What's Happening Highlights: April 28-May 2

Viva Los Niños

This weekend, the Día del Niños Festival returns to the Aquarium of the Pacific. This Children’s Day celebration is so big that it needs two days. The fifth annual festival features an array of performances from local youths that reflect a globe-spanning selection of cultures. There will be West African drum and dance, hula and Tahitian dance, Mexican folkloric dance and a youth mariachi, traditional Japanese dance, an international children’s choir and more. Kids also can participate in painting an ocean mural and do other arts & crafts. Aquarium admission is $23.95 for adults and $11.95 children 3-11; however, for this special children’s event, a free kid’s admission coupon (valid with a regular adult admission) can be found on the aquarium’s site.
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun., May 1 and 2
Where: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
Contact: 562-590-3100, www.aquariumofpacific.org

Game On

Popular board games will “come to life” at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios on Sunday.  The second annual Game Day will feature giant versions of your favorite board games. It’s a chance to meet Dora or SpongeBob, dance to music, create arts and crafts, decorate cupcakes, mingle with celebrities and more. It’s all to benefit the Lollipop Theater Network, a nonprofit organization that brings movie magic to hospitalized kids across the country through special group and bedside screenings. Adult tickets cost $200 and $75 for children 3-13.
When: noon-4 p.m. Sun., May 2
Where: Nickelodeon Animation Studios, 231 W. Olive Ave., Burbank
Contact: http://lollipopgameday2010.eventbrite.com/

From Pasadena To Pakistan

The Pacific Asia Museum hosts a special afternoon saluting the people and culture of Pakistan. This free family festival features live music, hands-on crafts, dance, demonstrations and more. You can color you own miniature artwork, taste Pakistani cuisine and listen to bhangra music. It’s a terrific, and fun opportunity to learn about Pakistani culture as well as the museum. If you come early enough, you can hear Sunny Stevenson tell tales from Pakistan during the Silk Road Storytime from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
When: noon-4 p.m., Sun. May 2
Where: Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena
Contact: 626-449-2742, pacificasiamuseum.org

Cheap Sweet Treat

This Wednesday night, Baskin-Robbins around the Southland will be serving up ice cream for a charitable cause. The fourth annual 31 Cent Scoop Night raises money and awareness for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, an organization that honors fallen fire fighters and helps their families. The iconic ice cream stores are offering 2.5 oz. scoops of ice creams for only 31 cents (with a three scoop limit), and Baskin-Robbins will donate $100,000 to the charity. You might even meet one of your local firefighters scooping ice cream for you.
When: 5-10 p.m. Wednesday, April 28
Where: All Baskin-Robbins locations
Contact: www.baskinrobbins.com/31cent

Interview: Tween Expert & Author Rosalind Wiseman

What is the most important message on the minds of tweens these days? That they matter and that they have a voice and want to be heard. That's what tween expert Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queens Bees & Wannabes (which inspired the movie Mean Girls), told me in a video/phone interview last week.

Wiseman offers words of advice to haggard parents such as me, who often finds herself mystified by this irrational, emotional creature that has taken over the body of my adorable little youngster. But the tween years are a critical window of opportunity for parents to be a helpful and credible source of support, she says, and can set the stage for guiding them through such issues as bullying and the lack of self-confidence. The body image issues are also a major factor at this age, which is why Wiseman says she joined forces with DontFretTheSweat.com. The site includes a panel of parenting experts and provides tools for parents and kids to develop confidence, self-esteem, and self-reliance.

Check out her brief interview here:

Trippin': Break Out For Spring Break

Alas, spring break is upon us! But what to do? Here are a couple of travel tidbits that might spur you to hit the open road:

An American Girl in Chicago: Head to the Affinia Chicago hotel for its American Girl Place Package ($229 standard, $289 deluxe) that includes a doll-sized bed, pillow and blankie so your child's American Girl can sleep in comfort. The package also includes a turn-down treat for the child and the doll and a custom welcome note. The deluxe package includes an AG keepsake, Affinia Chicago rubber duckie, breakfast for a child in C-House, dining discounts and other fun stuff. The hotel's concierge staff can help make reservations at the American Girl Cafe. The packages are available through December.

Special Menu: Kids and food allergies make for difficult traveling companions, which is why Jim Lindfors, executive chef at Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa's BIN189 restaurant, is willing to create special menus for special appetites. Simply contact the resort two days prior to your arrival with your dietary needs, and Chef Lindfors will create a menu with your child's name that suits his dietary needs. Lindfors, whose son is on a restricted diet, says he creates the menus "to make these kids feel special, not different." Call the restaurant directly at 909-337-4189 to set up a menu for your stay at the resort, which is situated on the shore of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino National Forest. The luxury lodge, located about 90 miles east of L.A., offers 173 guestrooms, a spa and other amenities.


Travel to Trees: Doubletree Hotels have partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to bring a 2,500-square-foot traveling Exploring Trees Inside & Out exhibit in which kids can crawl around the logs, listen to the sounds of the forest and even become a forest creature through the wonders of technology. The exhibit will travel to the California Science Center June 1-Sept. 6. Or see it at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia through May 2 and enjoy the hotel chain's new Bed and Breakfast package (free full breakfast buffet for two adults and two children!).

Rooting for a Tree

Students at the Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge received a valuable message in tree hugging last month when a mulberry tree that was blocking the construction of a new theater building was moved rather than tossed to the chipper-shredder.

The specimen in question was no sapling. It topped out at 40 feet and weighed nearly 35,000 pounds – so transplanting the tree was no small feat. But the tree has played an important role in the school's 43-year history. Its leafy canopy provides a shady meeting spot for the gardening class, and the community often feasted on its abundant mulberries in the spring.

"Many students are here from preschool through high school and have grown up with the tree," says Highland Hall gardening teacher Juanita Gilmore.

So kids and parents raised the necessary funds, and a crane was brought in to carefully lift the tree, place it in the back of a truck, drive it to its new location 125 feet away and plant it with the same orientation as it had in its original spot.

Will it survive the big move? Parents, teachers and community members who came out to watch the big move hope so.

"The students were very intrigued about the process," Gilmore says. "They enjoyed watching what the workers did each day. Some were very excited, some were worried about the tree. Many of them were sending it magic through their fingers (their idea!) as they watched it being moved. I think the general feeling was that they were grateful that it was being saved."

Mulberry trees are known to be hardy, and this one is already sporting buds and "doing great," reports Martina Turner, who's in charge of communication and outreach at Highland Hall. Gilmore adds that it's even putting on mulberry flowers.

Now that's an Earth Day lesson for us all!

Choosing Cruising

Today's post is courtesy of veteran family travel writer and Santa Clarita mom of three Mimi Slawoff. You often see her byline in L.A. Parent as our go-to writer for the magazine's Let's Go section, where she covers everything from dude ranch getaways to theme park excursions. Here she reports on her latest Carnival cruise outing.

Our family vacation last summer was among the best we’ve had. Not because it was the most exotic or action filled. But because it was relaxing, budget-friendly, and our family of five enjoyed every minute together. In fact, it was smooth sailing from start to finish.

We spent five fabulous nights onboard the Carnival Elation ship sailing through Baja, enjoying a fun cruise with good food, entertainment and activities. Every few years or so, we choose a cruise for our summer vacation. For us, cruising is a hassle-free, value-priced vacation that offers a plethora of activities we can do together or individually.

It's dress-up night for Bruce (from left), Michael, Megan, Mimi and Christina.

Last July, we gathered our brood, ages 14, 18 and 20, and sailed off into the sunset from San Diego. The 14-deck Elation had just begun operating a series of three-, four- and five-day cruises with two itineraries departing from San Diego. The five-day cruises departing Saturdays feature two full days in Cabo San Lucas; the five-day cruises departing Mondays include both Cabo and Ensenada. In addition, Carnival’s Elation has cruises departing Thursdays that visit Cabo. (These itineraries are valid through April 2010.) Baja trips, starting at $184 per person, are also available from Long Beach.

On our itinerary, we visited Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. When our kids were young, they always went with the flow. With teens, it’s more like riding out a riptide. So we agreed early on that on this trip we would be spontaneous and flexible. Translation: easy on the rules and plans. My kids rallied for sleeping in, eating at all hours and simply enjoying the ship’s amenities.

Shortly after boarding, we explored the Elation and enjoyed beautiful views of the San Diego skyline as we left the port around 5 p.m. We signed up our 14-year-old daughter, Megan, in the Circle C program, for ages 12-14. The cruise line’s popular children’s programs include Camp Carnival for ages 2-11, and Club 02 for ages 15-17.

“Carnival carries more kids than any other cruise line, and we expect to host 650,000 this year alone,” says Carnival spokesperson Jennifer de la Cruz.

Megan floated in and out of the young teen club, choosing from a myriad of activities such as dances, video games, karaoke, parties and games. Onboard deals offered Teen Spa Specials and Ice Cream Teen Menu; shore excursions included parasailing. Meanwhile, our older kids found plenty to do – and not do. Christina was content to read a book poolside, while Michael joined in frequent pick-up basketball games with young guys his age.

With the luxury of time on our hands, Bruce and I indulged in grown-up fun, such as wine tasting with the maître d’ in the dining room. About 20 people showed up in shorts and sundresses to sample domestic and international wines.

Mealtimes were always a pleasure. For breakfast, we alternated between Tiffany’s, a large cafeteria that serves full breakfast and lunch buffets, and the dining room’s more formal sit-down breakfast. Dinners were the best. We had arranged for an early dinner seating, 6 p.m., and were pleased to find we had a private table in the Inspiration dining room, one of two formal restaurants. Our head waiter, Erich, and assistant server, Putu, were wonderful and indulged our son Michael’s appetite for three nightly entrées (he’s tall and thin, and I don’t know where he puts all that food). Erich and Putu quickly learned our names, as well as our food and beverage preferences. They were so friendly that by the end of the week, my husband Bruce sang a duet (“That’s Amore”) with Erich during an Italian-themed dinner.

Compared to newer, larger ships outfitted with onboard theme parks, the Elation is simple although more than sufficient. It has three pools (one equipped with a waterslide), a 12,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, a library where you can check out books and games, a casino, and several lounges with bars. Daily and nightly shows take place in the Japanese-themed Mikado Lounge, a multilevel, 1,200-seat theater.

Bright and early on the third day, the ship glided slowly into Cabo San Lucas, located at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. We stood on the outside deck for better views of Los Arcos, the famous rock formations and arch that are situated where the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez merge. The beach beckoned and our kids couldn’t wait to explore Cabo. The ship dropped anchor and we boarded tenders to reach the shore.

Our plan was to swim and lounge at a nearby beach, followed by lunch (per Michael’s request) at Cabo Wabo Cantina, owned by musician Sammy Hagar. We were approached by a slew of taxi operators but chose one who agreed to a private ride for $12. After swimming in the warm, gentle surf, we hailed a cab (about $5) from the closest luxury hotel to bring us to nearby Cabo Wabo. We lingered over tacos, enchiladas and margaritas before walking back to the ship. Along the way we browsed through shops for small souvenirs. The heat was stifling and by the time we reached the ship, we were exhausted. But we all agreed it was a great day.

When the ship pulled into port in Ensenada at the end of the week, the kids chose to stay onboard. Bruce and I took a short walk about town but returned to the ship to join the kids for mini golf and ping pong. As the ship departed for San Diego in the late afternoon, we lounged on chairs at the back of the ship, tanned, relaxed and content.

Baja cruises are also available from Long Beach. If you’re looking for a longer cruise, consider the Carnival Splendor, which offers year-round, seven-day Mexican Riviera service from Long Beach. For more information, visit www.carnival.com.