Entertainment – Page 3 – ketchupface.com

Last Saturday, I attended the St George’s School Fair with my family and some friends. It was a last minute decision that resulted in some good deals and good fun.

If you’re thinking of attending next year, just know that parking is brutal for a 6 block radius and that your friends at Buster Towing are out in full force. Your best bet is to park on the other side of Dunbar (East of Dunbar around 29th) and walk in. The school suggests you park at their Senior School and hop on their shuttle bus. As we stood in line waiting for the gates to open, the line expanded down the street and around the corner (and these are long blocks).

Once inside, I made a B-line for the toys, only to wait in another line. The toy tent was like a shark tank at feeding time…a little frantic, with lots of people circling. There were good deals on small toys and cars, pick any 10 for only $2.

I managed to grab some fun stuff that my toddler just loves. This included a DJ Karaoke keyboard by VTech for $5, a Little Tikes car and gas pump for $23 and a plane with action figure by Fisher Price for $2. Plus, (as if that wasn’t enough) a car garage/car wash with lots of animated buttons by Little Tikes for $4.

When the shopping euphoria had subsided, I realized I’d been deserted by my friends and family so I had to schlep all this stuff over to the baggage check by myself. I’m sure I was a hilarious sight and a few Moms gave me a sympathetic nod. A big thank you goes out to the good samaritan that gave me a hand with the car the last couple of yards.

Next, I headed to the books and lined up there. Kids books were 4 for $5 (hardcovers). I bought 4 and a bunch of cookbooks for myself as a reward for waiting in all these lines.

At that point 2 hours elapsed and even though there was much more to see it was lunch time (to be followed by the ever important nap) and home was calling us. I usually like to saunter through the treasure trove, used clothes and jewelry but let’s face it; I’d done enough damage for one day (besides we couldn’t fit anymore in our car).

Next Saturday, I’m off to the Vancouver College Mayfair to see what can find. I should probably clean out the trunk this time.

St George’s School Fair – May 1, 2010
St. George’s Junior School
3851 West 29th Avenue
(29th & Wallace)
10:00am – 4:00pm

Vancouver College Mayfair – May 8, 2010
5400 Cartier Street, Vancouver, BC
10:00am-4:00pm

I did it!

I braved the throngs of hyperactive toddlers attending Playhouse Disney’s Mighty Mighty Mall Tour featuring “Wow! Wow! Wuzzby!”.

My family arrived at Coquitlam Centre at 11:15 in time to see Wuzzby do a few stiff dance moves on stage while a middle-aged woman sang a few songs. (I have no idea who this guy is…he reminds me of Kraft Dinner, if Kraft Dinner was animated). There were about 50 people there (kids and parents). The morning show was definitely the best time to get there, is seemed very quiet.

Although the piece of macaroni dancing on the stage was cute, we turned our attention from the mini stage to the coloring stations. Each of us sat in tiny chairs at tiny tables and coloured a placemat featuring images of Handy Manny, on one side, and Mickey and Friends, on the other. Once colored to our specifications, we lined up to get our beautiful customized placemat laminated. How cool was that? Plus, everyone was given a free DVD containing 5 full episodes from Playhouse Disney and a sheet of stickers….JACKPOT!

Playhouse Disney put on a very cute promotional tour. Volunteers were everywhere wearing green tees helping the kids and talking to them about their favorite characters while they colored. Posters encouraged us to check out Playhouse Disney on Facebook. Kids watched the shows and seemed to have a great time at no expense. It was a simple,well-organized event.

Best of all, I got to fit in a little shopping! On my rounds, I walked by Jack Grunsky in concert and I swear there were more parents bopping along to the music than kids…that was funny….ahhhhh, my fellow parents, what has become of us.

Yesterday at noon, we hit the first day of Kerrisdale Carnival Days. Auntie Clare, me and my little guy walked or shall I say strolled through the streets of Kerrisdale taking in the sites. Many of the stores had tables outside their stores, (which is fantastic when you have a stroller). We leisurely walked and shopped without having to navigate through tight, crowded aisles.

We saw street musicians, face painters and a clown making balloon animals. All entertaining but a bit beyond Caden (I’m sure he would have tried to eat a balloon animal to a catastrophic end). One thing made his face light up “over and over” and that was balloons, balloons and MORE BALLOONS. There were random bunches lining the streets at tables and doorways. Every time he spotted a new bunch, his hands would point desperately and his legs would kick frantically (not to mention the shrill squeal that was heard up and down the block). I seriously thought the poor kid was going to have a heart attack with all the excitement.

We spent an enjoyable hour and a half walking the streets and grabbing a little lunch. Even though the majority of the activities (parade, contests, musicians, play palace, inflatable slide etc…) happen on Saturday, I recommend going on Friday if you have small kids with even smaller attention spans. There were less people and the line-ups at the face painter and balloon animal “artist” were only 4 kiddies deep. Sweet!

Kerrisdale Carnival Days are on this Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. Highlights include:

Community Parade with Marching Band
Saturday at 10am
Horse and Carriage rides
Saturday starting at 11:00am
Pooch poetry contest
Saturday at 12 noon

Links

Kerrisdale Village

St George’s School Fair lots to see and do….AND BUY!

Mighty, Mighty Mall Tour more “mini” than “mighty”

Kerrisdale Carnival Days or as we call it “Balloon-fest”