COMMUNITY NEWS: UPDATED Jam on DUMBO Summer Family Music Festival - Aug. 20

I just received a message about the following family music festival in Brooklyn later this month -- enjoy! Note the end time has changed to 5pm!

Jam On DUMBO Summer Family Music Festival

Bringing Free Entertainment to Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, NY – Sidewalks in the city may be getting steamy, but on Saturday, August 20^th, Brooklyn is really going to sizzle as Jam On DUMBO brings a full day of family entertainment to the Manhattan Bridge Archway.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Adams Street between Front Street and Water Street, kids’ entertainers will jam on as local vendors sell their wares in our community marketplace. The Summer Family Music Festival is free to attend.

Musical performers include: bluegrass act Astrograss; an interactive Afro-Haitian drum and song performance by Bonga; the funky Erin Lee and the Up Past Bedtime Band; kiddie cabaret band The Itty Biddies; ukulele duo The Mini Max Players; rockers Rolie Polie Guacamole; and teen alternative-rock group Still Saffire. The festival will also feature a performance by P for Puppet and a family yoga class led by Bija Yoga. 

Jam On DUMBO was founded in late 2010 by a group of local parents looking to bring more children’s music programming to the cobblestone-lined neighborhood known as DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). After hosting a series of successful winter music concerts, Jam On DUMBO began to think bigger: Along with planning its Summer Family Music Festival, the organization has brought a weekly drop-in music classes to a local café and is planning a Music Week at P.S. 307, a local elementary school that primarily serves the Farragut public housing complex.

For more information about Jam On DUMBO, please contact Jaime Pessin at jlpessin@gmail.com. Visit us online at www.jamondumbo.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JamOnDUMBO, or on Twitter (@JamOnDUMBO).

Bring Your Partner To Blog Day

My husband makes his guest blogging debut below -- enjoy!

Clear eyes, wet butts.  Can't lose.

A few weeks ago, I was hanging out full-time with the Hot Toddie [a.k.a. The Bug], and we decided, after some discussion, to check out the kids' music concert at our local park.  It was a nice summer day, and a band was performing that had the under-four-years-old set amped up.  The Hot Toddie begged me to let him bring his bootlegging equipment, but I was like, “nah, save it for Rolie Polie Guacamole.”  He was like, “Dump truck!”  Cool.

We headed out.  Did I mention how nice it was outside?  85, no clouds, dry as a mouthful of cheerios.  (Of course, as I write this, I am sweating, and it is 9 o’clock at night, so that may be why I am fixated on how amazingly nice the weather was that day.)  In any event, I was pretty impressed with the time we were making since the Hot Toddie had climbed right in his stroller without the usual struggle that I can only compare to the time that I tried to force a half-badger/half-freshwater-eel into the backseat of a two door Honda Civic.  We even had time to stop and get an iced coffee from the local coffee place that sells a five-dollar small iced coffee.  Five dollars is a reasonable price to pay for a small iced coffee, right?  No?  Even if it's cold brew? Okay. 

We made it up to the top of the hill at the park early, and we were one of the first twenty or so families there -- headed by 87% nannies, 12% moms, and 1 dad.  Me. 

COMMUNITY NEWS: KIDS' DIY PIZZA PIES / BIRTHDAY PARTIES IN THE THEATER DISTRICT

I recently got a message about the following kid-friendly dining option in the Theater District . . . 


Trattoria Dopo Teatro is now opening its door to host children’s birthday parties! 


Parents can rent out one of the rustic, spacious rooms in this expansive, high-ceilinged 1878 landmark space. With the help of a brick oven in the main dining room—exposed for diners to see and bearing artfully composed thin crust pizzas—Dopo Teatro is offering kids do-it-yourself pies that youngsters can assemble themselves right at the table. 

Children also have the option of choosing from the all new kid’s menu: 

PENNE WITH FRESH TOMATO SAUCEORCHICKEN FINGERS WITH FRENCH FRIESORTWO SMALL BURGERS WITH FRIESORPIZZA MARGHERITA

ONE SCOOP OF CHOCOLATE GELATO

UNLIMITED OJ AND SODAS
 

$ 20.00 PER CHILD