance to become the one-mile sprint world champion in 1899, and by the end of 1898 held seven world cycling records! 

Why is this important? 

The University of Pittsburgh‘s Center for Minority Health and Adventure Cycling Association share the goal of encouraging people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds, including African Americans, to explore the landscapes and history of America by bicycle. That is why these two organizations are committed to creating an Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. Throughout history black people have used bicycles as a mode of transportation. Both Major Taylor and the Underground Railroad represent the struggle to freedom from slavery and the challenge to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.  

More info on the Pittsburgh Major Taylor Cycling Club is availble here.  Also the blogger Pittsburgh Guy has a great post about the Major Taylor Club and their ride to show support for the families of the police officers that will killed in April.

Here are some more blog posts about bikes in Pittsburgh and across the US – there are a ton of great bike blogs out there.

• Small Montana Town Builds Campground Specifically For Cyclists (huffingtonpost.com)
• Seattle getting better for bikes, still needs work, club says (seattlepi.com)
• Public Spaces, Now More Than Ever (streetsblog.org)
• Bike the Beer (iheartpgh.com)
• I Want To Bike Ride All Day (livingstrongandhappy.blogspot.com)
• Seattle bicycling clubs for disadvantaged kids get rolling (seattletimes.nwsource.com)