March Break is quickly approaching, and we are pleased to bring you exciting camps and events, to help you plan a memorable holiday for your family.
PLAYDIUM THE ULTIMATE PLACE TO PLAY! Sponsored Listing: Celebrate March Break at Playdium with over 200 of today’s newest Games, Rides & Simulators. Win prizes at our Redemption & Prize Zone. New! - Spin Zone Bumper Cars & MaxFlight Roller Coaster Simulator. Visit www.playdium.com for our Great Value March Break Specials. ULTIMATE FUN!
Dufflebag Theatre’s Cinderella Sponsored Listing: Join us for Dufflebag Theatre’s production of Cinderella! This classic tale is full of wit and humour. Just when the audience becomes enthralled by the story - a twist is created! Before your very eyes audience members are asked to come join in on the action. Their unpredictable performances are hilarious!
Dufflebag Theatre’s Peter Pan Sponsored Listing Join us for Dufflebag Theatre’s production of Peter Pan! This refreshing fairy tale adaption features audience participation like you’ve never seen! Dufflebag Theatre proves again and again that the dream of living a fairy tale actually does come true!
Breakaway to the Hockey Hall of Fame this March Break! Sponsored Listing: Special events include mascot appearances, player signings, ‘Tales of the Cup’, floorball hockey trick shows and giveaways. Try your hand at goaltending, shooting, play-by-play calling, trivia, video game hockey and more in the activity stations. Plus remember to get your photo with the Stanley Cup!
DROP-INS AND CAMPS AT TORONTO’S MUSEUMS Sponsored Listing Your City of Toronto Museums present several great pre-registered day camps as well as family drop-ins for young people to enjoy during March Break. Have a blast exploring life in the city over a hundred years ago! Hands-on fun, cooking, dress up, crafts, making toys, and more!
Abracadabra ~ Magical March Break at the Bata Shoe Museum, March 12 - 16; 10 am - 4pm; drop in Sponsored Listing Place a wish on our magic lantern, decorate wizard hat cookies and spell books, make a magical wand, try-on wizard shoes and costumes, interact with our wandering magician daily (11 am - 2 pm), magic kit draws and more! Help us kick things off on Monday, March 12th at 10 am with a Special Magic Show! $8 per child; $8 per adult (Adult MUST accompany child). 327 Bloor Street West.
March Break Toy Design Camp Sponsored Listing: In partnership with Spin Master™ Ltd., this design-based, weeklong camp for kids aged 6 to 12 will focus on the world of Toy Design and will include special guest speakers from the design community and inspiring hands-on projects including Stuffed Creatures and Built for Speed.
Make a March Break Masterpiece Sponsored Listing: Come paint a treasured ceramic keepsake while spending quality time with family or friends. Immortalize Baby Prints. 300+ items to paint. WALK IN WELCOME. March Break Camp (14th-16th; week long/ half day: ceramics, creative clay, beading, papier mache, +more - registration required). Birthday Parties too! 279 Danforth Avenue.
March Break at Nepean Museum and Fairfields Sponsored Listing To celebrate March Break, both Nepean Museum and Fairfields are offering special programs for kids! Programs include: Puppets and Play, Teddy Bear Tea, Lucky Leprechaun, Belle’s Buried Treasure, Marvellous Miniatures, Toy Making and more! To register, or for more information, please visit: www.nepeanmuseum.ca.
Forecast: March Break 2012 at the ROM promises to be muy caliente
Families will get hot, hot, hot, as Maya-inspired activities take over the ROM from March 11 to 18 – all at cool lower pricing!
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will be a hot destination for families as March Break 2012 says hola! to Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World. From Saturday, March 10 to Sunday, March 18, 2012, visitors will enjoy Maya-inspired programming at the ROM’s new lower admission prices.
The ROM extends its hours to 8:30 pm from Saturday March 10 to Saturday, March 17, and closes at 5:30 pm on Sunday, March 18. Friday nights pricing* is in effect each day of March Break from 4:30 pm until closing, and after 4:00 pm on Sunday, March 18. Visiting during the day at the ROM’s new lower admission prices includes much family programming, while a visit during the Museum’s special extended holiday hours features further discounted admission to enjoy Maya. See chart at end of release for full admission pricing information.
Maya-themed programming
Family programming and activities**, offered daily from 11:00am to 4:00pm, include:
< The Game Show at the End of the World, played three times daily in Currelly Gallery, promises participants and viewers a rollicking time as pyramids are built, brains are teased, and a ball game is played – all in the spirit of the ancient Maya
< Learn how the Maya created beautiful jewellery; then make your own to take home
< One of the most revered creatures of the ancient Maya, the quetzal bird, is yours for the taking (after making it, of course)
< A Maya High Priest will regally interact with visitors. Easy to spot, he’ll be the one with the full body paint!
< The ROM’s numerous accessibility initiatives will allow all family members to explore through tactile graphics, detailed descriptions, accessible puzzles, and other activities, informing visitors of all ages about ancient civilizations
< Presentations in the Earth Rangers Studio in Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity touches on the themes of agriculture and biodiversity, dynamically linking them to Maya society
Other Programming
< Wild cats, hawks, lemurs, and more entertain as Bring Back the Wild is presented by Earth Rangers in the Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre. The 20-minute live animal show can be seen daily at 11:30 am, 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm
< Permanent galleries will play host to a wide variety of scavenger hunts and guessing games
< Travel back to the 15th century and participate in a Mediaeval Fair. Meet an archer, dance mediaeval-style, interact with live animals, and much more
< Visitors can test their skills to determine if they have what it takes to be a ROM conservator
< Ever walked on the moon? You can in the Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth Treasures. You can even take home a certificate proving it!
< The newly launched Burgess Shale website will be available for viewing, with interpreters from Yoho National Park on hand to answer visitors’ questions
With so much going on at the ROM, appetites are sure to present themselves. Families are invited to dine like the Maya in the ROM’s casual family restaurant, Food Studio Café. Rotated daily, offerings include quesadillas, burritos, chilli, chorizo sausage, and corn pizza. With energies renewed, a visit to the ROM Museum Store or the Maya exhibition boutique is in order with plenty of inspired wares available for purchase.
About Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World
The exhibition is an international collaboration between the ROM, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC). Nearly 250 artifacts have been assembled, including large sculptures, ceramics, masks, and jewellery, to illuminate the relationships between the Maya ruling class and the balance of its society. The objects also reveal numerous aspects of Maya life, which, until the end of the 19th century, had been shrouded in mystery. Maya city states, palace life, and rituals and beliefs, including a timely look at what they thought would occur in the year 2012, are all examined in the exhibition. Most of the showcased objects have never before been seen in Canada, and many, some only recently excavated, are recognized as among the most significant archaeological finds of the Maya civilization. The exhibition is on display at the ROM until April 9, 2012.
Lower Pricing in Effect
All March Break activities are included with ROM admission. Admission is as follows:
GENERAL ADMISSION MAYA + GENERAL ADMISSION
Adult $15 (previously $24) $25 (previously $31)
Senior (65+ years) $13.50 (previously $21) $22.50 (previously $28)
Student (15 - 25 years, with student ID) $13.50 (previously $21) $22.50 (previously $28)
Child (4 - 14 years) $12 (previously $16) $17 (previously $19.50)
Infant (3 years & under) Free
Members Free
*ROM Friday Nights Pricing (Best Value): GENERAL ADMISSION
Adult $9 (previously $12) Additional surcharge applies to see Maya: Secrets of their Ancient World
Senior $8 (previously $10.50)
Student $8 (previously $10.50)
Child $6 (previously $8)
ROM Friday Nights presented by Sun Life Financial, take place from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
**programming is accurate at time of writing. Check www.rom.on.ca closer to March Break to ensure status of activities.
Record number of registered events along with thousands of participants rally on January 27 to Play for Literacy in celebration of learning
(Toronto, ON - January 20, 2011) – The countdown is on before Canada comes together to celebrate Family Literacy Day. ABC Life Literacy Canada is encouraging all Canadians to make family literacy a priority on January 27 by participating in a Family Literacy Day event or activity in your community or in the home.
Canadians have stepped up in record numbers to rally around the cause as they paint Canada orange by registering their community and family events online at FamilyLiteracyDay.ca. With 846 events currently registered, it is not too late to plan your own event or activity or plan to participate in one in your area.
Now in its 13th year, Family Literacy Day was developed by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to celebrate adults and children reading and learning together, and to encourage Canadians to spend at least 15 minutes a day enjoying a learning activity together. Family Literacy Day provides focus and encouragement on the issue and with recently released opinion data collected by research firm Ipsos Reid, showing that a high percentage of Canadian adults lack confidence in helping their children with homework, engaging in this celebration is a great way to foster a love of learning within the home.
“As Canadians Play for Literacy this year, we are encouraging adults to have fun with learning through the use of play-centered activities which will help inspire a love of learning in their children,” commented Margaret Eaton, president of ABC Life Literacy Canada. “Literacy continues to be an important issue in Canada as four out of 10 working age Canadians struggle with low literacy and Family Literacy Day provides national focus on the cause.”
Play for Literacy can include all types of play that encourages literacy and numeracy development as well as comprehension skills, such as board games, card games and imaginative self-created activities and games. Games, and the carefree act of playing, provide a fun outlet in which individuals of all ages can engage in activities that inherently provide new learning or opportunities to improve one’s reading, writing, math and comprehension skills.
A complete list of events in communities across Canada, as well as resource materials and the Family Literacy Day online activity book presented by HSBC can be found at www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.
It’s already October, and Halloween is quickly approaching. Shop for all your Halloween needs online, and plan fun Halloween outings below in the GTA, Elmvale and Ottawa, to create special and lasting holiday memories.
Halloween Costumes Canada Sponsored Listing We carry a huge selection of Halloween costumes & accessories for the entire family. Order online from the convenience of home. Your order will be shipped right to your door. Save 10% off your order with couponcode 9192 at checkout. Hurry for best selection!! Contact: 306-547-2260, LittleLadybug@sasktel.net or www.greatcostumes.ca
Green your Halloween & Be Spook-Free Sponsored Listing Avoid the real spooks (harmful toxins, etc.) this Halloween and make safe, healthy choices for your kids and the planet too. Choose lead-free non-toxic face paint pencils, PVC-free reusable treat bags, non-toxic window crayons and for alternative treats, what about recycled star crayons or scented newspaper pencils? Take 10% OFF any order with codeKACSPOOKS through October 25th. Contact: 1-877-216-LIME (5463), customerservice@lavishandlime.com or www.lavishandlime.com.
Creative Play Annual Halloween Party Sponsored Listing Creative Play Indoor Playground Halloween Party! Pirate Captain Black Eyes will park his haunted ship. October 31st 11:00 am to 2:000 pm. Adult and child prizes will be awarded for best costume. Pre-registration is required. Register online at www.creativeplay.ca Contact: www.creativeplay.ca or call 905-231-1900.
Pumpkin Mania - Rounds Ranch Sponsored Listing Pumpkin fun for the whole family. Western playground, pedal cart racetrack, barrel train ride, huge cornfield maze, petting zoo, pony rides and more. Pie eating contest, pumpkin bowling and more fun pumpkin games. Wagon rides to the pumpkin patch to pick your own FREE pumpkin! Contact: 705-322-6293, ger@roundsranch.com or www.roundsranch.com
Family Halloween Day at the DX Sponsored Listing: Join us for a fun-filled day of Halloween inspired design activities for the whole family! Activities include Spooky Architecture, Ghoulish Fashion Design, Monster Making Factory, Trick or Treat Cookie Design, Haunted House and Tours of the Historic Trading Floor. Contact: Laura Brewer at 416-216-2114, laura@dx.org or www.dx.org.
Fun for Halloween-ies at TIFF Bell Lightbox Sponsored Listing Get freaked out at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Halloween, as we present screenings, activities, and workshops on the spookiest weekend of the year! Come in costume to enjoy a scary movie or get in the picture by starring in a scary scene yourself.
For more information visit tiff.net.
Camp Spooky at Canada’s Wonderland Sponsored Listing: Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang for Camp Spooky. Located in Kidzville, there will be rides, spooky kid-sized mazes, a vampire treasure hunt, Charlie Brown’s Trick or Treat live show, and so much more! Free with Park admission! Contact: 905-832-7000 or campspooky.canadaswonderland.com.
Halloween Howl & Boo at the Zoo Sponsored Listing: Two spooktacular Halloween events at one exciting place - The Toronto Zoo. Halloween Howl, happening outdoors from 6:30 pm to 8 pm on October 23 and 30, will have you truly howling with excitement (pre-registration is required). Boo at the Zoo takes place on October 23, 24, 30 and 31 from 10 am to 4 pm and features a great array of entertainment, Critters and Costumes Parade and Boo Brew. Visittorontozoo.com for more information and to register.
Halloween at the Canadian Museum of Nature Sponsored Listing Something for everyone at the “castle” in October. Thursday evenings: Haunted Tours (tickets at www.hauntedwalk.com), a scary movie, and wine bar. October 30 and 31: live animal presentations, creature myths and facts, face-painting, crafts, tattoos, and a costume contest (31st). Visit nature.ca for more information. Contact: 613-566-4700/1-800-263-4433, questions@mus-nature.ca or www.nature.ca.
Glow In The Dark Mini Putt puts on Scary Tournament for CHEO Sponsored Listing: Putting Edge takes the fear out of Halloween for children at CHEO. Tournaments start October 12th. Entry is under $20 to the Champs for Children Mini Putt Championship, supporting CHEO. Entrants get a prize package worth $50, including golf, t-shirt and a coupon to Spirit Halloween Superstore. Contact: 613-224-4887, nepean@puttingedge.com, www.puttingedge.com, or the Putting Edge Nepean Facebook page.
Vancouver, BC – Fun for the whole family is brought to the Orpheum with the VSO’s 5- concert Spectra Energy Kids’ Koncerts, starting on Sunday, October 10th, at 2 pm. The first concert of the series will feature the world premiere of An Ocean Called Owen by the VSO’s composer in residence Scott Good and composer and writer Dwight Schenk. Scott Good will play trombone and narrate during this exciting premiere, with Inspector Tovey (bearing a striking resemblance to Maestro Bramwell Tovey…) conducting and playing the piano.
The VSO’s Spectra Energy Kids’ Koncerts are fun and educational musical presentations for children aged four to eleven, featuring the full orchestra and popular children’s entertainers. Going beyond just the concert experience, the Instrument Fair in the Orpheum lobby allows children to try out musical instruments, try their hand at composition, and even meet VSO musicians. The fair runs for one hour before each concert, and gives children an up-close and personal look at the VSO. Suitable for the whole family, Kids’ Koncerts take place at the Orpheum on Sundays at 2pm.
The series also includes visits from renowned children’s entertainers. Magic Circle Mime will bring the life of Mozart to the stage in The Mozart Experience; Classical Kids will be showcasing the life and times of Beethoven in a hugely popular children’s production, Beethoven Lives Upstairs; and Dandi productions will present Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood. Past VSO Assistant Conductors, Evan Mitchell and Tania Miller, will both return to the VSO to conduct a concert in the series; Maestra Miller will conduct a concert she developed for the Victoria Symphony, where she is Music Director, entitled The Mischevious Adventures of the Rascally Rhythm!
SCOTT GOOD/DWIGHT SCHENK An Ocean Called Owen (World Premiere)
Inspector Tovey returns, brining with him the world premiere of An Ocean Called Owen by Scott Good and Dwight Schenk.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2 PM, ORPHEUM THEATRE
The Mozart Experience
Evan Mitchell conductor
Magic Circle Mime
Aaron Durand tenor
Magic Circle Mime’s award-winning production about the life of history’s greatest composer.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2 PM, ORPHEUM THEATRE Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Pierre Simard conductor
Classical Kids
Classical Kids presents their best-known show, focusing on the life and times of Ludwig van Beethoven.
SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2 PM, ORPHEUM THEATRE
Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood
Pierre Simard conductor
Dandi Productions
The story of Little Red Riding Hood presented larger-than-life on the Orpheum stage.
SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2 PM, ORPHEUM THEATRE
The Mischievous Adventures of the Rascally Rhythm
Tania Miller conductor
That rascally rhythm! Find out why this musical concept is so important, with Victoria Symphony Music Director Tania Miller leading the way.
Series Ticket Prices (all 5 concerts): Adult $150 Child $66
Single Tickets: Adult- $27.75 Child- $19 (senior, student and subscriber discounts available)
Tickets available online at www.vancouversymphony.ca or by calling VSO customer service at 604.876.3434
The VSO’s Kids’ Koncerts have been endowed by a generous gift from the William and Irene McEwen Fund
Series Sponsor: Spectra Energy
Premier Education Partner: TELUS
All Instrument Fair instruments are provided by Tom Lee Music
Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Gears Up to Visit Toronto as Part of the Summer Road Trip Across Canada
The World’s #1 Toy Vehicle Unveils its First-Ever Life-Size Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Car
Toronto Residents Invited to Check Out the Life-Size Colour-Shifting Mustang
Toronto, ON, – July, 13, 2010 – The Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Road Trip takes a detour into Toronto to unveil its life-size colour-shifting Mustang. The cool, state-of-the-art Ford Mustang and the Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ Trailer has been zooming across the country visiting festivals, camps and family events in various towns and cities. The Road Trip runs all summer long from July to September, giving Canadians of all ages a chance to experience changing the colour of the car themselves. Kids who attend the event can help change the colour of the car, play with Hot Wheels® toys and will also receive a special Hot Wheels® collector booklet, T-shirt and more.
WHO: The Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ team will be on hand to help out with the colour changing process of the car as well as entertain kids. Visitors will get a chance to sit in the Mustang and check out the latest Hot Wheels® Colour Shifters™ toys with kids, parents and fellow Hot Wheels® fanatics.
Friday, July 16, 2010
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Ontario Place (East Entrance)
955 Lake Shore Blvd. West
Toronto, ON
Sunday July 18, 2010
Times TBD
Sears, Fairview Mall
1800 Sheppard Ave. East
Toronto, ON
Sunday, July 18, 2010
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Walmart, Square One
100 City Centre Drive
Mississauga, ON
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Beaches Recreation Centre
6 Williamson Road
Toronto, ON
Thursday, July 22, 2010
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Avenue Road Child Care
1498 Avenue Road
Toronto, ON
Friday, July 23, 2010
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Toronto Zoo
361A Old Finch Avenue
Scarborough, ON
About the Hot Wheels® brand
Hot Wheels® cars revolutionized boys’ toys in 1968 with an original line of super-fast, customized cars built for speed, power, performance and attitude. Now, more than 40 years later, Hot Wheels® is a global lifestyle brand that represents the coolest cars imaginable in scales from miniature to full-size. Hot Wheels® cars are also popular collectibles for adults and each year, introduces a new line-up of innovative vehicles, track sets and play sets.
About Mattel
Mattel, Inc., (NASDAQ:MAT) (mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie® the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica:® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. In 2010, Mattel was named as one of FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the third year in a row, and was ranked among Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Mattel also is recognized among the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel employs approximately 27,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations.
Join us for Dufflebag Theatre’s production of 
Special events
We carry a huge selection of 
Avoid the real spooks (harmful toxins, etc.) this Halloween and make 
Join us for a fun-filled day of 
Get freaked out at 
Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang for 
Two spooktacular Halloween events at one exciting place - The Toronto Zoo. 
Something for everyone at 